PITTSBURGH -- Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and his administration had refused to reveal where he was during last week's City Council hearing on controversial police promotions -- a hearing that the leaders of several women's groups had urged him to attend.

Now that the news of Ravenstahl's whereabouts has come to light, the mayor is facing some criticisms.

The Mario Lemieux Foundation confirmed that Ravenstahl played golf at the private Mario Lemieux Celebrity Invitational at Laurel Valley Golf Club on June 28.

Ravenstahl would not reveal that information last week, when Channel 4 Action News asked why he did not accept the invitation to attend the June 28 council hearing.

"Just for the record, where were you at the time the hearing was going on?" reporter Bob Mayo asked on June 29.

"Where I was and what I was doing is no reflection on why I wasn't at the hearing," Ravenstahl responded that day.

At the council hearing, 150 women spoke out against the promotions of three Pittsburgh police officers who have backgrounds with allegations of domestic abuse.

Jeanne Clark, an activist with the National Organization for Women who gathered petitions for the meeting, was critical of Ravenstahl's absence.

"Think about the (last) person that we elected to that office, Mayor (Bob) O'Connor. I cannot imagine Bob O'Connor blowing off the women in this city in order to go play golf," Clark told WTAE Channel 4 on Wednesday.

In a written statement Wednesday, Ravenstahl defended his decision to go on the golf outing, saying it was a charity fundraiser for cancer and neonatal research.

The statement said the mayor is a target of unfair criticism which "smacks of crass politics and yellow journalism and disappoints me greatly."

Mayors normally don't attend council hearings, but the issues are still of critical importance to him, he said.

More: Read The Entire Ravenstahl Statement

"I didn't feel that my presence there would have been advantageous to the cause. It could have potentially become a political situation, which I didn't want it to be," Ravenstahl said on June 29.

"Actions speak louder than words," Clark said Wednesday. "The mayor keeps telling the women of this city that he understands about domestic violence, he's going to have zero tolerance. He couldn't even be bothered to be at the hearing or watch it on television."

Republican Mark DeSantis, who is running against the Democrat Ravenstahl in November's mayoral election, said he questions Ravenstahl's priorities in addressing issues that face the city.

DeSantis said Ravenstahl accepted a gift worth about $9,000 when he played in Lemiuex's tournament.

DeSantis said the charity included a round of golf, breakfast, lunch, a gift bag, a commemorative money clip, an evening social and prizes for top finishers.

DeSantis said it was a violation of the city of Pittsburgh charter.

"Not going to that hearing is just simply poor judgment," DeSantis said. "Playing golf instead of going to a hearing -- the cause of which was the poor handling by the city administration itself -- shows a complete lack of judgment."

Ravenstahl said there was nothing wrong with going to the tournament, and his office will file the proper paperwork about accepting the gift.

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