PITTSBURGH -- Fresh off a big win in Pittsburgh's Democratic primary, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said he's waiting for an apology from one of his challengers, City Councilman Patrick Dowd.
Ravenstahl had just begun celebrating Tuesday night when he told reporter Bob Mayo that Dowd's campaign tactics had "crossed the line" in a live interview on WTAE Channel 4 Action News at 11 p.m.
"I asked for -- a couple of times -- an apology. He didn't want to offer it. Hopefully in the very near future, he will, so we can continue to work together, ideally, to move the city forward," Ravenstahl told Mayo.
Carmen Robinson, the other unsuccessful challenger, was thanked by name during Ravenstahl's victory speech at the Hofbrauhaus in the South Side Works, but Dowd, the city councilman in District 7, was not mentioned.
"My mom always told me, 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all,' and so that's what I chose to do tonight," Ravenstahl told Mayo.
On Wednesday morning, Dowd told Mayo that he doesn't believe he crossed any line and doesn't believe he has anything for which to apologize. He added that the campaign was not personal.
Video:
Watch Bob Mayo's Interview With Dowd"I don't think I've even had the opportunity to talk to the mayor. I haven't heard any requests for an apology. Maybe he's made them in public. I've not heard them," said Dowd.
When asked if he thought he had anything to apologize for, Dowd didn't think so.
"This isn't a personal matter, this is a public matter. I mean, there was no personal attack. It was a very, I think, public and issues based campaign, and that's how I've always been. I'll continue to be in that way," said Dowd.
Repeated attempts to call Ravenstahl to concede on Tuesday night were unsuccessful, Dowd said. Campaign manager Paul McKrell didn't take or return the call, and chief of staff Yarone Zober did not have the mayor return the call, Dowd said.
Dowd said that he had asked for a personal Ravenstahl cell phone number before the primary so he could concede if necessary, but he wasn't given the number.
Dowd acknowledged he depicted Ravenstahl's administration as engaging in pay-to-play politics.
"I think the record will show that there's a relationship between campaign contributions and contracts, but that's not a personal matter, that's a policy matter.
When asked if he alleged the mayor was personally corrupt in any way, Dowd responded, "To the extent that his administration engaged in unethical or inappropriate pay-to-play politics, then, yes, absolutely, as an administration."
In a written statement, Dowd said, "Both the mayor and my fellow challenger, Carmen Robinson, ran spirited campaigns that, despite our many disagreements, reflect our shared love of this city and its hardworking people. I offer my heartfelt congratulations to them both."
Dowd's statement also said that Ravenstahl's campaign outspent him "probably by (a) 10 to 1 margin but buoyed by the tireless work of hundreds of volunteers and the humbling generosity of almost 600 individual donors, we reached tens of thousands of voters across the city."
"I heard a lot from some of the other candidates about grass roots, and their efforts on the street, and their get-out-the-vote efforts and how many doors they knocked on. Well, guess what? We didn't talk about it. We did it. We got it done," Ravenstahl said in his victory speech.
Copyright 2009 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
