Pittsburgh mayor faces 2 opponents

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The son of an ex-convict and the son of a Super Bowl Hall of Famer are challenging Pittsburgh’s mayor in next month’s general election. And with all three men between the ages of 29 and 33, the race has the perfect ingredients for a robust, engaging political contest.

Or maybe not.

The race between incumbent Democrat Luke Ravenstahl, 29, and challengers Kevin Acklin, 33, and Franco “Dok” Harris, 30, both independents, has been marked by little visible campaigning and virtually no interest from the public. Even the relatively youthful age and appearance of the candidates in a city with one of the oldest populations in the country is doing little to generate excitement.

“We spent two days focusing on a boy that wasn’t even in a balloon and we don’t see anything about things that really hit people,” said Harris, referring to the 6-year-old Colorado boy involved in what police say was a hoax that recently captivated millions live on TV.

“The mindset is that this race doesn’t matter, your vote doesn’t matter, just sit at home, and that’s really scary,” said Harris, son of Steelers great Franco Harris who works for his father’s nutritious baked goods company.

For Pittsburgh, however, the stakes in the Nov. 3 election couldn’t be higher.

Pittsburgh has, so far, weathered the recession relatively well, but recent numbers show unemployment is rising and a city that never enjoyed the boom cannot afford to bust.