The mayoral election of 2001 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2001. The incumbent mayor, Tom Murphy of the Democratic Party was running for a record-tying third straight term.
Primary elections.
Tom Murphy had a very close and personal primary battle with City Council President and future mayor Bob O'Connor. Murphy won the primary by just a few hundred votes, and in later years this primary battle was the subject of a U.S. Department of Justice probe. It was alleged but never proven in court that Mayor Murphy had a quid pro quo agreement with the powerful Firefighters union in the city, promising to exempt them from citywide budget cuts in return for "bought" votes.