The 2009 mayoral election in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was held on November 3, 2009, and resulted in incumbent Democratic mayor Stephen R. Reed, who had been mayor since 1982, losing in the primary to Linda D. Thompson who went on to defeat Republican Nevin J. Mindlin to become the city's first female and first black mayor.[1][2]
Reed, dubbed "Mayor-for-Life," served seven terms as mayor of Harrisburg and was considered "Pennsylvania's most popular and successful mayor";[3][4] however, he faced mounting corruption and fraud accusations near the end of his term.[4]
The combination of growing discontent and mounting legal issues related to Reed's performance, an overall nationwide growth in Black voters, and Harrisburg's significant disparity between Republican and Democratic voters, enabled city councilor Linda Thompson to upset Reed during the primary.[4][2]
Although many local pundits believed that the Republicans had no chance to win this election, the race tightened as Thompson increased her campaign attacks on Reed and blamed her fellow Democrats for the city's financial difficulties.[5] Thompson's popularity gradually declined, leading to a lackluster election with only a 24.7% voter turnout in which a significant number of Democrats voted for her Republican challenger. In the end, Thompson won by just 842 votes.[6]
Government