Author: committeegrrl

From Joe Sestak – “Meet Joe”

From Arlen Specter -  “No Show Joe”

The Sunlight Foundation is an organization and a campaign to use technology to bring more transparency to government. Last week the Sunlight Foundation kicked off their Public Equals Online campaign with a panel discussion at the Google Headquarters in Washington DC.

Panelists included:

• Jake Brewer, engagement director of the Sunlight Foundation
• Mark Tapscott, editorial page editor of the Washington Examiner
• Jose Antonio Vargas, Technology & Innovations Editor at the Huffington Post
• Ginny Hunt, Head of Google’s Public Sector Lab
• Ryan Hopkins, Public Square Project
• And a representative from the federal government

The Public Square Project is based in Pittsburgh.  From the website:

The Public Square Project seeks to empower citizens to make positive change in local government by building an online hub for information about government and public policy in the Pittsburgh region.

Be a Fan of the Public Square Project on Facebook here.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Let the Sunshine in (googleblog.blogspot.com)
• Jake Brewer: Bringing Local Government into the 21st Century (huffingtonpost.com)
• Sunlight Foundation wants more government docs online (computerworld.com)

Photo from The Pittsburgh Hoagie Sidebar

We were hoping that some of the usual Pittsburgh political bloggers would be following the Jeff Dzamko story. Dzamko is a good friend of Luke Ravenstahl who was just arrested on Friday for an outstanding bench warrant from 2008 on some bad checks. (more…)

Joe Hoeffel just released a new web ad (included below) on Health Care today.  Here is a look at the 4 candidates in the race for the Democratic nomination and the health care related information from their campaign websites

Chris Doherty – no mention of health care on his website

Joe Hoeffel – has a page of information about health care

Dan Onorato – 2 mentions of health care on his issues page

As Governor, Dan will create the new jobs we need, drive down the cost of health care and higher education, and bring real reform to government.

Health care costs are too high, a college education is moving out of reach for middle-class families and property taxes in many parts of the state are out of control. As County Executive, Dan has cut property taxes twice and changed the system to prevent unfair reassessments in the future. Allegheny County is one of only a handful of counties that has not raised property taxes in the past seven years.

Jack Wagner – no mention of health care on his website

14th WARD CLUB TO HOST GUBERNATORIAL FORUM

The 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club will host a Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates Forum on Sunday, January 31, 2010 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM in the Wightman School Community Building, 5604 Solway Street, in Squirrel Hill.

The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania and the Pitt College Democrats are co-sponsoring the event. KDKA-TV Political Editor Jon Delano will be the moderator.

All of the Democratic candidates for Pennsylvania governor have been invited to participate, and three candidates have confirmed their attendance: Chris Dougherty, Joe Hoeffel and Jack Wagner. Audience members will pose questions, and the candidates will have an equal opportunity to inform voters of their views. The panel discussion will begin at 1:30.

This event marks the first Pittsburgh-area forum for candidates vying for the Democratic Party’s nomination for governor. The primary election will be held on May 18.

With more than 18,000 registered Democrats, the 14th Ward is the largest ward in the City of Pittsburgh and second largest in the state. The ward includes all or part of Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze, North Point Breeze, Regent Square, Park Place, and Swisshelm Park.

The club, which is not affiliated with the Democratic Committee of Allegheny County, formed in the mid-1960s and is the oldest, continuously operating independent Democratic club in the country.

Joe Hoeffel Statewide Campaign Kick-off in Pittsburgh

Tuesday January 26th
Pittsburgh
8:30 am – 9:00 am
City-County Building Portico
414 Grant Street

Related blog posts…

• Hoeffel, Onorato battling for progressive vote (progresspittsburgh.net)
• Race for PA 2010 – POLL – Onorato for Governor (progresspittsburgh.net)

Well alot has happened in the past few days… from President Clinton to Shepard Fairey – bloggers and guest speakers visited Pittsburgh and discussed all sorts of things.

Here is some of the blog andmedia coverage of the Netroots Nation:

• Pittsburgh Business Times
• 2 Political Junkies – Quoted by the AP, Photos from Day 1
• Pg Early Returns
• City Paper – Specter and Sestak
• Pittsblog - What Pittsburgh can learn from Netroots, What Netroots Nation can learn from Pittsburgh

(more…)

Last week over 100 protestors entered city hall to talk to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.  Mayor Ravenstahl was no in the building but someone from his office chained the doors shut.  See photos and additional coverage on 2 Political Junkies.

[Poll=18]

Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondent has the press release from last weeked protest and the PGH Comet has a posts about the protestors that were arrested last week.

• The protests took place outside the Delmonte headquarters
• The Delmonte HQ is managed by  Continental Real Estate
• Continental pays their building service workers poverty wages with no health benefits.
• The statdium authority has sold some of the land around the stadiums to  Continental Real Estate to develop
• Northside United wants to make sure that with the new development better jobs with fair labor and benefits are part of the package

Here are the details on the rally that is being organized for Thursday, July 23, 2009

North Shore Development Rally, July 23

The fight continues to ensure that Continental Realty, the developer of a hotel and amphitheater on the North Shore, agrees to a

Community Benefits Agreement that will benefit impacted Northside communities.

Join us for a rally …

5:30 p.m., Thursday, July 23
Calvary United Methodist Church
971 Beech Avenue  Pittsburgh 15233
(Beech and Allegheny Avenues)

Sierra Club and others are joining Northside communities in seeking:

Silver LEED certification for the hotel and amphitheater

Diesel emission controls on all construction vehicles

Parks and open spaces.

For more information, contact Tom Hoffman at tghoffman2@gmail.com or visit:

www.alleghenysc.org

www.pittsburghunited.org

With the Race for PGH 2009 moving very slowly this summer (Is there even a race or does Ravenstahl have it all locked up?).  Looks like some things are happeing in the next years Race for PA.

Don Cunningham, who is currently the Lehigh County Executive, has dropped out of the race for governor.

From the Post-Gaezette – Dan Onorato ($4 millinion +) has a lot more money than Jack Wagner ($325,000) in his PAC.

Here is the latest email from Dan Onorato‘s campaign manager Kevin Kinross…

Dear Friends,

As Dan Onorato continues to prepare Southwest Pennsylvania to host this fall’s G-20 economic summit and lay the groundwork to run for Governor, I wanted to give you a quick update from the campaign trail:

Building Strength in Southeast Pennsylvania

Today, we picked up a major boost in the Philadelphia suburbs when Senators Andy Dinniman (D-Chester) and Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery) said that Dan Onorato should be Pennsylvania’s next Governor.

Sen. Dinniman said that: “In this recession, it is absolutely critical that our next Governor understands how to create the 21st Century jobs that will make us leaders in the new economy.  That’s why I’m backing Dan Onorato.”

And Sen. Leach said that: “Even if it means challenging members of his own political party, when Dan sees corruption or government inefficiency, he will get in peoples’ faces and demand change.  That’s exactly what we need in Harrisburg.”

Both Senators also said that Dan would be the strongest Democrat to take on the Republican nominee.  Read more about these key endorsements

Taking a Strong Stand Against Discrimination

Last week in Allegheny County, Dan signed the region’s strongest anti-discrimination ban into law – sending a clear message that discrimination against anybody is wrong, always.

The new law bans discrimination on the basis of gender, race, mental or physical disability, religion, ethnicity, national origin, age, educational status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

All of our citizens need to know that they are fully protected when it comes to employment, housing and public accommodations. This law doesn’t infringe on anyone’s religious rights, but it does make sure that everyone feels welcome to work here, raise a family here and be part of our community.

Expanding Our Fundraising Lead

Thanks to your help, when it comes to raising the resources needed to win statewide, Dan continues to outpace his potential opponents. In fact, Dan has raised more than all of his potential Democratic and Republican opponents – combined.

Check out this recent article: “Onorato far outpacing Wagner in the money game.”

But we know this race will soon be targeted by the national Republicans, so your help now is critical. Please help us expand our grassroots base and make a contribution today – every little bit helps.

Thank you for your continued support.

Kevin Kinross
Campaign Manager
Friends of Dan Onorato

Just an FYI that we have updated The Big Endorsement Chart with the endorsements from the Sierra Club and the 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club.  We will also be adding interviews with the candidates to the Interviews column.  If you are a local blogger who has interviewed a candidate please leave a comment here with a link to the interview.  Click here to see the entire table of endorsements.

We have been working on a big chart of the candidates and their endorsements.  This is still a work in progress.  If you know of another organization that endorses candidates please let us know by leaving a comment below.  If you are a blogger that has interviewed candidates – please leave the link below. Click on the image below to go to the endorsement chart page.

Although it is not stated anywhere for the public to see, the purpose of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee is to endorse Democratic candidates for political office and follow up those endorsements with support. ACDC has long required its members to support the endorsed candidate and, on occasion, has forcibly removed people from office who have chosen to support an alternative option.

This system has been pretty powerful in ensuring that the same kinds of candidates are elected to local office over and over again, thus stamping out the voice of any alternative opinions within the local party. However, the system is getting weaker each year as more unendorsed candidates are elected to office and as party loyalists break the rules for their own agendas. (more…)

An interesting email from the Ravenstahl Campaing today (entire email is posted below):

BOB CASEY AND LUKE

Mark your calendars!  Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is hosting a Happy 49th Birthday Party for Senator Bob Casey from 5:30 – 7:30 on April 15th at Finnigan’s Wake at 20 East General Robinson Street on Pittsburgh’s North Side.  The suggested donation is, what else, $49 made payable to “Bob Casey for Senate.”  To RSVP, please respond to this email.

Why is Luke Raventstahl hosting a fundraiser for Bob Casey?  Is Bob Casey endorsing Luke Ravenstahl? What does Casey have to gain from getting involved in the mayors race?

YouTube Fun

Finally, we found an illustrative video posted on the internet yesterday that’s been posted around blogs and social networking sites today. You may have seen the news earlier this week when a perennial political candidate launched his latest desperate attack against Mayor Ravenstahl.  Well, his own words have finally caught up with him.  Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1Zb5w8EO_k&feature=channel_page

The email links to this youtube video, which is a montage of Patrick Dowd speaking about the water authority bond deal.  

It is interesting that the video was posted yesterday by YouTube user PghRebel who has been a youtube user since 2006 this is the first video they have posted to YouTube.  We did a pretty through search of the social networking sites and the only place we found that links to this video was the Pittsburgh Hoagie.   further search of the internet – leads to this post from 2007 – in the comments there is a link to MySpace.com/pghrebel – which is MattH’s MySpace page.

Also there is a user on BarSmart with the name PghRebel10 that looks like MattH. Click here to see the profile for PghRebel10.

(more…)

Here is the press release that was sent out from the Dowd Campaign today.

Dowd Slams Ravenstahl’s Half-hearted Campaign Finance Legislation:  ‘Luke’s Half a Million Dollar Veto Says it All; Outlines reform agenda.

March 25, 2009 – In response to yesterday’s post agenda on Mayor Luke Ravenstahl‘s campaign finance bill, Democratic Mayoral candidate Patrick Dowd called the Ravenstahl bill “a hollow gesture that falls short of real reform.”

Last year, Ravenstahl vetoed a bill supported by a majority of council that imposed federal contribution limits, $2,300 per person per cycle, on municipal elections.  Since his June veto, Ravenstahl has raised approximately $500,000 according to public filings.

“Luke’s attention to reform is a year late and $500,000 short,” Dowd said.  ”When the council passed sweeping reform in June, he blocked it, only so city contractors could keep funneling cash into his campaign.”

Ravenstahl’s current proposal is a watered down version of the legislation he vetoed last year. It allows for double the limit for individual contributions, and fails to provide for transparency in electronic reporting.

More importantly, Ravenstahl’s legislation places no restrictions on the awarding of no-bid contracts to contributors. In light of recent press coverage, this means the legislation fails to address the rampant pay-to-play politics currently going on in Pittsburgh.

In response to what he termed a “complete failure of leadership” on campaign finance and eliminating the appearance of impropriety in contracting, Dowd outlined his campaign finance reform agenda:

In a Dowd Administration

1)    I will introduce comprehensive, common sense campaign finance legislation that is tied to federal contribution limits within the first 100 days;

2)    I will end the practice of awarding no-bid contracts to campaign contributors;

3)    I will ensure that every contract over $25,000 will be competitively bid;

4)    As an incumbent Mayor, I will not solicit campaign contributions from any firm that does business with the City of Pittsburgh or its Authorities;

5)    I will make all finance reports electronically available to the public on the state and county filing dates;

6)    I will ensure the creation of and integrate searchable electronic databases of all city contracts and all campaign contributions of all city elected officials;

7)    I will publish my public schedule on the city’s website so that any Pittsburgher can see who I am meeting with.

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