Progress Pittsburgh

If you have been folowing some of the reactions to the snow in Pittsburgh – Luke Ravenstahl’s name is mentioned in response to the snow clean up.  But today there is another question being asked about the mayor – Where’s Luke?

It seems to have started with JanePitt around 11:30 this morning…

JanePitt

(Virginia Montanez)

Has anyone seen Luke Ravenstahl in the city today? Anyone? Anyone? Zober? On 10:36 AM Feb 16th 2010 from web

At 12:30 @andybotpgh posted a link to this Post-Gazette article

andybotpgh

(Andy Mulkerin)

"Mayoral spokeswoman Joanna Doven said she did not know the Mr. Ravenstahl's whereabouts today." http://bit.ly/92TWIk On 11:35 AM Feb 16th 2010 from web

City Council Member Bill Peduto noted that Luke has not been seen at the City County building today

billpeduto

(bill peduto)

Despite rumors, no confirmation that Mayor left town. His city car has not been here yesterday or today - cancelled mtg with Pres. Harris On 12:03 PM Feb 16th 2010 from web

At 1:30 JanePitt tweets Luke was not at Murtha’s Funeral – create the hashtag #whereisluke

JanePitt

(Virginia Montanez)

Places Lukey was NOT today: His office, the funeral of Rep. John Murtha, council offices. #whereisLuke On 12:17 PM Feb 16th 2010 from web

Bram (aka the Pittsburgh Comet) notes that the mayor’s newest hire is in New Orleans

Bram_R

(Bram Reichbaum)

Via Facebook: Luke's campaign manager / brand new Government Affairs Manager Paul McKrell departed for New Orleans yesterday. On 12:48 PM Feb 16th 2010 from web

Here are the latest tweets with the #whereisluke

And its no surprise that PA still needs some major ethics reform.  Yesterday’s Post-Gazette had a story about a Pittsburgh based lobbyist, Leslie Merrill McCombs,  being fined by the State Ethics Commission for lobbying Ed Rendell for Lionsgate Films.  (Film rep fined over lobbying of Rendell, Post-Gazette 9/9/09).  That name sounded familiar – McCombs is also the Lady who hosts those strange UPMC minute commercials that we have to watch, and she used to be a court reporter for the TV show Judge Mathis.  Her bio from the UPMC website:

Leslie Merrill McCombs is the senior consultant for Government Relations at UPMC. In her role, she provides strategic direction and positioning counsel in all aspects of government and public relations, as well as media. She’s also the host of UPMC Minute, and hosts the regional tourism show, Discover Pittsburgh 250, sponsored by UPMC Health Plan. She brings more than 18 years of television and news experience to her role. Before coming to UPMC, Leslie was the court reporter on Telepictures’ nationally syndicated court show, Judge Mathis, and was a news anchor in several television markets, including Pittsburgh’s FOX 53 News.

Also interesting – in 2007 – both McCombs and Rendell tried to diffuse this issue.  McCombs said it was a “technical non-compliance.”  See the 2007 WTAE story and Bob Mayo’s Blog post.

According to this blog post from 2008 – Mike Veon was also working for Lionsgate.

How did Hollywood qualify for the break? Lobbyists Leslie Merrill McCombs, a former Fox TV reporter in Pittsburgh, and Mike Veon, a once-powerful Democratic state representative from Beaver County, lobbied for it on behalf of Lionsgate, a leading independent film and TV production company based in Santa Monica, Calif.

Posted via web from progress pittsburgh’s posterous

This just in from the Harris Campaign…

Harris Mayoral Campaign Raises over $105,000 - Says fundraising total shows vast support for campaign

Mayoral candidate Franco “Dok” Harris today announced that he has raised over $105,000 from over 200 individuals to date. Harris is the only candidate who is employing campaign contribution limits, which are modeled after the Federal rules.

“I am greatly honored by the outpouring of support we are receiving,” Harris said. “With the strong financial backing – in spite of self-imposed contribution limits – and the vast number of people supporting our cause, we are building the momentum necessary for victory this November. ”

Harris said that the broad base of support is a sign that Pittsburghers want to depart from the politics of the past and are ready to forge ahead with new leadership.

“Pittsburghers want a mayor who represents them, not big campaign contributors,” Harris said. “They want a leader who will fight to reduce violent crime, and create a city which embraces small business. As your mayor, I will be committed to transparency and good government – our City deserves better than business as usual.”

The break is over – you have had 2 weeks to rest since the May primary election and it looks like the candidates are starting their engines for the race to the November elections.  Kevin Acklin is holding a campaign kickoff evene t tomorrow at the Pittsburgh center for the arts.  So we thought it was time to kick off the 2nd leg of the Race for Pgh with a new poll.  Both Kevin Acklin and Dok Harris are challenging Luke Ravenstahl in the November 2009 election.

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Democratic Mayoral Candidate and City Council Member Patrick Dowd Puts a Price Tag on Ravenstahl Administration’s Wasteful Government Spending

Following up on last week’s “Wake Up Call” to voters, Democratic Mayoral candidate Patrick Dowd will put a preliminary price tag on the administration’s waste and mismanagement.   ”This is only the tip of the iceberg,” Dowd said.  ”The taxpayers aren’t getting a return on their investment in this city.  The current administration’s wasteful spending serves politicians and their cronies and not Pittsburghers.” 

WHAT: DOWD PUTS A PRELIMINARY PRICE TAG ON WASTEFUL SPENDING, MERCHANT WALK FOLLOWED BY 11:15 AM PRESS CONFERENCE AT 11th and E. CARSON

WHERE: CORNER OF 11th and E. CARSON

WHEN: MONDAY MARCH 30, 11:15 a.m.

Looks like Chris Potter was on to something last week when he wrote about Dok Harris.  The website HarrisForPittsburgh.com is now live with quite a bit of content.

From an email sent this morning….

Harris for Pittsburgh

Franco “Dok” Harris Running for Mayor of Pittsburgh

March 09, 2009 10:00am

Franco “Dok” Harris, 29, has announced his candidacy for Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh. A native Pittsburgher and graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business, Mr. Harris has set forth a bold platform to address the many challenges facing the city and is committed to revitalizing our local economy.

I am running to be the next Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh because our city faces complex and difficult issues and requires wise stewardship to address them successfully.

The Pittsburgh of today faces an upcoming budget crunch and a profound pension crisis which must be met and addressed proactively before they cripple our hometown and further burden our already weakened infrastructure. We are now witnessing the local effects of a national economic downturn. We see neighborhoods ravaged by structural unemployment and crime. We watch as young graduates leave Pittsburgh to pursue careers in other cities. The Pittsburgh of today requires strong leadership to help it grow into a city that honors both the dreams of our children as well as the sacrifices of those who have gone before us.

As your mayor, the Pittsburgh of tomorrow will be an economic powerhouse; a green city that is a friend to businesses both small and large. Our city will work for our workers by ensuring fair wages and fair treatment. The Pittsburgh of tomorrow will be the intersection of labor and technology, where both startups and large corporations will benefit from the hard working blue collar spirit of our community and the intellectual trust of our universities. As your mayor I commit to building Pittsburgh into that city upon a hill – or in this case, three rivers – as an example of the role that good government has in our common successful future. I ask you to join me on this journey. Together, we will Forge Ahead. More »

Yesterday Bram at the Pittsburgh Comet wrote a post about Twitter – so we decieded to see what else people were saying about local politics on twitter.  A quick search and we learned about LukeForMayor.com.

Check out this tweet, from a guy in North Carolina -  looks like Luke Ravenstahl has a new campaign website http://lukeformayor.com.    The website is being desinged by New Media Campaigns which is based in North Carolina.  The guy who posted the tweet is origonally from Cleveland, it doesn’t look like this firm has any Pittbsurgh connections.

It also looks like the new campaign slogan, in black and gold, is Getting It Done.

Related blog posts

• The Pittsburgh Twitter Community on Luke Ravenstahl and the Steelers Parade (progresspittsburgh.net)
• Bill Clinton to Participate in Luke Ravenstahl Fundraiser (progresspittsburgh.net)
• Pittsburgh Mayor Asks to Remove Ravens From His Name (nytimes.com)
• Dowd to Run for Mayor – There will be a Race for PGH 2009 (progresspittsburgh.net)

The Steel-City Stonewall Democrats are the first group to announce their endorsement slate for the May 2009 Primary elections.

h/t Post-Gazette and Chris Schultz

STRONGLY ENDORSED CANDIDATES

• Pennsylvania Supreme Court
  • Teresa Sarmina – http://www.sarmina09.com/
• Pennsylvania Superior Court
  • Ann Lazarus – http://www.lazarusforsuperiorcourt.org/
  • Kevin McCarthy
• Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court
  • Barbara Behrend Ernsberger
• Allegheny Court of Common Pleas
  • Hugh Fitzpatrick McGough – http://www.mcgough4judge.com/, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hugh-McGough/43836122521
• Allegheny County Sheriff
  • Bill Mullen
• Allegheny County Council
  • District 1 – Thomas R. Michalow
  • District 13 – Amanda Green – http://www.greenforthirteen.com/
• Pittsburgh City Council
  • District 4 – Natalia Rudiak – http://nataliarudiak.com/
  • District 8 – Bill Peduto

RECOMMENDED CANDIDATES

• Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court
  • Linda S. Judson
• Allegheny Court of Common Pleas
  • Joe Williams
• Allegheny County Council
  • District 3 – Jim Burn
• Mayor of Pittsburgh
  • Patrick Dowd
• Pittsburgh City Council
  • District 2 – Georgia Blotzer

HONORABLE MENTION

• Pennsylvania Superior Court
  • Robert Colville
• Allegheny Court of Common Pleas
  • Susan Evanshavik DiLucente
  • Arnie Klein
  • Don Walko
• Pittsburgh City Council
  • Tonya Payne.

Completed questionnaires from all of the above candidates are posted in the news sections of www.steel-city.org

Related articles by Zemanta

• YDAC Endorsements and Petition Party (progresspittsburgh.net)
• By The Facebook Numbers (progresspittsburgh.net)
• A Discussion Panel with All Members of City Council (progresspittsburgh.net)

The press release from Luke Ravenstahl’s office that was posted here yesterday caught my eye.  I have been following the idea of LED street lights since I first read about New York City switching to LED street lights in the November 2008 issue of Wired Magazine.

Given the discussion this week around Luke’s decision to spend $250k on trash cans – any talk of spending from the mayor’s office seems to stick out more than usual.

But wait – there is more…

A couple of blog posts point out that Luke’s took too much credit for Bob O’connors Market Square ideas. the post What about Bob, from the PG’s Early Returns links to both Matt H and Chris Schultz’s posts on who really championed Market Square.

Do Luke and Yarone really not read the blogs?  They are at it again with the LED lights.  Why is there no mention of Peduto in this press release?  After reading this post on the PG – it is really starting to look like Team Luke is getting defensive.

On December 15, 2008 the Post-Gazette ran this article – Peduto proposes LED street lights

The city should convert its 40,000 old-fashioned street-light bulbs to green-friendly LED lights, Councilman William Peduto announced today. The conversion would cost $24 million, but yearly cost savings of $2.7 million could be used to pay for the upgrade, as well as a state-funded energy program.

LED lights use less power than old bulbs and last years longer, which would account for the annual savings, according to Mr. Peduto’s office. He is urging the city to apply for funding through the state’s Guaranteed Energy Savings Agreement and issue a Request for Proposals from interested lighting companies to perform a six-month test run of the bulbs. The lights have already been tested along Walnut Street in Shadyside, which Mr. Peduto represents.

From Agent Ska

I received the following email from the Duquesne Democrats. 

“…The second opportunity available is something *name* pointed out to me earlier this week and that is a few unpaid internships within the mayors office: “The campaign is looking for several hard-working, and self-motivated unpaid interns for this semester.

Though unpaid, they are willing to do it for credit, and according to *name*, “a kickass letter of reccomendation from the Mayor.”

Now, am I the only one who sees some technical errors? Such as HELP WITH THE CAMPAIGN  and INTERN in the MAYOR’S OFFICE? 

This looks like it could be a very interesting event:

Join us on January 29th to exchange ideas one-on-one with members of Pittsburgh City Council. All Members of City Council are confirmed.

Where: The Rivers Club, Downtown

Time: 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM

Cost: $20 (Includes lunch)

Seating is LIMITED, early RSVP to danielle@lpinc.org by January 22^nd.

An article in yesterday’s Tribune-Review states that Raventahl expects a challenge from City Council President Doug Shields in the 2009 mayor’s race. When Shields denied the claim, Ravenstahl seems to use that denial as a way to discredit the councilman. Additionally, another potential motivation for the mayor’s announcement is the hope of a crowded field. Ravenstahl knows that more than one opponent will likely assure his victory.

Tim Murphy is the current representative for Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District. There are quite a few others getting into the race. Here are the candidates we found and their websites. Who do you think is a good candidate for this seat?

• Tim Murphy, Rep. – ElectTimMurphy.com
• Beth Hafer, Dem. – HaferforCongress.com
• Steve O’Donnell, Dem.
• Erin Vecchio, Dem.
• Brien Wall, Dem – BrienWallforCongress.com
• Dan Wholey, Dem. – wholeyforcongress.net

New Campaign Manager
Word on the street is that Ravenstahl has hired a new campaign manager.  Anyone know who it is?

Can Luke Dance?
Check out the article in today’s Tribune Review -  “Mark, play nice with Luke in the race.” Eric Hyle summaries Luke’s first year in office:

Where might this all lead?

Ravenstahl probably won’t guide the city back to prosperity, but he is well-positioned to be a possible contestant during an upcoming season of “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Is Luke learning from George Bush? – Luke gets crafty with his language about the resignations and hiring of new directors. Pittsbugrh Metroblog has a summary:

Luke…”isn’t worried” about having fired the directors of all city departments without having found replacements. You see, he didn’t quite fire them:

Ravenstahl said he hasn’t “formally accepted” the directors’ resignation letters, but he has kept them in his desk. He said he expects to accept some of the letters after his staff completes a national search for potential replacements.

The mayor’s comments conflict with a June 14 news release about the shakeup, which said the 11 directors had been “asked to serve the city in an acting capacity” while their job performances are evaluated.

Pittsburgh’s Home Rule Charter requires the mayor to obtain City Council’s approval for new directors or acting directors who serve longer than 90 days. The rule is one of the legislative checks City Council has on the mayor’s office; however, the charter doesn’t define a penalty for missing the 90-day deadline.