Progress Pittsburgh

Over at Slag Heap, Chris Potter wrote a piece about Tonya Payne’s quixotic write-in campaign and the resulting challenge to her status as chair of the City Democratic Committee.  (Readers may recall that voters in city council district 6 chose to replace her with P2PAC-endorsed candidate Daniel Lavelle.)

In the Spring, Tonya Payne (illegally) used a fake political committee, “Sensible Constituents of District 6,” to distribute some negative materials.  This Fall, she was at it again.  See below for a flyer that she passed out (again, illegally using another fake political committee — “Neighbors Against Dirty Politics”).

She also had the flyers below–which accuse City Councilmember Bill Peduto of racism–distributed in his district.

The Neighbors Against Dirty Politics also sent around the following email:

From: neighbors against dirty politics 2
Date: Sun, Nov 1, 2009 at 11:01 PM
Subject: IS TRUMP FINANCING LAVELLE?

IS TRUMP FINANCING LAVELLE?

Is Trump financing Robert Daniel Lavelle’s campaign in District 6? No, not really,  but I am confused where Lavelle received his money to add “extra” bonuses to his campaign workers.  I know if I truly believe in a candidate I do not have to be paid!  Why would he have to pay 130 workers $100.00 each?  Why would he have to pay workers breakfast, lunch, and dinner?  Who paid for his Rent A Cars? Who paid for his color brochures?  Who paid for his postage?  Who paid for his color postcards? Who paid for his t-shirts? Who paid for his parties? Why did he not put these expenses on his campaign report? Why did he drop his first name and change his campaign name now to Daniel instead of Robert.  Wasn’t his father, Robert,  fired from The Dwelling House Bank and under FBI investigation?

The Post Gazette’s article stated

the following about the bank;

“it suffered a severe blow to its stability late last year when federal auditors discovered that about $3 million had been drained out of its capital account and the bank..  Pittsburgh police and FBI agents are investigating the case.”

“Former Dwelling House president and CEO Robert M. Lavelle, who was fired in November by order of the OTS, also was fined $5,000 last week for his role in the gross negligence that ultimately brought down the bank.”

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09227/991047-28.stm

Where is this money? Robert “Daniel” now flip flops his name so people will not put two and two together. Call him Daniel now, not Robert .Does he think we are stupid?  Is this where the money comes from for his campaign?   The apple does not fall far from the tree.  I would “write in” TonyaPayne, her workers do not have to be paid to campaign for her!

She does not change her name to hide. Our group Neighbors Against Dirty Politics are starting an official “write in” campaign for Tonya Payne!  When you go to the polls just go to the “write in”section and write her name in the spot.

ON NOVEMBER 3, 2009

ELECTION DAY

“Write In”
Tonya Payne
Don’t Write Her Off!

District 6 City Councilwoman

“Let justice remain in your district!”

“Keep her REAL name in your decisions.”

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
NEIGHBORS AGAINST DIRTY POLITICS

Finally, if you still have any question about who the “Neighbors Against Dirty Politics” actually are, there’s a facebook group called “URGENT!! WRITE IN Tonya Payne for City Council District 6″.  The administrator and creator of the page?  Tonya Payne.

Of course, this election is history.  So why does it matter?  Two reasons:

1. To date, Jim Burn, chair of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, is turning a blind eye to the City Chair staging a campaign against the duly nominated Democratic nominee for office.
2. It’s really not clear what Tonya Payne was hoping to gain from these hijinks, but she is rumored to be preparing for a run against Jake Wheatley for State Representative next year.  Even her most staunch supporters must be turned off by her embarrassing behavior.

I had a request to produce a map that’s similar to the last post, but to look at how Ravenstahl’s vote % changed from the primary election to the general election.

This first map (a reproduction from the last post) shows how Ravenstahl performed in this election versus how he performed in the 2007 general election.  In this map, basically,

• The bluer the district, the worse Ravenstahl did against Harris & Acklin than against DeSantis
• The redder the district, the better Ravenstahl did against Harris & Acklin than against DeSantis

• The bluer the district, the worse Ravenstahl did against Harris & Acklin than against Dowd & Robinson
• The redder the district, the better Ravenstahl did against Harris & Acklin than against Dowd & Robinson

There’s been a little back and forth over whether the mayoral results show that Ravenstahl has weakened.  The argument that Luke 55% showing was something to be embarrassed by was made in the MSM by Jon Delano and Rich Lord.  Ravenstahl supporters point to Luke winning every city ward, as evidence of broad-based support.

Potter says that it doesn’t matter how much Luke won by, because it won’t force him to govern any differently.  I agree with Potter, in that I doubt that Luke will take heed for his rapid deterioration in support.  The administration will likely govern with just as much bravado as they always have.

I disagree that the results are completely irrelevant, however, because Luke has relied on his strong electoral support (in the past) to lend his capitol to other candidates.  We have already seen in this year’s primary that Ravenstahl has no coattails.  These results may be good news for Bruce Kraus and Patrick Dowd, who are both likely to see well-funded challengers whose best argument for election will be their close relationship with the mayor.  This may also give some political cover to Theresa Smith and Darlene Harris to act with more independence.

What is remarkable is the near-uniformity across the city where Luke’s support has decreased.  In the map below, I’ve shown the change in Luke’s win % from 2007 to 2009.  The more intense the blue, the greater the decrease; the more intense the red, the greater the increase.

With three days to go, these are the reports that we have been hearing from the mayoral campaigns:

Dok Harris:

• Robocall from Franco
• Rally in Homewood
• Trick-or-treating in Squirrel Hill

I just saw a tweet from Kevin Acklin that I found so hard to believe that I immediately went to the Post-Gazette to verify.  It’s not about corruption in the mayor’s office.*

More »

1. “After three years as mayor, he has yet to articulate a vision for the future.”
2. “He does not have a reputation for working with the state legislative delegation.”
3. “He needs to put some distance between himself and the party machine, to generate independent thinking for Pittsburgh’s growth and progress.”
4. “ethical lapses after taking office upon the death of Bob O’Connor”
5. “his service as mayor remains a work in progress”
6. “It is incumbent on the mayor to assemble more top talent on the city’s behalf”

An investigation by KDKA turned up information suggesting that Dok Harris may be ineligible to be mayor.  The home rule charter lays out the requirements for taking office as mayor:

The mayor shall have been a resident of the City for at least three years immediately preceding election

Harris held a press conference today, where he admitted (1) he only registered to vote in Pittsburgh this year, (2) he has never voted in the City of Pittsburgh, and (3) he had an apartment in the City of Pittsburgh, while voting in Sewickley.

More »

via enginehouse25.com

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 – 6-8pm
Engine House No 25 in Lawrenceville

includes food and homemade wine, and lets you explore Pittsburgh’s one-of-a-kind Roberto Clemente Museum.

RSVP online – http://www.acklinforpittsburgh.com/events

Posted via web from progress pittsburgh’s posterous

This Saturday’s Jam on Walnut is turning into a showdown of Pittsburgh politics.  On one side of Walnut St.  Mayor Luke Ravenstahl will be hosting a pre-Jam on Walnut Event at Shady Grove.  On the other side of Walnut Street Mayoral Candidate Dok Harris will be hosting an event at the William Penn Tavern.

The Details

Pre-Jam on Walnut Party with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl – Facebook Invite Here (at posting time 150 Yes RSVP  including – Ravenstahl campaign manager Paul McKrell, Jim Ferlo staffer Mikhail Pappas, Yarone Zober, Jeff Dzamko,  and The Pittsburgh Hoagie – Matt Hogue)

6-8pm, Shady Grove

Come to Shady Grove on August 22nd from 6 pm – 8 pm for a PreJam party for young professionals and meet Mayor Ravenstahl!

There will be FREE beer and Drink Specials from 6 – 8.

Cornhole boards will be set-up so bring a friend and challenge Mayor Ravenstahl to a game!

Update: We got karaoke!

Pre-Jam on Walnut Party tomorrow night! – Facebook Invite Here (at posting time – 1 yes RSVP – it looks like this has just been added to Facebook)

6-8pm William Penn Tavern

$1 Miller Lights with Franco Harris! Come down to the William Penn Tavern before the Jam on Walnut to show your support for Franco Dok Harris and his vision of the City of Yes!

Which side of Walnut street will you be on tomorrow night.

I was wondering if any of the coverage of Dok Harris’s campaign kick off would pick up on this last week. (Post-Gazette coverage – Franco Dok Harris kicks off mayoral bid, July 28, 2009.)  But this post on Schloss in the burgh – Please explain this to me – reminded me that no one has mentioned the significance of Vento’s Pizza yet.  It has been so long that I almost forgot about it – and there isn’t much out there on the web – the Vento’t story occurred before every news item was posted to the web. But thanks to the website Castle Coalition (whose tag line is Citizens Fighting Eminent Domain Abuse)- we found this article from their 2003 report.

Home Depot Decides to Include Local Pittsburgh Pizzeria in its Plans Rather than Try to Have it Condemned

In 1998, Home Depot announced plans to build an $8 million, 131,000 square foot store and garden center on the former site of an old Sears store in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh. However, a number of local small businesses would have to be displaced in order to accommodate the Home Depot and adjacent parking lot. These businesses included a bar, a dry cleaner, a nail salon, and Vento’s Pizza, a popular pizzeria that had been in the area for over 50 years.1 The Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Agency (PURA) hoped to avoid using eminent domain for the project, and promised to find suitable, nearby locations for the displaced businesses. The relocation effort was a success, except in the case of Vento’s Pizza. Vento’s objected to PURA’s plan to relocate the pizzeria from its prominent location on Highland Avenue to a less traveled side street. A bitter local controversy followed, pitting proponents of the redevelopment against a fiercely loyal pizza constituency.

This little pizza shop has a big political history – here are some of the other articles from the Post-Gazette that reference Vento’s pizza. I think that the issue between Home Depot and Vento’s even made the cover of the Wall Street Journal but I have not been able to find the article online.  This pizza shop has been a significant stage for politics of development in Pittsburgh.

Local leaders say mayor’s energy will help him, July 10, 2006

Every Saturday morning after buying a Starbucks coffee in his Squirrel Hill neighborhood, Mr. O’Connor drives to East Liberty to shoot the breeze at Vento’s Pizza on Highland Avenue and run his car through a car wash. He often leads walking tours in the area.

Chief executive candidate Onorato not known for backing off quietly, October 19, 2003

One of his best-known blowups came at the end of his tenure in a council debate over city aid to Vento’s Pizza near the old Sears in East Liberty, which had to be moved to make way for a new Home Depot.

Gene Ricciardi mentioned speaking to owner Al Vento about the matter in Italian, and Sala Udin, smarting from council’s recent approval of a development plan in the Hill District that he didn’t like, said city residents “shouldn’t have to speak Italian” to get aid.

Letters to the Editor, No Thanks to Murphy, April 11, 2001

I take exception to Steve Leeper’s comments regarding my business (”Ad Watch: O’Connor’s TV Ads Are First to Air,” April 6). Mr. Leeper claims Mayor Tom Murphy saved my business and without the new Home Depot in East Liberty, I would have been “done.” Nothing could be further from the truth. While I appreciate Home Depot’s willingness to accommodate me after City Council President Bob O’Connor brought us together, my business was thriving before it came along.

Ad Watch: O’Connor’s TV ads are first to air, April 6, 2001

O’Connor is rotating two ads, one that offers a list of promises on issues. The second emphasizes O’Connor’s theme of neighborhood commitment by portraying the challenger as savior of Vento’s Pizza, an East Liberty landmark dislocated by development of a Home Depot store on Highland Avenue.

We have been trying to keep tabs on the Race for PGH 2009 here and noticed that there are some interesting posts from not the usual political bloggers about the upcoming mayoral race.  Here are a few of the new blogs who are stepping into the Pittsburgh political blogosphere…

• Politics and Place - A Rare Foray into the Political: If He Loses, This is How He’d Lose
  • Let me be perfectly honest. I don’t think Luke will lose. But, I think he couldlose. And if he does, this is how he would lose:
• What Would Vannevar Blog – G-20 in Pittsburgh: Luke’s Real-World Moment
  • If I may, the conditions described set the stage but don’t ring the bell; they’renecessary but insufficient. For Luke to not be elected, there needs to be an event, either (1) a significant, understandable scandal (a bag of cash rather than complex financial derivatives), or (2) an obvious failure of leadership attributed to the Mayor’s office.Holy Cow, Batman! What’s that? The G-20 in Pittsburgh on September 24 and 25th? Zowie!
• Pittsburgh Polemics – The Mayor’s Race: Strange Football Connections
  • Luke Ravenstahl, the incumbent mayor, rode along with the Pittsburgh Steelers during their Super Bowl Victory parade last February. Camcorder in hand, looking somewhat dwarfed beneath the Steeler’s Quarterback, “Big Ben” Roethlisberger.

Know of any other blogs who are writing about Pittsburgh politics – please share the link below in the comments

Today, City Council held a post-agenda to give residents the opportunity to speak about the issue of Community Benefit Agreements in the City and other recent events.

The Acklin campaign posted a video of Kevin Acklin’s remarks:

Kevin Acklin: CBA Remarks Before City Council from Acklin for Pittsburgh on Vimeo.

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.”