Progress Pittsburgh

Image via Wikipedia Chris Briem wonders if the Pat Ford settlement will mean the end of the Burghosphere – “I mean, will there be enough fodder for people to write about going forward. It’s debatable.”  But Doug Sheilds has already called for an investigation and thus the saga of what can only be labeled Pat-Fordgate continues.  Here is what the bloggers are saying…

• Dear Pat Ford and Alicia Sirk @ The Burgh Blog
  
  • “So let me shout it out right now.  You are a disgrace to this city and the people.  You are a disgrace to honesty.  You are a disgrace to what it means to be a public servant.  You are both egotistical, unethical, narcissistic thieves and when the karma boomerang hits you upside the head, I hope it circles around again to give it to you twice.”
• Adventures in Urban Redevelopment Land @ The Angry Drunk Bureaucrat
  • To answer questions elsewhere, my guess is that the URA would have had to hire specialized outside counsel in order to defend itself and the City against whatever allegations they may throw at them.  Not sure what Ford could have done to them, but the nuances of employment law escapes me (and it’s probably not the specialty of the URA legal team either) and there seems to be enough of a pretense of a challenge to warrant concern.
• Anthony’s Pie Chart Shakedown @ Tunesmith & Anthony
  • Public opinion of Pat Ford – 50% think he is creepy, 50% think he is weird
• Kraus on Radio – Pat Ford owes us an explanation @ Mark Rauterkus and Running Mates
  • Bruce Kraus of Pgh’s City Council was just interviewed on KDKA radio by Marty Griffin about the Pat Ford matter.

    Bruce said, “Pat Ford owes us an explanation.” “Those (letter of more than a week ago by Mr. Ford about corruption) are very serious allegations.”

    Others in city hall won’t give an interview to Marty for the show. Mayor Ravenstahl took the day off. Doug Shields nor Jim Motznik won’t do it either. Michael Lamb, city controller is talking.

The news is a few days old, but Tim Murphy, who represents Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District, is one of 14 Republican members of Congress refusing to endorse John McCain.  Maybe he’s hoping that we will forget his unwavering support for the George Bush agenda and for John McCain’s 100-year war.

Remember this oldie from Tim Murphy?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwh-OCFCOTc[/youtube]

Murphy’s opponent in the Fall is Democrat Steve O’Donnell.

The AP picked up the story on the city worker rigging the KDKA poll to vote for Ravenstahl. Here is a link to the article in the San Diego Newspaper. Awesome, that is so great that national press sees quotes like this from the city of Pittsburgh. It screams come do business here because in Pittsburgh it is okay to cheat. More »

There are quite a few polls floating around the internet for the mayor’s race. The Pist-Gazette has done some man on the street polling in Brookline and East Liberty. KDKA has had a poll on their website for the mayoral election which has been hacked by some city employees.

We thought it would be interesting to see who Progress Pittsburgh readers are voting for on November 6.

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Jon Delano hasn’t blogged since June?  Has he left the blogosphere for good or is he just on summer vacation?  WTAE’s Wendy Bell stopped blogging this summer because she got too many responses to deal with.  Pitt Girl has a summary of Wendy’s blog ending.

Well, that is a title I never thought I would ever write. Do I think the mayor of Pittsburgh should have a spokesperson? No. Do I think Luke should have kept his spokesperson? Yes.

After reading yet another report where Luke can’t seem to get his story straight I find myself asking why Luke would have dumped his skilled spokesperson.

If you have been on vacation, here is what is going on:

• Luke skipped the hearing on promoting the police officers.
• Luke would not say where he was when he skipped the meeting.
• From Trib: No one from the Mayor’s Office attended. Saladna said Ravenstahl was “in other meetings” outside City Hall.
• Luke tells KDKA he was in Harrisburg during the hearings (via The Burgh Report)
• Luke claimed that mayors don’t attend hearings.

In a written statement Wednesday, Ravenstahl defended his decision to go on the golf outing, saying it was a charity fundraiser for cancer and neonatal research.

The statement said the mayor is a target of unfair criticism which “smacks of crass politics and yellow journalism and disappoints me greatly.”

Mayors normally don’t attend council hearings, but the issues are still of critical importance to him, he said.

“I didn’t feel that my presence there would have been advantageous to the cause. It could have potentially become a political situation, which I didn’t want it to be,” Ravenstahl said on June 29.

• Pittsburgh Media did some investigative reporting (finally) – Luke was at the Mario Lemieux celebrity golf tournament.
• More media investigation reveals…

WTAE Channel 4 Action News reporter Bob Mayo dug through the archives and found that Ravenstahl attacked former mayor Tom Murphy for missing a council session in 2004.

“These are troubling times for the city of Pittsburgh, and for the mayor of the city or somebody to represent his administration not to come to the table on such serious issues is regrettable, shameful,” Ravenstahl said in 2004.

So, the story continues and Luke’s “confusion” over his schedule and time spent celebrity hunting doesn’t look so good for Pittsburgh. So since the city leader can’t seem to keep his story straight, I guess I wish he had the sense to keep his spokesperson who could at least help him tell a better story.

Is Luke Promoting or Embarrassing Pittsburgh?

There is a great contrast in the news today about Luke’s role in promoting Pittsburgh during the US Open.
From the Post-GAzette’s Early Returns blog is this post “Mayor pulls out his public relations driver” which talks about how Luke has the challenge of getting other college students to stay here in Pittsburgh after college and how he will be promoting Pittsburgh on the Golf Channel this week.

Then we have this story from KDKA’s John Delano (also covered by Agenta Ska and The Burgh Report)
“Sources: Ravenstahl Crashed Tiger Woods Event” where we learn that Luke crashed a private party to meet Tiger Woods.

Sources say Ravenstahl was stopped by Oakmont’s security guards who told him the golf outing was a private event for American Express and its customers. But he talked his way into the club. Once inside, Ravenstahl was recognized and invited to dine with members of the club’s board of directors where, once again, he was told the event with Tiger Woods was private and not open to him.

But after lunch, sources say Ravenstahl got his hands on an American Express golf shirt, slipped the shirt on like he was part of the Am-Ex event and strolled onto the golf course looking for Woods.

Once again, security recognized him but did not kick him off the course telling him, however, not to approach the golf star or take any pictures with him. Angering club officials, Ravenstahl did so anyways and walked away with his coveted picture.

There were rumors that this Tiger incident is why Luke let Dick Skinjar go. But the press didn’t seem to pick up on the story until now.

There is more to the story…

As for the Mayor, his office says it was his life-long dream to meet Tiger Woods and he did and he should be credited for that.

So it is bad enough that there is a rumor about the Mayor crashing a party, but to have the Mayor’s office give a reply like that, is most definitely embarrassing. Agent Ska calls it Tacky and The Burgh Report calls it classless. Go Pittsburgh!