Progress Pittsburgh

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.

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

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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Dowd Statement on this Morning’s Water Main Break in Northside.

May 14, 2009 – PITTSBURGH -     In response to this morning’s water main break on Chateau Street and the similar incident earlier this week on Liberty Avenue, PWSA Board Member and Mayoral Candidate Patrick Dowd issued the following statement:

    ”This morning’s water main break and sewer collapse on Chateau Street

    present another example of the havoc wreaked by the Mayor’s poor

    judgment.  Just last week, the PWSA board voted to shift $46 million

    away from critical maintenance projects protecting our water system

    and to what end?  Covering potential losses on a risky bond deal this

    Mayor championed – the same kind of bond deal that bankrupted Jefferson

    County, Alabama.

    ”Conveniently, and after repeated calls to more thoroughly review this

    deal,  this bond issue will finally be the topic of an Executive Board meeting

    the week immediately following the election.  Unfortunately for

    Pittsburghers, the Mayor is playing games with our infrastructure, and

    the citizens never win.   Who is he kidding by forcing us to wait until after the

    election to figure out how much this deal is going to cost the taxpayers?

“We can’t afford another four more years of Mayor Ravenstahl’s reckless quick fixes.  

We need responsible decision-making about basic public services.  This is not a good way to 

run our city. This is a good way to run our city into the ground.”

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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.

All 3 Candidates are scheduled to appear in both of these debates.

KDKA –  Saturday, May 2, 7 to 8 PM
PCNC -  Monday, May 4, 7 to 8 PM

Mayoral Candidates Forum

Hosted by: PUMP, Urban League Young Professionals of Pittsburgh (ULYP-Pittsburgh), Leadership Pittsburgh Inc., Young Republicans of Allegheny County, Carnegie Mellon’s Student Governmen Association and Pittsburgh City Paper 

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
6:30 – 8:00pm
Carnegie Mellon University - McConomy Auditorium located in the University Center.  
FREE parking is available after 5:00pm in the East Campus Garage
CLICK HERE to view the Campus Map 

RSVP HERE – event is free and open to the public

Mayoral Forum on Facebook

*All Mayoral Candidates who have filed nominating petitions to appear on the May 19th 2009 Primary Election ballot have been invited to participate* 

Mayoral Candidates who have confirmed their participation:
Carmen Robinson and Patrick Dowd 

Moderator: Vince Sims, WPXI Television 

Join us for a Mayoral Candidates Forum that focuses on issues of importance to young people in our region. Young people are a critical voting block in Pittsburgh. This forum will provide an opportunity to engage the Mayoral candidates in a substantive conversation about issues that affect the attraction and retention of young people in the region and focus on topics such as: urban development, public education, public safety, municipal consolidation, cleaning and greening our city and fiscal issues. 

I have the theme song – where in the world is Carmen Sandiego – but more like Where in Pittsburgh is Luke Ravenstahl – but The Radical Middle has used the Where Waldo reference – that works too. 

Looks like Mayor Ravenstahl has made some time in his schedule for a 3rd debate – he still won’t release his schedule to the public – check out this audio clip from Bob Mayo – where Mayor Luke Ravenstahl laughs at not responding to the question about his schedule.  

So to update the last post on where’s Luke – here are some more recent sightings of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and some upcoming events where he is scheduled to be…

• Friday, April 17 – Mayor Luke Ravenstahl scheduled to sweep Homewood via @wpxi.
• Saturday, April 18 - Candidates Forum at Schenley High School – Mayor Luke Ravenstahl arrived 1:45 late.  During the forum the mayor was spotted having lunch at a Subway.  
  • According to Twitter at 12:10 pm – Luke was at his 5th event of the day and then heading to do some door knocking
• Wednesday, April 22 
  • 11am-1pm – Earth Day Rally in Market Square
  • According to the Beaver Times – Mayor Luke Ravenstahl will take a tour of the Consol Energy Center this afternoon.
• Thursday, April 29
  • 6pm – PUMP/City Paper Mayor Forum – Mayor Luke Ravensthal has NOT confirmed that he will attend.
• Thursday, April 30
  • 11:30 am – Hofbrau House – Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to address South Side Chamber Monthly Luncheon $15/person via @southsidepgh
• May 1
  • 11 am – Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to host ribbon cutting for Zone 3 Police Station

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.

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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Re-Elect Peduto to Council in ‘09 has just sent an invitation to the facebook group for Bill Peduto’s campaign kick-off.

Peduto Campaign Kick-Off Party: Peduto, progressives, pastries

Friday, March 13, 2009
7-9pm
Schenley Ice Rink, Banquet Room
RSVP on peopleforpeduto@gmail.com or Facebook

Related blog posts…

• Hold that Press Release – Street Lights Not Just Luke’s Bright Idea (progresspittsburgh.net)
• PeduTube – Peduto to Host Monthly YouTube Night (progresspittsburgh.net)
• Bill Peduto Re-Election Campaign Kickoff Reception Fundraiser (progresspittsburgh.net)

The race for City Council in Pittsburgh’s 4th district is the buzz today. 4 candidates have announced they are in the race. The PG reports the Tony Mosesso has entered the race. 2 Political Junkies and Matt H both reference Natalia Rudiak’s campaign kick-off this evening. Yesterday, The Huddler reported that Anthony Coghill has entered the race and gives some interesting background on who could win the democratic committee endorsement. Other than some brief mentions, there doesn’t seem to be much out there about Patrick Reilly in the blogs.

Here is what we know about the candidates.

• Natalia Rudiak, 29, from Carrick, runs her own consulting business, catering to nonprofits and community groups
• Tony Mosesso, 61, from Bon Air, works in the employee records department of the Carpenters Combined Funds, the administrative office for the Greater Pennsylvania Regional Council of Carpenters. He is also a Democratic Committee member and vice president of the Bon Air Civic Association.
• Patrick Reilly, 26, from Brookline, outreach coordinator for state Rep. Chelsa Wagner
• Anthony Coghill, 42, from Beechview, owns Coghill Roofing Co. and works part-time as a constituent liaison for state Sen. Wayne Fontana, a Beechview Democrat.

If you are a Facebook user, you know that it was hard to avoid Obamamania on Facebook in the past year.  And you certainly can’t avoid Steelers super bowl fever on Facebook – there are hundreds of Steelers fan groups on Facebook.

Can Facebook play a roll in the Primary elections here in Pittsburgh?

Lets look at some of the candidates and rumored candidates for mayor and their Facebook groups:

Mayor

• Students for Ravenstahl - 256 members
• Young Republicans that Support Luke Ravenstahl – 90 members, doesn’t look like it has been updated since 2007
• I Like Luke: Re-elect Luke Ravenstahl, Pittsburgh’s Mayor – 92 members
• Is Mayor Luke Ravenstahl stupid, corrupt or both? – 9 members
• Patrick Dowd for Mayor of Pittsburgh - 366 members (On Jan 20, the group had 81 members)
• Students for Patrick Dowd – 132 members
• The UNOFFICIAL Doug Shield for Mayor of Pittsburgh Group – 222 members

City Council

• Brendan Schubert – 52 supporters
• Recall Tonya Payne from Pittsburgh City Council – 2 members
• Bill Peduto – 149 Supporters

Other Races

• Hugh McGough – 252 Supporters

Other Elected Officials on Facebook

• Don Walko – 17 Supporters
• Mike Doyle – 299 Supporters
• Bring Back Mike Veon – 7 members

Are there any others that we are missing?  Who would you like to see on Facebook? Do you support your favorite candidates by joining their facebook groups?

Image via WikipediaIt was looking like a quiet, post holiday January evening.  But surprise surprise – some interesting information about the mayoral race – will Patrick Dowd challenge Luke Raventahl in the may primary election?

A story by Rich Lord showed up on Post-Gazette.com at 5:47 pm this afternoon and Matt. H reports that KDKA mentioned a Dowd run on the news.  (Thank Matt – you have been doing a great job on the political reporting lately.)

I think one of the interesting things to note is Dowd’s comments to the Post-Gazette about the murder rate in 2008 is significant.

He said last year’s highest-in-15-years murder count, and “stories [that] emerge monthly, sometimes weekly, that serve as distractions,” have led him toward a challenge to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

It seems like the Ravenstahl administration has done very little to discuss the increase in violence in Pittsburgh.

One of the lesson learned in 2008 is the importance of the campaign season for discussing problems and ideas for solutions.  The extended primary season allowed for a more extensive public discourse about major issues facing this country.  Pittsburgh deserves the same opportunity to have a discourse and exchange ideas about how to deal with some of the issues facing this city.