I Got Your Ride Sharing Ride Here

Fluff Department over at the P-G:

City Councilman Bill Peduto gave up the keys to his black Mini Cooper yesterday, joining 16 others in taking the "low-car diet" that is being promoted by Zipcar in 12 cities nationally...

Mr. Peduto said he replanned his week.

"Monday and Tuesday, I will ride-share with Dan [Gilman, his assistant]. Wednesday and Thursday, I'll take the bus, and Friday is the bike" that he dusted off and had retuned. For bike day, he said, "I changed all my Friday meetings so they are in my district."

Not to belittle the need for Americans to stop suckling from the teat of the Automobile industry, but it's not like Otis is going to have a whole lot of trouble here. I mean, if you look at his neighborhood (Point Breeze - without giving away his home address) it has a pretty decent score at Walkscore.com, and if you look at where he *really* lives (Mardi Gras), it has a very walkable score. Now, setting aside all my problems with Walkscore.com, it seems that Otis will actually have a really easy time at not using his car.

What would really be challenging would be if he was a single, low-income parent in, say, Fairywood, and then see how easy it would be to survive.

Perhaps it's not Bill's fault that he's Mayor of Shadyside, but I think it serves to illustrate the disparity that we have in the City, and may prompt people to question both urban design and the disbursement of service to all residents.

Schenley pt Deux

And then there was this proposal from Councilman Otis "Am-I-Really-On-The-Stadium-Authority-Or-Not-Or-Should-I-Go-To-Norway?" from Mayberry to use the proceeds from selling off Reizenstein Middle School and using the the proceeds/taxes to fix Schenley, which isn't all it's really cracked up to be:

Back of the envelope:
$37.9 Million in taxes over 20 yrs works out to be about $1.895 million/year. Assuming the School District doesn't raise it's millage rate (13.92), that would logically be about $13.6 million in, apparently, housing sale on the Reizenstein site. As of 2000, over half of the structures in that census tract are valued at between $150,000 and $300,000, so I'm going to assume that everything that's built on the Reizenstein site will be worth $200,000 to be safe, which works out to be about 68 houses.

For comparison purposes Summerset at Frick Park is supposed to have 710 houses/condos/townhouses.

What this doesn't take into consideration is the construction of public roads, utilities, infrastructure, etc. and the cost to other City/County/State departments to provide these items.

And, of course, is this $37.9 million the aggregate amount of yearly payments over 20 years or is in the present value of those series of payments. I'm guessing aggregate value, so I figure that the real value of the series of tax payments is closer to $24 million (at a 5% discount rate) than $37.9 million.

Let us not forget that this all apparently assumes full collection of taxes for 20 years and that contractors have given Billy P. accurate numbers... because no contractor has ever low balled an estimate, ever.

But that's just me, my envelope, and about a six pack of Tröegs talking.

Election 2007 (cont'd)

Compare the following map from Mr. Briem:



And from yours truly in 2005:

This means something... this is important.

Peduto Supports Computer System to Help Pave Roads, Find Sarah Connor

For some reason, somebody forwarded me an email from People for Peduto on Pittsburgh paving practices and possible problems with public programs:

Today, City Council is holding a special meeting to discuss the idea of implementing a Professional Management System to determine which streets get resurfaced. In the 1990s, the city invested hundreds of thousands of dollars on a system that analyzes every street in the city. By 2000, the city had scrapped this system in favor of "eyeball inspections", opening the door for politics, rather than sound policy, being the driving factor in determining which streets get paved.

I swear, someone is secretly sending stupid submission, so that I seethe and snark scathingly.

[Whoa... better turn the Consonance and Alliteration down to a reasonable level.]

Anyway, as much as I support allowing objective criteria govern our policy making processes, I foresee a number of problems that will lead to this proposal being abandoned.

Please let me say again that I am in favor of this project, but have been in Government long enough to know when something is doomed.

(1) Objective Criteria - Establishing objective criteria is fine, but the criteria used will skew your results. In the streets case "number of pot holes" is just as objective as "alphabetical order of the street name".

(2) People are dumb - Well, maybe not dumb, but certainly irrational, misinformed, and lacking basic foresight. The angry woman down the street who thinks that the City is deliberately holding back street paving funds to her neighborhood is more likely to stand up in front of council and damn them all to hell than the rational woman who heard that PWSA will be replacing water lines in June.

Typically angry, annoying people are able to get their way, if for no other reason than people just want to see the end of them.

(3) Politics - On the other side of the coin, Politicians are not necessarily interested in the greater good for the Community. In general, they care more about getting re-elected than whether Garfield gets Penn Avenue paved... unless, of course, that happens to be in their district.

The first time process stands in the way of political expediency, process will go right out the window.

Until then, I'm setting my spam filter on high.

Dog Cat and not Fish Licenses

Fluffy and Mrs. Whiskers are going to do something secret in Bodack, Carlisle, Payne and Motznik's shoes: From the P-G:

A tentative Pittsburgh City Council vote on licensing cats ended in a tie today, setting up a final vote Tuesday that could go either way.

Council members Len Bodack, Twanda Carlisle, Tonya Payne and licensing bill sponsor Jim Motznik supported the bill. Members Dan Deasy, Darlene Harris, William Peduto and Doug Shields voted against. Councilman Jeff Koch abstained, meaning he's the swing vote on what has become a controversial issue.

"A lot of pressure on Mr. Koch next week," quipped Mr. Deasy after the vote.

Mr. Motznik argued that a $7 annual fee for cats that have been spayed or neutered, and $12 for those that have not, would allow the city to pin responsibility on owners of cats that cause property damage, and make it easier to return those that become lost and are captured.

"To me, it's a no-brainer," said Mr. Bodack. "It's something that's been needed for a long time."

Council President Shields countered that there's "a much lower level of concern" about cats than dogs, because the latter can cause injury.

Ms. Carlisle said that's an outdated perception. "That was yesteryear," she said. "In 2007, cats are more aggressive than they used to be."

Ms. Harris said she would prefer a one-time fee rather than "something you're paying over and over again."

"Twice in the last couple of weeks I've gone out to get my newspaper, and seen a cat on the porch," said Mr. Deasy. Nonetheless, they are not a big problem in his neighborhoods.

So, I ask you: where are these Council people living that they are frequented by cat attacks? Yellowstone? The Serengeti? Yusuf Islam's house? Is there a half-crazed Adam West standing outside their houses with a cat gun?

Council is wasting its time worrying about phantom cat attacks when it could be dealing with issues that are far more pressing and pertinent to the health and safety of this City: licensing lawyers.

Just yesterday, my neighbor was set upon by a pack of vicious litigators as she went outside for her mail. The pack would have chewed her wallet off if I hadn't had the good sense to turn the hose on them.

As I was riding to work, I saw two lawyers debriefing. On the street! Where children might see them! And there was another one digging through the trash looking for some pro bono work.

And if you go down to Legal Friends, you can see whole cages of them, disbarred and left to go feral. Those that can't be placed with a loving firm are forced to be euthanized.

This is truly a tragedy that we, as a society, should be able to fix.

Although, cats are waaaaay cuter.

Mayor's Race Rumor

The word on the street is that the Post-Gazette will report tomorrow that former O'Connor Chief of Staff B.J. Leber will drop a bombshell on the current administration.

According to trusted ADB sources, Leber is in posession of several documents stretching back to the beginning of the previous administration, that implicates several members of the current administration in actively using public materials to build private swimming pools, using public employees as personal valets, and appropriating public funds for "strip clubs, Turkish baths, and prostitutes."

Ravenstahl and many members of the current administration have been reported to be continually high on a variety of prescription medications as well as several illicit substances, including cocaine, heroin, and Schlitz.

Additionally, Leber asserts that the Ravenstahl Administration is involved in bugging and wiretapping the campaign offices of Bill Peduto and is actively covering up its relationship with three burglars that were arrested last June 17.

Further, during the 2007 mayoral campaign Ravenstahl and his wife had invested in and lost money in a development project around the Ohiopyle State Park. The administration is attempting to cover up a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation which could result in criminal charges against the two principals in the Ohiopyle project.

Finally, the Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa is about to expose an arrangement of an alleged weapons-for-hostages deal. The operation was discovered only after an airlift of guns was downed over Nicaragua two weeks ago. Dick Skrinjar, who was captured by Nicaraguan authorities, initially alleged in a press conference on Nicaraguan soil that two of his coworkers, Max Gomez and Ramon Medina, worked for the CIA. These arms were to be exchanged for the freedom of the recently captured British Sailors.

No word on how this may affect the Mayoral campaign.

Read tomorrow's P-G for more details on Leber's early April surprise.

Tag(s): Ravenstahl Scandal

Winners Never Quit, BILL!

Alright, now that everyone's settled down a bit, here are some real thoughts about the whole Peduto withdrawal thing:

I'm with JP in that I don't believe that Otis dropped out because he didn't want the campaign to go negative. Democrats are intimately familiar with and painfully aware of the power of negative campaigning. To say a politician is above "going negative" is like saying the sea is above the sky.

Dayvoe's interview with Doug Sheilds, however, presents a more nuanced picture: Bill doesn't want to go negative because it will affect his image and his ability to run for office in the future. Indeed, when so much of the Democratic establishment lines up against you, it may not be a wise move to twirl up a wet towel and whack their boy in the love spuds. Anybody with an older brother on 'roids will tell you that much. If Bill was hoping to count on the support of some of those establishment funders later down the road on another campaign, best not to enrage them now.

Or as the first vulgar saying goes: "Don't shit in your own bed."

More subtly, however, I would argue that the effectiveness of negative campaigning at this point also had something to do with Bill's decision. With only (Um... September... January... February) seven months in office, it was difficult for Peduto to argue that Ravenstahl conceived policies were bad. If Luke had been in office for twelve years, a la Tom Murphy, Bill would have many more defective policies to target. Unfortunately, without a good, solid, broad issue to hang his hopes on, the campaign had to basically rely on the old chestnut, "Anything you can do I can do better."

So, perhaps this is a tactical manoeuvre on Bill's part: give the kid a bit more rope and let him hang himself with it in '09.

But this brings me back to the efficacy point. The number of Ravenstahl scandals seemed to multiply every day; from the first "Arrested at a Steeler's Game" to the "RonAir Trip" and everything in between, there was enough ammunition for the Peduto camp to work off of. Unfortunately for Otis' campaign, very little of it seemed to stick to Opie. Considering some of the blistering missteps made, one would have thought that Luke would have been a dead duck; but that was not to be. Perhaps Bill just felt that at this point, if the kid can weather these political storm nothing (short of a dead girl or a live boy) is going to turn the campaign around with only one and a half months to go.

Or, as the second vulgar saying goes: Don't piss into the wind.

Bill's major disadvantage was that he was running against a blank slate incumbent. Luke could decide what he wanted to be and force the apparatus of government to enact policies that would be popular, knowing full well that they only have to effective until right after the election. That may be cynical, but I don't think that it's coincidental that after blowing off the Lower Hill last week and alienating members of the Black leadership, the administration resurrected and resolved the lingering Oak Hill residents/University of Pittsburgh problem in the former Allequippa Terrace housing projects.

Although, if they had waited a couple days until after Bill's withdrawal, they wouldn't have had to rush around to get something accomplished.

I doubt that Otis is going to sit back and pull an October surprise, jumping into the Fall race, partially because that will just possibly tick off those all important Democratic funders, but mostly because I'm pretty sure that switching parties is illegal at this point. Chris Briem has the same hunch.

But them's my thoughts for now. Hopefully I can slough off the local politics for awhile and get to stuff that really matters to my readers:

Federal reductions in CDBG allocations to Cities and the benefits of a land/building split real estate tax.

Tag(s): Bill Peduto, Pittsburgh Politics

Bill Peduto Withdraws From Mayor's Race

Hundreds of Pittsburgh Peduto supporters commit mass suicide.

Councilman Peduto at 3PM press conference.

Message from the Great Leader: "All is well! Peace will be with you. Kool-Aid line forms to the left."

More Details Inside:

• Peduto Shadyside compound alight after ATF raid (Page 2);
  
• Burghosphere dark; several prominent bloggers missing, presumed weepy. (Page 4);
  
• Drink Specials half off at Cappy's (Page 5);
  
• Sarin gas attack in North Shore Extension foiled by lack of North Shore Extension (Page 7);
  
• Bill Peduto's face seen in local tortilla (Page 10);
  
• Luke Ravenstahl giggles uncontrollably (Page 1138).

Tag(s): Pittsburgh Politics, Bill Peduto

Fair und Balanced - Part I

As I was flipping through the headlines on the P-G's headlines last
night, I came across this little article:

In 2005, Tony Montano denied he was the person who had spray-painted the graffiti tag "MFOME" throughout Lawrenceville, Schenley Farms, East Liberty, Bloomfield and Shadyside.

Last year, he admitted to being the tagger after his arrest by Pittsburgh police and got five days of jail time and a fine of $1,001.

Late Saturday, Mr. Montano, 21, was arrested again, this time in Oakland, after a witness called 911 to report a vandal was spray-painting several buildings...

Fine. Nogooder apprehended by our vigilant law enforcement, blahblahblahblah.

But something caught my attention and seemed, let's say a bit "askew" to me:

According to City Councilman William Peduto, new graffiti with Mr. Montano's tag -- "MFOME" -- began appearing in recent days on Melwood and Centre avenues.

"We're asking the district attorney now to go for full prosecution," said the councilman, who used funds for his council district to purchase digital cameras used by the police bureau to document graffiti.

"The district attorney has sought to get stronger penalties but has not been successful in the county courthouse. Right now, we need to set an example."

In the original online positing, these two pieces were pretty much the whole article, which seems unusual as it implies the question: why is Peduto being interviewed about the arrest of a graffiti artist?

Does Otis have some keen insight into the criminal psyche, gained from years of experience in the rough and tumble streets of Pointe Breeze?

Is he particularly attune to the basest desires of the artistic underworld as a result of his time served as chair of City Council's Committee on the Art & Technology?

Or perhaps he, Doug Sheilds, and Jeff Koch team up to fight crime onalternating Saturdays as "THE COUNCILMEN," pitting their superskills against such supervillains as "The Jay Walker", "The Right Turn on Redder", and the "Left-Your-Trash-Out-Five-Days-Before-Pick-up-er."*

Or maybe, just maybe, Billy-boy is running for mayor and wants to stand in front of a camera. It's a long shot, I know.

---
*And if so, is Jim "The Gas Theif" Motznick allied with the heroes orthe villains?

Tag(s): Bill Peduto, Pittsburgh Politics

ACDC: You Shook Me All Night Long

After spending seven and a half hours in the holding cell of the IBEW* for trying to break into the Allegheny County Democratic Committee nominating meeting disguised as a six foot five, 230 lb. Sophie Masloff, I come to find out that the incumbent Mayor bested his nearest (and only) competitior 602 to 163 votes. A couple thoughts sprung to mind:

First, never try to break into the ACDC meetings dressed as a 90 year old Jewish woman, especially if you try to cast a provisional ballot for "Heywood Jablome."

Second, this little tidbit over at Pittsburgh Guy about Councilman Otis:

For such a smart, experienced and savvy politician why, days before the endorsement, would [Bill Peduto] go out of his way to alienate Party leadership? Also isn't a bit insulting to think you have to tell elected committee people that they can make their own minds up. Instead of insulting, why didn't he take the high road, explain why he thinks he is the better candidate and ask for their votes.

And then there's this bit over at 2 Political Junkies:

Yes, the Old School won, and by "old" we mean that the Allegheny County Democratic Committee members decided to vote for that nice young man who reminds them of their favorite grandson. (And, don't cha know it's considered bad form to run against a current ACDC member even if they have one foot in the grave...)

Personally, I consider the "I Like Luke" slogan to be a deliberate nod to Eisenhower, which was, coincidentally the first vote cast by the average ACDC member.

However, taken together, the two quotes show a real strain between the "progressive" and "conservative" wings of the ACDC. Let's take the margin of loss by Peduto: 439 votes. That's a pretty good spanking. Let's also take the quote from Pittsburgh Guy. That's a pretty heavy indictment of Peduto's feelings about the ACDC.

[Still, let us neither discount nor over emphasize the roll of the party in the race. The party endorsement isn't the be all and end all and people have won without it, but it does save a ton of money in printing and volunteer costs. It will get you a leg up, but it doesn't guarantee a victory.]

Which finally brings me to my point: if the average age of a typical conservative ACDC member is... well... dead, why hasn't the progressive wing done more to try to oust the old guard? Wouldn't it be prudent to try to slide in a more liberal leaning committee from the ward level, rather than trying to run a candidate so contrary to the naturally conservative bent of the existing members?

Or perhaps they have, and it hasn't worked? The answer may be found in 2PJ's swipe at everyone's favorite Grandson, which isn't too far off the mark: Rachel Cooper (endorsed candidate for the 9th Council District) is the daughter of Judge Kevin Cooper. Is blood merely thicker than politics? Can our politicians even get any thicker?

Perhaps a breeding program is in order

---
* Who knew that the IBEW had a holding cell. I figured they they would have gone straight to the electric chair.

Tag(s): Pittsburgh Politics

Policy, Politics, and Pittsburgh

There's been a series of, let's say, events that have happened in the City of Pittsburgh recently that, while not connected, seem to outline some of the issues and themes for next few months, if not year.

First, Bill Peduto announced that he was running for mayor last week.* This was about as unexpected and telegraphed as the ending to Armageddon. Bob O'Connor wasn't even cold yet, and pretty much everyone within earshot of the clusterfuck that is Pittsburgh Politics could have told you that Bill was going to run. I'm actually surprised that there haven't been more candidates in this race. It's quiet... too quiet.

On a completely unrelated note, Ravenstahl and Onorato unveiled an agreement for City/Wounty Purchasing. As near as I can figure, this is the same strategy I used in college with my roomates. Although, when I did it, I called it "Dude, while you're up, can you snag me a beer and some chips?"

I can only hope that the Onorato/Ravenstahl relationship doesn't devolve the way that mine and my roomate did, with Ravenstahl cowering under Onorato's desk firing staples at him.

Setting my personal demons aside, the Ravenstahl/Onorato announcement completely pre-empted and overshadowed a demand by Peduto for a timetable on completing a merger. Now, I'm not saying that Ravenstahl is trying to co-opt Peduto's issues (or vice versa), but everybody better check their offices for KGB** listening devices.

Of course, if you believe what you read in the Trib's "Whispers" column, you may think that we're at the beginning of a war between the Five Families. Onorato supporting Ravenstahl; Wagner backing Peduto; Lord knows who the Milliones are backing. If Don Barden doesn't look out, he's going to look like this:


Photo Courtesy of the Carbolic Smoke Ball

And on a final, completely and utterly unrelated note: Pittsburgh City Council is going up to Harrisburg to petition the State to allow for joint municipal pension and health insurance purchasing. The benefit to the City of Pittsburgh is obvious: this would bail the City out of worst part of their debt, allowing them to reduce cost, and hopefully pass this big burden on to someone else. Our debt would be reduced and our bond rating would go up, allowing us to, you know, pave roads and stuff.

I've never quite understood the logic behind the law prohibiting this kind of joint purchasing. Basic economics would seem to indicate that if you start purchasing in bulk, you'll save more on a per unit basis; that's what Sam's Club is all about, right? I mean, it's done for other non-profit organizations as a means to control costs, so you would think that, logically, it would be a boon to municipal corporations and something that every tiny town, borough, or city would be pushing.

But no, that's not exciting enough! We need an arena! Gah!

Hey, while you're up, can you grab me a beer and some staples?

---
*Check out the pics over at 2 Political Junkies. If you're bored, you can play a game with the pics I usually play at Sam's Club called "Spot the Minority."
**My older brother, the Kinda Good Bureaucrat, he works for the NSA.

Tag(s): Bill Peduto, Luke Ravenstahl, Municipal Pensions, Pittsburgh Politics

"C" is for Arena (That's Good Enough for Me)

Now, I don't claim to be an expert on economic development, let alone a sports and exhibition authority, but this article in the P-G this morning on the new arena raised a couple red flags with me. From the article:

State and local politicians should go beyond Plan B to offer the Penguins something other cities can't -- a share of the profits in the redevelopment of the Mellon Arena site, city Councilman Bill Peduto says...

"This is the perfect opportunity for [Detroit businessman and casino licensee Don] Barden, the Penguins, the city, the county and the state to partner together," he said. "It's a great way to keep the team in Pittsburgh, redevelop the Hill, get Barden more involved in the community, and lessen the impact on taxpayers."...

He said the arrangement would be similar to that negotiated with the Pirates and the Steelers to redevelop land between PNC Park and Heinz Field. Both teams get a piece of revenues from the redevelopment, which is being led by Continental Real Estate Cos.

I've only been grudgingly a supporter of this type of big project/sports venue development and, again, I'm not an expert here, but there are a couple thoughts for you to chew on.

Before anything, if the proposed "Melody Tent Site" development does take place, I would assume that it would take the form of similar large scale redevelopment projects in the City by creating a mixed-income, mixed use development. So, basically you're talking the opportunity for small retail space (perhaps a grocery store!), some small office space, rental apartments affordable to low and middle income families, and for sale houses or condominiums. That's not to say that it couldn't be something totally different, but I think this is a safe City modus operandi to bet on. Financing for the development would probably come from a mixture of state and local funds, Barden's $7.5M/30 yr commitment, private loans and grants, and equity investment.

If I was the Penguins, this would not look like an attractive scenario for a couple of reasons. First, the ROI for this project is long term based on a non-guaranteed stream of income from the development. It seems unlikely that any small office, retail, or rental development would create a profit in the first year or even first yearS. If the Penguins are patient, they could be sitting on a tidy little sum eventually, but not until all the bonds, investors, and creditors are paid off or if there is sufficient cash flow.

That is, of course, unless the Penguins are capitalizing on the actual sale of the land and getting a share of those profits. Now, that's assuming that there are any actual profits to be had, considering that the value of the land to a developer and the developer's willingness to pay will be directly related to the ROI that can be (probably) achieved. So, again, if the development can't afford the sales price of land, it will either (a) not happen or (b) have to subsidized so that it can.

If I was any other group that received funding from the City (especially in areas that are in equally dire need of economic revitalization), I would be royally pissed. Either plan basically shunts already scarce economic development resources away from other areas in order to create an artificial profit for the Penguins. Morever, the $7.5M promised by Barden over 30 years really only works out to about $115 Million, not $225 Million, when you take the discounted value. In that case, the City or the Penguins would have to float a bond to cover those payments, an action that may or may not be possible given the financial concerns of each. If it's the City, floating a bond will restrict its ability to borrow for more critical projects.

Finally, if I was any of the groups in the Hill, I would definitely want a say in what would be going on in my neighborhood. While it is, in my opinion, nearly inevitable that the development would be mixed-income, mixed use, the actual ratio of the mixture is unknown. The desires of the residents may not be compatible with the economic profitability of the project, thereby forcing more public resources into the project.

So I guess what I'm trying to say here is that if I were the Penguins, I wouldn't think that this plan improves the City's bargaining position much. If anything, I would be looking for more up front money, maximizing profit as quickly as possible.

And notice I didn't mention anything about the profitability of the new arena itself.

Tag(s): Economic Development, Pittsburgh Penguins, Mellon Arena

Amongst the Houyhnhnms and the Yahoos

I want to chime in on something that I saw here via this place, specifically, the following bit from the P-G on Bonnie Mayor Lukey's criticism of Councilman Otis' criticism of the Mayor's budget:

 

"I'm not willing to sacrifice the city budget and use the city budget process to talk about political and personal agendas."  

 

Seriously?  Am I reading this right?  Is a politician offended that another politician would take a political issue and turn it into a political issue against him?  I am shocked, SHOCKED that this could have happened under my very nose!   Think of the children!  Alert the media!  Quick!  To the fallout shelter: POLITICS IS INVADING GOVERNMENT!!!!11!! 

 

The Horror!  The Horror!

 

Here I was thinking that the politicians that we elect would hold hands, sing "Kumbaya", and set aside their personal ambitions for the common good.  I had no idea that someone could put political gain ahead of the good of the polis. 

 

Of course, I've been living under a rock since 384 BC and had no knowledge of most of the canon of Western Political Theory, including Aristotle's Politics, Machiavelli's The Prince, Hobbes' Leviathan , or even the Federalist Papers and I also believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Elves, Magical Rainbow Farting Unicorns, and the presence of WMDs in Iraq that are an imminent threat to the United States. 

 

Think of what this will mean to the Republic: Elected officials will start caring more about polls than good policy!  They will start trying to play up issues that appeal to the electorate!  They will become divisive against their colleagues, hoping to achieve marginal gains at their expense!  They will play to the electorate's basest fears and desires, hoping to gain votes!  They will even say things that aren't technically true. 

 

*sigh*

 

I mean maybe you have to be as old and grizzled as me and you have to spend your career in public service to realize that politics is pervasive in government, so I'll forgive anyone with the naivete to think it is otherwise.  But seriously people, only the delusional or mildly retarded think that anyone in elected government is solely looking out for the common good and don't care a whit about upcoming elections. 

 

I hope I didn't shatter anyone's illusions. 

Christ, Not this Shit Again! - Spring 2007 Primary Edition

The ink is not even dried on the forged ballots from 2006, and already the Post-Gazette is talking about the Spring Primary race for Pittsburgh Mayor.

On the P-G's list are the following potential candidates for Mayor:

Luke Ravenstahl: Incumbent-ish

David Caliguiri: Son of Former Mayor

Mike Dawida: Ex-County Commissioner

Rich Fitzgerald: County Council President

Dan Frankel: State Representative

Michael Lamb: Prothonotary

Bill Peduto: City Councilman

Harry Readshaw: State Representative

In my opinion, the P-G isn't really thinking outside the box. There are dozens, nay, hundreds of potential candidates for the office of Mayor of Pittsburgh. Here are a smattering of potential candidates that they overlooked*:

JIM RODDEY
OK, the former chief executive no longer lives in the City and he's a Republican, but those things can be remedied with a quick trip to the Board of Elections. He's a known commodity and he didn't lose to that dope Cyril Wecht. Speaking of which...

CYRIL WECHT
Cyril Wecht is still, as of the writing of this post, under indictment. Normally, this would be a drawback, but in a city where a viable candidate for the County Political Committee can be an ex-con, Cyril would be a step up. Plus, he'd be great entertainment.

BOB O'CONNOR
Death isn't the handicap it used to be in politics. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft lost his Senate seat to a dead Mel Carnahan and Republican Glenda Dawson ran for a Texas State Legislator seat even though she was stiffer than Bob Dole's member. Bob has the added bonus of being more charismatic than any of the other candidates that the P-G listed.

TOM MURPHY
Well, political death is terminal.

HARVEY
Harvey is a 6 ft. talking rabbit that lives in Jimmy Stewart's head. Unfortunately, he's running on the Constitution Party Ticket, but otherwise he's the perfect candidate.

So, get used to it folks, we have another 5 1/2 months of this bullshit.

I have my space in the political fallout shelter reserved; first come, first served.

---
Sorry, Woy I'm not running for mayor; I have some scruples, dude. Although, I will run for Supreme Overlord of Western Pennsylvania... again. [Damn Green Party!]

Allegheny Conference on Community Development Review 2006

Somehow my invitation to Thursday's 2006 Allegheny Conference on Community Development Annual Meeting got lost in the mail. I'm going to blame last year's posting on the event, in which I used the phrase "Bassmasturbation" 147 times. Undeterred, I forged a crude invitation using old Post-It Notes, some glitter, glue, and macaroni and slipped in disguised as a Coro Fellow. Using a technique I learned amongst Buddhist monks in the Tibetan Himalayas, I passed unnoticed by several security guards and disguised myself as seat EE 29 in the third tier. There, I waited for 23 hours in total silence until the program started.*

And if you've never seen an Economic Development meeting begin with a musical number, you ain't never seen anything not like this before.

No, I'm not joking. The conference began with "The Grass is Always Greener" the opening number of the musical smash Pittsburgh: Quit Yer Bitchin', which the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called "The feel adequate show of the Summer."

And jazzhands!!

Chairman & CEO of The PNC Financial Services Group Inc., James E. Rohr, made a very good MC for this event, with his penchant for stepping out from behind the podium and addressing his staff in the audience. It made the conference seem almost human for a few moments as he breezed through the same slides as last year with the same questionable statistics.** But he did try to get the positive energies flowing amongst the conference attendees.

Contrast that to the other speakers, who were focusing on Taxes, Workforce Development, Government, Transportation, and Regionalism:

John P. Surma Jr., Chairman & CEO, United States Steel Corporation and graduate of the William Shatner School of Public Speaking,*** managed to make the already boring subject of corporate tax rates so boring that we could have made it all the way to the Earth's Core.

Not every speaker was a former member of Second City, and American Eagle President Susan McGalla was no exception. There is a script Susan; please try to follow it...even if it is about workforce development.

Thomas L. VanKirk, CEO of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, tried to rip apart the podium with his bare hands which, for those of you who may be unfamiliar with it, is a legal maneuver first made popular in the landmark Supreme Court case Schenck v. United States by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Mr. VanKirk did get the opportunity to introduce two very important guests: Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and his kid brother Luke Ravenstahl, who spoke about governmental consolidation (especially the soon-to-be announce merger of the City and County Purchasing Departments) and really cool bikes. If you were hoping to drink every time Luke said "Moving Forward" would have been sadly sober, although you would have been blasted if you had chosen the word "Efficient."

Also announced was a major investors trip to China who, apparently has $1 Trillion to burn. Don't know where they might have gotten that from.

Michele Fabrizi, President & CEO of MARC USA, called on those in attendance to help "spread the word" about Pittsburgh. The conference provided a list of 10 Facts about the Region to be used, you know, in casual conversation with outsiders. For example:

Sir, did you know that Pittsburgh boasts one of the largest collection of certified "green" buildings in the nation.

I don't care asshole! If you touch the girls again, I'm going to throw your drunk ass out into the street.

OK, perhaps it won't work in all situations, but here's some of the facts that YOU can use:

Pittsburgh's cost of living is 93% of the national average.

Our region lives within 3000 miles of 99% of the entire U.S. population.

The average cost of an existing home is less than or equal to 50% of the total cost of all the homes in the region.

All trees in the region take in Carbon Dioxide and release Oxygen, which is vital for life to survive.

Pittsburgh ranked 8th in the nation for made up facts per capita.

So memorize some of these facts and spread the word.

Sadly missing this year, was Murray Gerber's tirade on Education, the general handwringing over the airport, and the word "Bassmaster". On the plus side, it did only run an hour and fifteen minutes, unlike the 2005 Conference Meeting which, I believe, is still going on right now.

The best part of the conference, of course, is the meet & greet afterwards as everyone rushes the buffet. Conspicuous amongst the attendees were Councilman Bill Peduto, Congressman Elect Jason Altmire, Ex-County Commissioner and Weasel Impersonator Larry Dunn, and Ex-County Executive Jim Roddey (who bailed after 30 seconds). Conspicuously absent, however, was Luke who ducked out shortly after his bit, probably because it was a school night. Dan Onorato did hang out for awhile, pressing the flesh.

The hors d'oeuvres were better this year, by the way, mostly because I was able to snag a few.

The ensuing hangover, however, laid me out for three days.

Perhaps next year, I'll be on the invitee list, and won't have to sneak out as an art history docent again.

---
*This is all patently false.

**The Pittsburgh Region, apparently, has more jobs now than it has ever had in its history.

***School Motto: Khaaaaaaaan!

On the Next Episode of the City of Pittsburgh...

On the Next Episode of the City of Pittsburgh...

Luke tells Dennis he's the new Director of Public Safety. Meanwhile, Bill and Doug plot against the Mayor and call Rich over at the Post-Gazette with incriminating evidence. Catherine drops a bombshell in front of Council, alleging that Dennis fixed Marlene's Brother's charges of Incompetency, Conduct Unbecoming an Officer, Neglect of Duty and Obedience to Orders and Laws. Jim and Doug almost come to blows in City Hall, over Catherine's charges. Sensing the tide turning, Luke withdraws the nomination just in time only to find out that his half sister's father's business parter is really the identical twin of his own long lost college roomate. Yarone, in his final, desperate moments, reveals himself not to be the Chief of Staff after all, but rather a clone of Bob O'Connor.

Tune in next week for another exciting episode of As the City Turns All My Politicians One City to Govern... Bah! I'll come up with something later.

Here and here are some snarky comments about the story thus far.

If anyone from Hollywood is reading this, by the way, City of Pittsburgh Politics would make for a great theme for a new sitcom. Think The West Wing meets The Office. Or perhaps, a more realistic version of Spin City.*

However, this is probably just the prologue to the bigger story. Obviously Peduto is not falling in line with the wishes of the Mayor's Office, nor was that to be expected. It seems, however, that both Sheilds and Bodack are slightly wavering on their allegiances. Elections are coming up in a couple of months for a handful of Council Seats and, should Ravenstahl policies run counter to District interests, more could head for the lifeboats. With a whole bunch of unelected people running the show, it seems that, should he wish to run for the office in 2007 or 2009, either Luke is going to have to cozy up to people outside this tiny clique or be seen a merely a puppet mayor beholden to these men behind the curtain. Luke will have to try to appeal to people outside of his base if he is serious about retaining the Mayor's Office. With no mandate, however, Luke lacks the political capital to enact anything other than what was already laid out by O'Connor. Can the obvious potential candidates for the Mayor's Office make political hay out of this? Tune in tomorrow for another exciting episode of The Old and the Connected.

Yeah, that one works.

*Seriously folks, almost no one in Pittsburgh Government is nearly as attractive as Michael J. Fox, Barry Bostwick, or even Alan Ruck. Well... maybe me.

Tag(s): Pittsburgh

Labor Day Parade Observations

I'm not really big on parades, but for some reason I found myself standing on the Boulevard of the Allies at 10:30 AM this morning. So, some observations:

1. The best place to sit during the Labor Day parade if you want candy is up on Sixth Avenue. By the time that the parade gets to the Boulevard, everyone's out.
   
2. The parade was headed by a large black banner "In memory of Mayor Bob O'Connor"; banner holders of note included Judy O'Connor, Bishop Bradley, Ed Rendell, Luke Ravenstahl, and Bob Casey. Conspicuously absent was Jim Ferlo, who followed a bit behind in his own car.
   
3. Jim Motznik walked with the Boilermakers; Bill Peduto walked on his own.
   
4. Michael Lamb walked, unsurprisingly, alone. I always feel bad for him when I see him alone. We need to get him an intern just so he doesn't look so lonely in public.
   
5. The respectful pauses and silence in front of the City County Building where the late Mayor was lying in state was appropriate, although the few marching bands that were in the parade were robbed of some of the best accoustics on the route.
6. The SEIU seemed to be the only union that was enjoying itself.
   
7. I don't know what it means when there are more people IN the parade than WATCHING the parade. It's either that the strength of the unions in the City of Pittsburgh is so great that there's no one left to watch, or no one cares.
   
8. I seem to oddly drawn to the bagpipers in parades, but keep in mind I am also drawn towards sticking my tongue into fans.
   
9. I noticed that you couldn't turn around without not seeing a Santorum sign. Can't imagine why that might be...

And the fall campaign season is off to a roaring start! This should be fun.

News from Grant Street

Deputy Mayor Yarone Zober (age 31) and City Council President Luke Ravenstahl (age 25) have reached agreement on a new City Solicitor, the seven month old foetus of City Law department clerk Jan Morrison, the soon-to-be born Zack or Stephanie Morrison. Mr. or Ms. Morrison will replace Susan Mallie (age 40) who was removed as part of a shakeup that also saw the departure of Mayoral Chief of Staff B.J. Leber (age 63) and Finance Director Paul Leger (age 82). The foetus was chosen over several other members of the City Law Department due to its personal loyalty to O'Connor (age 99), although political pundits are pointing to a $1,000 donation made in the final days of the November campaign.

Announcing the agreement, 138 year old Mayoral Spokesman Dick Skrinjar told reporters to get off his damned lawn or they'll never get their Frisbee back. Mr. Skrinjar then removed to his office to watch reruns of Matlock (age 12,073).

This announcement comes on the heels of the appointment of Bill Peduto (age unknown) protege Jonathan Soisson's (age 7) as Finance Director. Mr. Soisson has pledged to work with the Act 47 Board as well as the ICA, complete fiscal discipline, and to share the big red firetruck in the toybin.

Grant Street insiders predict the role of Chief of Staff to go to the Glint-in-William Lieberman's Milkman's Eye (age TBA). The anouncement is expected following nap-time tomorrow.

My Final Word on the 2005 Pittsburgh Mayoral Primary (Part 1)

Alright, after this, no more posts about the 2005 Pittsburgh Mayoral Primary.

I promise.

Until Part II.

Michael Madison from Pittsblog and Maria from 2politicaljunkies are pushing me to get to my friggin' point. I personally thought my point was to take a look at the pretty colors on the map and see if my image-hosting provider was worth a damn. I feel that I was wildly successful on those accounts, but unfortunately had the audacity to interject my own, apparently incorrect, interpretation of the data.

For shame!

I will endeavor never to have an individual thought of my own from here on in and gladly and blindly follow the ways of my betters who think that the egg needs to be broken at the big end, not the small, toast should eaten be butter side up, not down, and that the donut-hotdog stand hats should be blue, not red. Because it matters.

Or not.

Anyway enough of the scorn, back on topic: let’s complicate Primary Election matters further and look at some head-to-head and head-to-head-to-head races within the primary. According to the County Elections Results...

In 207 Districts, Peduto beats Lamb
In 197 Districts, Lamb beats (or ties) Peduto
In 331 Districts, O'Connor beats Peduto
In 73 Districts, Peduto beats (or ties) O'Connor
In 361 Districts, O'Connor beats Lamb
In 43 Districts, Lamb beats (or ties) O'Connor

AND...

In 307 Districts, O'Connor beats Peduto AND Lamb
In 66 Districts Peduto beats Lamb AND O'Connor
In 28 Districts Lamb beats O'Connor AND Peduto
(3 ties)

AND THEREFORE, according to my math...

In 54 Districts, O'Connor beats Lamb, but not Peduto
In 141 Districts Peduto beats Lamb, but not O'Connor
In 15 Districts, Lamb beats O'Connor but not Peduto

So O’Connor trounces Peduto at about 5:1 and Lamb at about 9:1. Peduto and Lamb are roughly neck and neck. But who, pray tell, is siphoning votes away from who? Is Lamb a spoiler for Peduto? Is Peduto for Lamb? Would an O’Connor voter vote for Lamb over Peduto or the other way around? Well, what does this all mean?

I have a couple theories given what I’m seeing from the data:

I see five different undercurrents in the Pittsburgh Democratic structure: the Old Guard, the Revolutionaries, the New-Old Guard, the Black Caucus, and the Leftovers. Let's start last to first:

The Leftovers are the ones that voted for Henderson, Repovz, and Ludwig. These guys had some good spotty showings, but overall were barely a blip on the electoral map. I'm surmising that the people that voted for these candidates were either (1) Democrats disaffected with everything or (2) the candidates' families. As in any political system, there are going to be some fringe elements that draw some of these votes away from the more major candidates.

The Black Caucus represent the ones that voted for Kendrick, and is more indicative of some lingering, but very real, racial issues that the City of Pittsburgh faces. I found it interesting from the very beginning that Kendrick managed to pull out second place showings in several of the Voting Districts, and even a first place showing in one or two. These Districts were almost all (if not all) African American communities. While Bob O'Connor placed first almost always, it seemed interesting to me that Kendrick, who had fewer resources than nearly anyone other candidate, still managed to pull out a 2nd place showing. I believe that this means one of two things: (1) the African-American population of the City of Pittsburgh feels that the official Democratic party machine enfranchises them (which explains their turn out in support of O’Connor) and (2) the other, non slate, major candidates did not sufficiently represent their views. Of course, it could be both.

The New-Old Guard lies within the structure of the Old Guard. They are the ones who are looking to tame the beast that is the Democratic Machine so they can ride it. These are people that have been successful within the old system, but are generally wary of the direction the city is going. They are not necessarily interested in overthrowing the old system, but rather using the old system to their advantage as they make incremental reforms. They talk more about bond repayment and lien collection funds than anything interesting. They are trashed by the Old-Guard as being traitors and by the Revolutionaries as being apparatchiks of the system. They are dull and boring and dull and probably voted for Mr. Bucket-head himself, Michael Lamb.

The Revolutionaries seek to overthrow the system as it currently stands. They aren't looking to tame the beast or ride the beast, but kill the beast...and probably dance upon its grave singing "Hallelujah." They assume the posture of outsiders, although, given where their candidate Mr. Peduto did well, they represent a class of educated Bourgeoise-Bohemians ("BoBos" from now on, as I can't type "Bourgeoisie" over and over) who genuinely see Pittsburgh, or at least parts thereof, as a potential shining city-on-a-hill. While I have heard lofty goals and commendable ideals, the nuts and bolts of policy seem a bit spotty to me and, in the worst instances, elitist.

The Old Guard could have run this election in 1952, and probably did, although with less efficiency. It says a lot about the evolving Pittsburgh electorate when the Democratic Machine can only bring in 48% of the vote for their candidate. More specifically, this is the tell tale proof of my assertion that the hold of the Democratic Party is not as monolithic as it once was or even appears to be. Still, the Old Guard, in this election seems to be subdivided into "The-Powers-That-Be," "Those that Vote for The-Powers-That-Be," and "Those That Still F'ing Hate Tom Murphy." The Old Guard doesn't want change or trouble, and idealizes a city without troubles like the one it so fondly remembers from its childhood. These guys are comfortable with a Mayor who doesn't concern himself with big ideas, but a guy who can schmooze it up with fundraisers. It means stability; it means consistency; it means money. And it probably means they still get their damned early-bird discount.

But let's move away from the analysis of who I think the major factions are and do a little thought experiment:

WARNING: COUNTERFACTUALS AHEAD THAT INCLUDE THE LIBERAL USE OF A FICHUS TREE. THOSE WHO SEE REALITY AS BLACK/WHITE, GOOD/EVIL, WITH US/HATE AMERICA, SHOULD BEWARE.

Let us suppose that on the eve of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee meeting for endorsements, someone kidnaps Bob O'Connor's beloved fichus tree. The ransom note demands that Bob immediately drop out of the race, withdraw his name from consideration, ensure that no other Democrats enter the race, and keep his mouth shut about the race until November. Only then will his beloved fichus tree be returned safely. We are now left with six candidates to chose from.

So the question is: who wins the mayoral primary?

Given the factional structure above, I believe that Lamb would have gotten the blessing and endorsement of the ACDC as he is the "safe" choice. He lacks Bob's charisma and he's probably too close to the current administration, but he minimizes the risk of a complete undermining of their power.

Now, does this matter? Peduto's own victory in Council District 8 shows that you don't necessarily need the endorsement to win. I think we can agree, however, that the endorsement doesn't hurt you.

What about the money? Bob had a ton of it and won. Bill had less than Mike and came in second. Kendrick had nothing and still eked out a fourth place showing. Does money matter in this case? If Bob is out of the picture, where does this money flow to, if it flows at all? Does the ACDC endorsement affect any of that flow, or is Bob supporting certain policy positions that lend themselves to contributions by certain donors. Are Mike or Bill willing to whore themselves out to highway contractors for the chance of large contributions? What about the Soffer Organization? The Firefighters Union?

My reaction is that the big amounts of money are going to flow towards the "safe" choice, i.e., someone who has the least chance of rocking the boat and furthers policies in the interests of the contributors. The less safe candidate still has a chance, however, in that not all of the money will flow; the chances to tap into this money are much better than against the Bob O'Connor powerhouse.

But will the money make a difference? The runner-up candidates all suffer from a similar problem: they are very strong in their base, but weak across the city. Additional money would allow these candidates to spread their message a bit further outside of their base. But will a Revolutionary message resonate in Brookline? A Traditionalist message in the Southside? A Black message in Point Breeze? Can money help get people to like you and your message, or just get your name out there?

I'm pretty sure that there are some messages that aren't going to play well across factions. Zero-line budgeting probably infuriates those of the Old Guard that are dependant on their consistent budget line item. Similarly, a property lien back-back program means absolutely nothing to people that are more concerned about police or safety. But messages can be broadened and money can drive those messages home.

So we can run whatever scenarios we want: without the Old Guard in the race, do the Revolutionaries take on Old Guard votes and money or do the New-Old Guard? Are the Old Guard more likely to vote for The Revolutionaries or the New Old Guard? Who does the Black Caucus lean towards? What will the Old Guard voters do?

Those are just some things to think about and clog up my inbox about. I have no answers as I open the egg from the little end, eat my toast butter-side-down, and wear the red donut-hotdog hats.

Even More Follow-Up... even for the Bureaucrat Haters

First, to get some stuff off my chest: I apparently pissed off a very ardent Anonymous supporter of Bill Peduto, as I am apparently a "Lamb partisan" and should "get over it." Sorry, I meant "GET OVER IT."

Whatever.

Dude (or Dudette if that is the case), if I supported Lamb and you supported Peduto, we share one same quality: we both lost. Bob O'Connor made us our bitches. He beat us like we were his whores and we are supposed to like it. Frankly, if Peduto won or Lamb won, we would be having a different discussion, but from my prospective we're both losers.

So it goes.

I don't want to skip ahead, but as I said in the comments, there are some questions I'd like to see answered: (1)how to either get the money to the message or the message to the money [or the alternative question, "what would the race have looked like if money was no object?"], (2) what would a race without O'Connor have looked like, and, more esoteric, (3) what would a race without Tom Murphy have looked like.

But I'm not there yet. I'd like to build up some element of suspense, so I have some other maps that I'd like to show. I'll try to save you my personal opinions... at least for now.

Bob:


So where did Bob do well in terms of percentage vote by ward? The Hill, Homewood, Greenfield, Larimer, Hazelwood... and a bunch of other places. Well done Silver Fox. Bob didn't do well at all in Point Breeze, Shadyside, parts of Oakland, Highland Park, and Mt. Washington. Again, the City is his bitch.

Bill:


As I said before, Bill did his best in Shadyside, Bloomfield, Mexican War Streets, Friendship, and Point Breeze. Worst showings, or indeed, no showings, were in parts of the Hill, Arlington Heights, and Hazelwood.

Mike:


Mike did his best South of the River in Duquesne Heights, Regent Square, Brookline, and Beechview. Generally strong in the South, Lamb tanked in the Hill and in St. Clair. Both Mike and Bill did their worst in primarily African-American neighborhoods.

Hop:


Hop didn't do too well overall, but he did his best in the primarily African-American neighborhoods, especially Lincoln-Lemmington-Belmar.

What does this all mean to those of us (including both me and Anonymous) who did not vote for Bob O'Connor? Who would have won without Bob O'Connor in the race. What does it mean for the future of Pittsburgh Politics? What is the point? Why am I asking all these questions? Will I end this post with a profanity?

The answer to the last question is "No... ya bastard".