This Post Was Not Cleared by the Mayor's Office

So this is what Early Returns had to say a few days ago:

Assuming the mayor comes back to the office Monday, he may find it harder to connect with a council that is incensed at a new administration policy regarding communication with city departments.

Council members have traditionally contacted department directors, assistant directors and division commanders or supervisors directly in their efforts to get neighborhood needs met. They view their power to drag managers into the field to look at graffiti, crumbling retaining walls, tumbledown houses or spalling bridges as a key tool of their offices.

Early this week, council members started getting e-mails telling them of a new policy. Requests by council members or their staff to meet with managers have to go through the mayor or Chief of Staff Yarone Zober. Superdirectors Art Victor and Mike Huss need to be involved if public works or public safety staff are involved.

Members are trying to buck the order, by contacting city underlings directly in spite of the edict. But the good soldiers in the ranks are afraid of reprisals if they attend any unauthorized meetings with council members, and so are refusing to talk without Mayor's Office approval.

(ER notes that this seems a lot like the media relations policy instituted when Mayor Bob O'Connor took office in 2006 and his spokesman Dick Skrinjar told managers not to talk to reporters without his approval. That policy remains in force under current spokeswoman Alecia Sirk, though it isn't always rigorously enforced.

Under Mayor Tom Murphy, reporters could call department heads directly and get answers to factual questions, on the record, without anyone's approval.)

There's talk of a council revolt, which could take the form of refusal to act on bills the administration wants, or even the subpoenaing of managers. We at ER don't think it's going to come to that, but it certainly has soured relations between the administration and the new council.

There's relatively very little that we can add to the description, except to say that it's true, in our experience. (Although it's refreshing to not have to screen the hundreds of calls from Rich Lord, Jeremy Boren, and Jon Delano all day.) Not sure, however, how this impacts the related entities (including URA, PWSA, HACP, PPA, etc.), but I'm guessing that they are similarly affected by this policy.

This authoritarian information control, however, does seem to be part of a general pattern coming out of 414 Grant Street. First there was the above referenced media blackout, then there was the blocking of the blogs, now there's this. That's even setting aside the old Internet access block by the previous administration. Perhaps it's a coincidence, but...

Well, let me go back a second.

In July of 2006, I wrote a post about the effects of the purging of B.J. Leber et al. from the O'Connor administration. It read, in part

If you are quick witted, you'll probably see where we're going with this: the O'Connor administration has made a significant shift away from a collegial model to a more authoritarian corporate model...

[T]he most disturbing development of this change is this: the Pyramidal model allows actors to make policy with little oversight within their particular sphere, as they can block the flow of bad information to the Executive. The result is sufficient latitude to reward particular interests or pursue particular policies that, one may argue, could be criminal. Multiple levels of oversight and conflict help to minimize this problem.

So, effectively the concentration of power in the hands of a small clique of "Pols" in the Mayor's Office, following the purge of the "Wonks" will probably lead to a more explicit series of policies that reward O'Connor favorites/patrons/friends and a lessening of policies that seek to innovate the City of Pittsburgh. Alternatively, the Mayor's Office will be able to ruthlessly pursue its agenda without fear of being stymied from within.

Let's carry the analogy forward: Ravenstahl is consolidating information around his office, allowing the administration to make policy and decisions with little oversight from Council and the Public.

Well... why?

If you are suspicious, you would think that the Mayor's office is trying to hide something. If you thought something like that, you obviously have the political subtlety of a cross-dressing brick through a window.

In my hastily assembled opinion, the Mayor's office is not trying to hide something; it's try to hide everything.

You see, it has been remarked to me frequently that certain employees of the City feel that directives out of the Mayor's Office has been erratic, confusing, and bad. To put it another way, as someone on the elevator asked me the other day "Do they know what the hell they're doing on the 5th Floor?" I get the feeling that the Mayor's Office is trying to hide the fact that they don't, in fact, know what the hell they're doing.

By restricting access to both members of the media and Council, the Mayor's office can effectively control the perception that it does, in fact, know what the hell it is doing, even though it may not actually know what the hell it is doing.

Pay no attention to the Emperor with no clothing behind the curtain.

So, if anyone wants to *ahem* anonymously circumvent the filters, I'm perfectly willing to let my fellow Bureaucrats use this site to vent their frustrations and/or dish dirt.

I mean, that's what I'm doing.

Gott Mitt uns?

So, by now everyone knows that Gov. Romney has suspended his campaign in order to spend more time with his wives. For those that are counting, that leaves two Republican candidates and Ron Paul.

A couple questions and thoughts on this matter:

(1) Now that their favorite candidate has dropped out, will Messrs. Limbaugh, Hannity, and Coulter commit political seppuku, will they man up and admit their mistakes, or will they throw major right wing temper tantrums?

(2) Since he has a virtual lock on the nomination now, will McCain try to satisfy the evangelical wing of the party (e.g. Huckabee supporters) or will he ignore them and start "rushing to the middle" with 8 months to go before the general election? If the latter, will that alienate more base Republican than it attracts moderate Democrats and independents.

(3) Barring any convention surprises or a resurgence of Gov. Huckabee or a Zombie Reagan attack, it looks like this will be the first time since 1960 that a sitting Senator will be elected President, and only the third time in history.

Fun stuff.

Super Tuesday Predictions

Here are my predictions for Super Tuesday:

(1) I will eat pancakes.
(2) I will flash my breasts for beads.
(3) I will try to make a "Hurricane," but fail miserably.
(4) I will pass out in a pool of, what I will believe to be, urine.
(5) Tomorrow I will long for a steak and wallow in latent Catholic guilt.

Or were you expecting election predictions?

Pitt study: Third of popular songs depict drug, alcohol use

Eric Clapton, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Ramones, Rick James, Tom Petty, The Eagles, Johnny Cash, Sublime, The Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, George Thorogood, Ray Charles, Black Sabbath, Neil Young, Billy Joel, Bob Marley, The Doors, Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, The Who, Stone Temple Pilots, and Captain Renault reportedly shocked, SHOCKED!

MFX Pt. XLII

Here we go again:

When the Mon-Fayette Expressway was conceived more than 40 years ago, the idea of a high-speed highway connecting Pittsburgh and Morgantown, W.Va., seemed like an urgent transportation and economic development need for southwestern Pennsylvania...

Now, a group of business and political leaders is looking to jump-start the project through a public-private partnership that they hope could raise half of the estimated $3.6 billion cost.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl recently convened a closed-door meeting of more than 60 elected officials and business leaders from all corners of southwestern Pennsylvania to expedite plans to complete the Mon-Fayette Expressway.

For his part, Mr. Onorato, who has always supported the toll road, signed onto this latest effort because of his desire to further redevelop the brownfield left by the demise of manufacturing in the valley, where he has concentrated his efforts in recent years, said spokesman Kevin Evanto.

"[Mr. Onorato] believes development in the Mon Valley needs a road connection like this highway," Mr. Evanto said. He added that Mr. Onorato was especially drawn to this effort because of "the possibility of what public-private partnerships can bring to the table."

Now if Onorato was being intellectually honest about this, he'd point out that the areas that are being "served" by the Mon-Fayette aren't the brownfields or old mill towns in the Mon Valley, but the land developers in Fayette County. In fact, a close examination of the route shows that the road will avoid or cut through a lot of the communities that would have benefited from such "help."

I do not believe it to be a coincidence, however, that the preserved Carrie Furnance site is situated next to the proposed MFX: a perfect blending of antiquated technology and antiquated city planning.

Now, if the Ravenstahl administration actually thought about this plan for a second, they'd realize, apart from encouraging sprawl, that such a road would detract from the ongoing and planned developments in Nine Mile Run, Hazelwood, Southside Works, and the Pittsburgh Technology Center. If they were engineers, they would probably realize that the interchange at Bates Street alone (connecting the Parkway East to the MFX) is going to be ridiculously cumbersome, an eyesore, and a traffic nightmare.

But, far be it for rationality and logic to stand in the way of our young mayor and his 3rd Rate CPA "big brother" getting potential campaign contributions from highway contracting firms and housing (bubble) developers.

It's like they're saying "Eat this Shit! It tastes better than any other Shit you've ever eaten!" and they have testimonials from other shit eaters saying "Yes! You'll love this shit! It's the best shit ever!" and they have people that say "We'll raise the money to make sure that you'll have all the shit you can eat for life! You'll never have to worry about running out of shit again!"

And I'm saying

YOU'RE STILL EATING FUCKING SHIT, YOU ASSHOLES!

Still, I sort of understand the whole Mon-Fayette expressway on the bureaucratic level: it's a Golden Turd.

Let me tell you a story which continues on my scatological musings:

Back many, many moons ago when I was in college, one unremarkable day there were signs posted in the dorm alerting residents that one of their brethren had left what can only be described as "a massive shit" in one of the stalls and inviting whoever it was who left the giant crap to "seek medical attention at once" for "there is no way anything that size should come out of a human being."

As we were curious youths, we immediately sought out the offending stall and, sure enough, the most massive piece of shit we had ever seen sat there before us.

Word quickly spread through campus about the massive dump left in our dorm and it wasn't long before select residents were leading tours through the bathroom showing off, with pride, our giant brownie loaf.

After several hours, however, the smell wafting out of the bathroom was almost too intense. Residents started leaving and people started complaining about the stench. Still, no one wanted to flush it because no one wanted to be the guy that had flushed King Dookie down the drain. We didn't really want the shit, but we couldn't bear to part with it.

Eventually, some RA took it in his hands (not literally) to dispose of the waste and that was the end of that.

I think every bureaucrat has his or her own Golden Turd: an awful, stupid, vile project that, for whatever reason, no one wants to flush.

And that's a good metaphor for the Mon-Fayette Expressway, in my opinion.

Warning: The previous post contained foul language and should not have been seen by younger readers.

Local Blogger Loses $1,000 Superbowl Bet

"Respectable Businessmen" on way to collect money
Kneecaps expect confrontation with Louisville Slugger
Tom Brady expected to be "whacked"

An Even Greater Musical Performance from the 20th Century

I'll see your video, spork, and I'll raise you:

Rick Santorum Sees Shadow

Rodent emerges from stump to announce endorsement of Mitt Romney, six more weeks of campaigning

Ann Arbor Urban Development

Found an interesting article out of Ann Arbor, Michigan (City Motto: "Gateway to Washtenaw County"), in which the City Council rejected plans from two developers following resident complaints and now a City Council member wants to make consulting with neighbors more than a recommendation for developers: :

[City Council Member Sabra] Briere's proposal would require developers to notify any residents within 1,000 feet of a project. That would mean providing a complete description of the project as well as information about how to express concerns about it. The petitioner would then provide a report at least seven days prior to a Planning Commission public hearing.

The report would list all the details of meetings that were held and concerns expressed by residents. The developer would list what steps would be taken to address residents' concerns. If developers aren't willing to address some concerns, they would have to explain why.

It's an interesting theory, and one that plays into the goings on in the Hill District/Northshore. While this may be seen as a big headache and cost for developers upfront, it may pay dividends in the long run. As one of the interviewees in the article states, "Realistically, the developer is going to have to [engage the community] ahead of time or play catch-up afterwards."

It is important to note that the Ann Arbor proposal does not bind the developers to addressing the needs of the neighborhood, but rather it documents the process of engaging the residents. There will, of course, be times that community demands are unrealistic (cf. rainbow farting unicorns), but the developer will have an opportunity to explain why such demands are unreasonable or overly burdensome to the project.

Business Casual Friday

Alrighty folks, here we go with another Business Casual Friday:

MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE



If you haven't seen the MST3K episode... well, you should.