Can we get real, here, for half a second?Mayor Ravenstahl and his senior staff knew about every deal, every special exception, every bit of interference conducted by development czar (and borderline Deputy Mayor) Patrick Ford on behalf of the city's "customers" in development.
Moreover, neither the Mayor nor his staff were ever ignorant to the personal facets of the business relationships Mr. Ford was so adept at cultivating. It was part and parcel to what made him an effective go-between. It was something the Mayor has been known to revel in personally.
Considering our Mayor's very short tenure, the rapid ascension of Pat Ford should offer an excellent window into both Ravenstahl's policy preferences and personal administrative style. We also think it merits exploration of what the Ford Doctrine is all about. (The Pittsburgh Comet, 9/13/2007)
We were never at peace with some of the work Ford carried out on behalf of the young Mayor -- the illegal Lamar sign, the awful UPMC sign, the underwhelming Penguins arena and the endless roadblocks thrown in front of casino owner Don Barden. Yet it's manifestly cheap and ignoble to allow someone to be destroyed, to abruptly disavow and disown them, for doing the very job they were instructed to carry out -- in the way they were expected and encouraged to do it.
And it's thoroughly ridiculous to ask city taxpayers to continue to pay off that forsaken, publicly shamed employee simply so he might keep quiet about details, even for another four months.
PS -- Does this remind anyone else of the Denny Regan debacle? What do you call something more resistant than Teflon?
bram, you are so ass backward i can no longer stand it. the mayor and his senior staff didn't "know about" ford's deals.. FORD DID THE DEALS THEY TOLD HIM TO DO.
ReplyDeleteford didn't power grab, orchestrate deals or serve anyone that didn't donate to the Mayor or otherwise kiss the administration's ass. Ford, despite his dark suits and long cigars, was a lackey.
wake the fuck up already.
Well, I don't think we're in much disagreement here, Marb. Saying they "knew about" Ford's deals I thought was tantamount to saying they approved of them, or even orchestrated some of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Not convinced that the Mayor is actually in the loop here.
ReplyDeleteI think we should all be recognizing that this is a 3-player game of cards. Hypothetically, four, but I'm going to say three.
ReplyDeleteif not the mayor who then?
ReplyDeleteWell, that leaves... my goodness!
Our dear supreme dip sh-t, Yaronne Zober!
I bet he will sell out Luke the minute the FBI shows him a picture of a federal jail cell.
xxezv
If I am not being too nebby, who is the fourth?
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, total agreement.
Some say it's getting Shakespearean, I stil say its Casablanca. But we have no Rick, only a bunch of Captain Renault's (at best) and Major Strasser's (at worst). Is it possible that the Mayor will resign? The timing is bad, the US Attorney is virtually a lame duck and the Commonwealth Attorney General has found interesting things in Harrisburg to look at. But if an investigation is launched, the Mayor may want to "spend more time with his family".
Well, Ed, the fourth I was thinking of would be Jim Ferlo. If you believe the hype.
ReplyDeleteAn insider known to know things recently once speculated to me a figure you might call "The Fifth" -- a shadowy overlord, someone who may not yet get mentioned, someone who can avoid the glare. Didn't have any idea who it might be, didn't have any proof -- just speculated that it seemed that way.