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| Mercury News |
You heard it right! This blogger got to thinking that maybe mayoral candidate Bill Peduto's 50+ policy positions weren't getting enough play, so I decided to hold a contest!
To enter, all you have to do is answer the questions: What is you most favorite of his ideas? And/or: What is your least favorite?
Two winners will win $25 gift certificates to the Pittsburgh restaurant of their very own choice! If a contest winner does not choose on their own, the restaurant shall be Verde in Garfield, which is one of my favorites. No, obviously I did not coordinate this with Verde beforehand. You can choose any of our wonderful restaurants. No, I did not coordinate this with Peduto for Pittsburgh. You can choose any of our wonderful mayoral candidates.
I say you choose the one with 100 meaningful and sometimes courageous ideas, but that's besides the point!!! Eat food, think about Pittsburgh, be creative, crack jokes, be serious! WHAT DO YOU THINK?
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| We like Verde |
Get to cheering and trashing those ideas! More and more are promised every day by the Peduto team (which is growing steadily at about 2 pts per week) until party Election Day on May 21st! We're probably just getting to the good ones!
Those polling number getting yinz guys down?
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:59 - The hailstorm of cynical negativity and one quarter-truths of the whisper campaign. Nothing we're not familiar with or can't handle, or that real Pittsburghers notice.
ReplyDeleteHow do you feel about neighborhood cab stands and more cab companies? "Stakeholders" unhappy? How about a legitimate land bank? One with a diverse board representative of the city's and communities' interests, not the play thing of a given politician?
To quote the Idea Bank re the Land Bank:
ReplyDelete"My vision of a Pittsburgh Community Land Bank is one that is independent, targeted, and sustainable. First of all, our land bank must be independent. The most successful land banks in the country are those that are out of the control of elected or appointed politicians and are created as nonprofit organizations with their own independent board and staff members."
I agree Land Banks are a great idea...but basically Peduto's idea says this should be created and controlled by someone other than government with money that does not belong to the government/taxpayers. So how does electing Peduto mayor help the cause?
Peduto is going down and taking Rudiak with him!
ReplyDeleteAnon 8:43 - Some of the benefit of land bank(s) being an independent non-profit instead of an "interagency" gov't-run holding is A) keeping the City itself from being liable for all those vacant properties we are holding, B) its structure meeting the requirements of the state enabling legislation, and C) having it "controlled" in a democratic way (bottom up) increases the motivation to forge consensus solutions and lessens the chance it will become driven by a certain developer such as KBK, or driven by a rogue politician or two to reward friends and punish enemies.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeletePeduto is going down and taking Rudiak with him!
April 12, 2013 at 10:01 AM
Oh yeah, sure, Rudiak going down under the pressure from the full-on electoral assault that is the organizational powerhouse known as John Lee - the guy can barely string 4 coherent words together in a PRINT interview with the City Paper. Talk about a truly inspiring non-feudal leader for Pittsburgh's future, amirite?
Bram 10:47
ReplyDeleteYou didn't answer the question. So how does electing Peduto help the cause of land banks? (vs any other mayoral candidate)
What I love is how Peduto says Wagner has all of Luke's people. Well Bill often positioned himself as the official opposition in City Hall so, it seems reasonable that Luke's people went with Bills opponent. you cant ahve it both ways. Just the same to characterize Luke's people as bad because of Harper is not selling. Even Vic from the ACLU says, 5% of of the cops are bad guys. Get rid of them.Uhaul recently stated that Pgh is the #1 destination for out of state rented Uhauls. Inspite of all the whining from the Pedutistas, most of the people in Pgh are happy with their city and like it. To paraphrase Mark Steyn,When reality doesn't fit the progressive agenda, they call foul!
ReplyDeleteSo it's just as simple as "getting rid" of the 5% bad apples in the police... as though that's not a gross oversimplification of the police, how about the other Departments? Why in an arm administration otherwise capable of defending itself, what is up with BBI? Why is that an ongoing calamity? Do you think Pghers are HAPPY about its effectiveness dealing w vacant property and bad property owners? Where does that resistance to fixing anything COME from? You are seriously misreading what is meant by optimism in Pittsburgh's future.
ReplyDeleteWhen reality doesn't fit the progressive agenda, they call foul!
ReplyDeleteHow true. Rudiak is being dragged down by Peduto for sure
So let me get this right, everyone that supports or gives money to the Wagner is corrupt, has a hidden agenda or part of "the network. And everyone that supports or gives money to Peduto is just in it for good government and no agendas? Come on!!!!!! Get the blinders off
ReplyDeleteSo the Peduto camp thinks Ferlo is corrupt, Harris is corrupt, Lamb is corrupt, Readshaw is corrupt etc. But Dowd is awesome. You couldn't make this stuff up.
ReplyDelete#92 Where’s My Plow? GPS Tracking For City Snowplows sounds like a waist of money
ReplyDelete#78 Pittsburgh After School: Providing Learning Opportunities to Keep Kids Off the Street sounds like a winner.
Peduto is as much an insider as anyone else on council or in the race. He was a campaign manager for dan cohens aborted congressional run. He went from there to working as cohens chief of staff. When cohen left he filled his seat. He has been a democratic insider for the past 20 years. He is supported by King Fitzgerald a man he has had a long relationship with. Another political insider. And yeah yeah he didn't get the endorsement. So what. As the election gets closer, and the shrill cries of unfairness fill these pages, think back to the good ole days when Bill was on council and every word he said sounded brilliant!
ReplyDelete5:24 just being elected doesn't put you on the inside... bill never played nice with the big boys so they never played nice with him. end of story. every time these creeps say uncooperative that means he told somebody hell no who isn't used to being told no.
ReplyDeletefitz is just another fanboy of bill and he couldn't king his way out of a paper bag anyway so
@ 554 uhuh...being an elected official is the inside. How you handle it is up to you. Just being part of the "he said she said" is far more than what the grunts in the city gov know, more than what the committee members know and far more than what the average Joe knows. And every elected official
ReplyDeletehas their own group of money people, big or small. You think Billy P is a virgin? Get a clue!
"Virgin!" How colorful. I wonder if that's common parlance in the I industry....
ReplyDeleteWhat does Bill do when he loses?
ReplyDeleteForm a one person think tank since he is always the smartest person in the room?
I've learned a lot from Bill's initial 100 ideas listed on his website because Bill has been willing to learn a lot from Pittsburghers. Most of what I'm learning directly addresses the concerns and possibilities of my neighborhood in East Liberty, and so many of the neighborhoods I roll through on the bus. I respect Peduto's respect for other people's concerns. I respect Peduto's respect for the humane intelligence, possibilities and energies generated by many meetings of many minds.
ReplyDeleteIt was hard to pick so I went with my gut.
ReplyDeleteMy "fav" is #69 http://www.billpeduto.com/2013/03/14/69-neighborhood-codewatch-community-code-enforcement-task-forces/
I like that Bill ties the strengths of a community to the resources to address the weaknesses. If someone could convince even 1/3 of my neighbors to call 311 or attend a meeting, they'd gain a wealth of information on what's actually happening on these streets. And that "convincing" is only going to happen by a City administration that is responsive. My only suggestion is to add Animal Care and Control to this team - off leash pets, animal welfare and the increasing number of wildlife critters residing in our neighborhoods should be part of these conversations.
I don't have a least favorite b/c I'm willing to wait and see what else he proposes - what I'd like to see is a clear emphasis on increasing recycling rates for local businesses among the green initiatives. I'd also like to see a more proactive approach to "reuse" perhaps a Pittsburgh reuse alliance of sorts involving npo's, government, business, the arts, etc.
the school board could give a damn what mr. P thinks about education. they are an elected body that will fight tenaciously to keep the Mayor out of their business!
ReplyDeleteAnon 2:27:
ReplyDeleteBill has never said that everyone who supports or donates to Jack is corrupt. He has said that there is a specific subset of people who pulled Ravenstahl's strings for six years and have now unanimously coalesced around Jack. Of course that's because they don't like Bill because he won't play ball with them but it's also because they think Jack will. That's a totally legitimate criticism, not some attack on the integrity of every Jack Wagner supporter.
There seems to be an awful lot of whining from Wagner supporters that Bill is just this vindictive meanie who hates everyone who doesn't support him. To me he just seems like a dude who is fed up with a non-responsive Mayor's office and a cloud of threats, intimidation, and backroom dealing around it. Sure the region is doing well economically and there are a lot of good things happening in the city but walk down any street in Lawrenceville, Brookline, Spring Garden, or Greenfield and I bet you will hear an earful about how city government has been an impediment, not a facilitator. If Ravenstahl and his people were so amazing why were his approval ratings in the toilet before he dropped out? It's totally legitimate to wonder how their embrace of Jack is going to lead to the change we seriously need in the city.
#65 RIVER TO RIVER RAIL: CONNECTING PEOPLE TO JOBS
ReplyDeleteRunning a rail through the East End is a brilliant idea. It would relieve the stress off of city buses and perhaps allow them to actually arrive on time. It would allow students to branch out and see more of the city besides Oakland. It would also provide a commuting option for both Lawrenceville and Hazelwood both neighborhoods would benefit greatly. Lawrenceville could continue its development and Hazelwood could finally get started. Also come on it would just be fantastic to have an option besides the bus system.
Wagner came into this race railing against the police force, fracking, UPMC, and Ravenstahl. Since getting the endorsements his tone has changed completely. He now refuses to answer about fracking. Hasn't researched Ravenstahl's time in office. Won't commit on UPMC and my personal favorite took time to honor the job Harper did. Wagner has a price tag and Ravenstahl's old backers happily paid up.
ReplyDeleteI felt like retching when Wagner praised Harper - his leadership was formed and entangled by the larger systemic corruption, but he should not be held up as any type of example at this time, not after the consequences that have been suffered by the communities most in need, not while he profited off of his position - profits spent on luxury and entertainment!
ReplyDeleteFrack Nation folks!!
ReplyDeleteThe last two films of the creators of Fracknation deal with global warming (Which they deny) and coal mining (Which they wholeheartedly support). Forgive me if I don't take them too seriously.
ReplyDelete