Darlene Harris: Keeper of Public Plaques

Reporter Bob Mayor to Pittsburgh City Councilor Darlene Harris, upon learning she was securing an unauthorized $2,000 plaque labeled "Ravenstahl" after the last mayor in her office, "You're not the Keeper of Public Plaques, right?"

What is it with Lil Former Mayor Lukey's administration? Taking home his city-owned desktop computer before leaving office because he was afraid the Peduto administration would move in and hide it?! Hiding plaques named after him because there was fear that it would be taken away and destroyed?!

It's like they were preparing for an invasion by a herd of thundering barbarians instead of a normal change in administration. The paranoia runs deep with this one. Or perhaps just projection...

Anyone want to guess what the next bizarre revelation regarding Lukey's departure will be?

Pittsburghers React to Former Mayor Ravenstahl's Excuse for Leaving Office with City-owned PC

Today, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette revealed that former Mayor Luke Ravenstahl took his city-owned desktop computer with him when he left office, held onto it for several days, and then had his lawyer give this excuse for those actions:

Mr. Ravenstahl referred comment to his attorney, Charles Porter, who said the former mayor took the computer because he was concerned the Peduto administration would move in, hide it and then concoct a story about it going missing. 

"He didn't trust the administration, so he thought it prudent" to take the computer with him, Mr. Porter said, "so that people couldn't claim any derogatory things about him."

Typical Pittsburghers reacted to the news with varying degrees of skepticism:

Looks like it's time to drag this video out again

Recent Headlines:

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl tweets of work from off-site"

KDKA News: "Some Raising Questions Over Mayor’s Recent Tweets"  

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "Ravenstahl defends tweeting about work from other locations"

You want real response? Call P-E-D-U-T-O!

More Peduto Swiftboating From Luke Ravenstahl

As disappointing and yet unsurprising as this is, Jack Wagner's de facto political ally, Luke Ravenstahl is at it again with another Swiftboat ad targeting Bill Peduto.

You remember the last one, right?  Bought and paid for by Ravenstahl's "Committee for a Better Pittsburgh" and produced by every Republican's favorite Swiftboating firm, SRCP Media.

From McNulty at the P-G, we learn that the ad:

...containing a hodge-podge of opposition material on the Democratic contender in the May 21 primary. FCC records show he'll be on air through primary day next week.

The FCC link confirms that this ad is also produced by SRCP Media.

I wonder how many of the City's democrats know that at least part of the cash they shoveled into Luke's campaign coffers has since been reshoveled into the PR firm that smeared John Kerry in 2004?

But I digress.  Back to the Luke's swiftboating.

The last charge of the ad has this text:

And Peduto supported raising seniors property taxes but using others people's money, including tax dollars to take exotic trips.

Ominously intoned over photos of concerned seniors while the showing us these dates as "evidence" to support that assertion:

• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 12/18/03
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 6/5/08

But this being a swiftboat ad, what can we expect about the "facts" underlying the smear?   You won't be disappointed to learn the unsurprising relationship between what the ad says the P-G said and what the P-G actually said.

I want to take a look at that "exotic trip" Peduto took, here's what Rich Lord actually wrote in the piece SRCP is using to swiftboat Peduto:

Mr. Peduto's travels start with a trip Monday to Harvard University for a national conference on the use of pension funds to revitalize neighborhoods. He said the city will pay about $600 for airfare and one night in a hotel -- the only part of his travel plans he expects taxpayers to cover.

Shortly after that, he'll take an 11-day trip to Turkey, courtesy of the Pittsburgh Dialogue Foundation, which fosters communication between cultures. That trip, which will take him from urban Istanbul to the cave warrens of Cappadocia, is about "tolerance and understanding," he said. "We'll be studying the cultural interaction between Christians, Muslims and Jews in five cities." [Emphasis added.]

A paragraph later Lord writes:

Mr. Peduto got a letter from the city's Ethics Hearing Board approving the trip, noting that the foundation has no business dealings with the city.

So that's it?  $600 for a trip to Hah-Vahd, a trip OK-ed by the Ethics Hearing Board?

See how that works?  This is the swiftboating that Ravenstahl's paying for.

Don't fall for it.

Shorter Post-Gazette Mayoral Endorsement

Ravenstahl's a putz and Peduto rightfully opposed him, but that proves he can't work well with Ravenstahl's minions on Council so you shouldn't vote for him. Wagner contemplated maybe running against Ravenstahl in the fall but wouldn't jump into the primary until Ravenstahl dropped out which proves how brave Wagner is and how unconnected to the Ravenstahl crowd he is so you should vote for him. Also, Wagner works well with Republicans so he will work well with Council which is all Democrats. Policies? We don't need no stinkin' polices. The End.

More On Luke's Swiftboating...

There's a portion of Luke's latest swiftboat ad that I wanted to address. It's the part where the narrator says that:

Peduto voted against the living wage

The issue is big enough that there was a press conference this morning to address the swiftboating issue.

Potter, as usual, deftly covered the story:

So here's the fact-check. Peduto did vote to shelve living wage in 2002 -- a vote that everyone knew would put the bill on ice for an indefinite period. But since then, Peduto has also taken steps to boost the wages of low-income workers -- over the objections of the mayor now attacking his record. You can see why [SEIU's Sam] Williamson and others are outraged, and why they feel the ad creates a false impression. But Ravenstahl's ad may not exactly "rewrite history," as Williamson claimed, so much a offer a highly selective reading of it. And such readings are part of every election.

But Peduto's rival, Jack Wagner, ought to avoid chortling too loudly. Because by the same token, one can imagine an ad denouncing Wagner for, say, his own 1980s-era opposition to a city-council measure banning anti-gay discrimination. In later years, Wagner supported similar legislation on the state level. But if selective history is good for the goose ... [Italics in original.]

Potter writes about how Peduto's supporters "feel the ad creates a false impression" and so spent a great deal of time at the press conference pointing out (as Peduto himself does on his webpage devoted to debunking the swiftboat ad) the efforts that Peduto has done more recently to help
working families:

Williamson and other speakers were largely concerned with the impression created by one sentence of the ad: "Peduto voted against a living wage, hurting low-income workers citywide." To dispute that characterization, they cited a 2009 fight over an ordinance establishing a prevailing wage. Under that measure, if grocery stores, hotels, and office buildings want public subsidies for their projects, they must pay workers the prevailing wage for workers doing similar work elsewhere. (The idea is to ensure that city money isn't used to undercut the wages of the existing workforce.) But Mayor Luke Ravenstahl opposed the measure -- to the point of chaining the doors of office closed to keep wage supporters at bay. Peduto, by contrast, "welcomed us with open arms," said Tony Helfer, the head of UFCW 23, at today's event. And despite a whole series of fifth-floor shenanigans designed to thwart the bill -- including an 11th-hour bid by Ravenstahl to sandbag the measure, it eventually became law.

The next sentence is more or less guaranteed to bring about a chuckle or two:

It is, of course, ironic as hell for Ravenstahl -- who did everything he could to stop prevailing wage -- to be calling out Peduto for not doing enough to support workers.

Who said swiftboating was ever honest?  I mean, look at what the original swiftboating was trying to do: make the decorated war hero (then Senator Kerry) look like a coward in order for the guy who sat out the Vietnam war (then President Bush) to look like a hero.

So this swiftboating irony for Ravenstahl is no big deal - it's par for the course, if you wanna make a golf metaphor.  And we all know Luke's always teed up for a good golf metaphor!

But why would the City Council want to connect the two (delay the living wage in the city until there was a living wage in the county)?  According to Sonya Toler, Peduto's communications director, "Connecting the two was an effort to prevent employers from relocating to the county in order to avoid paying higher wages."

So what looks like one thing might, in fact, be something else.  Not that that would matter to Luke's friends on the Committee for a Better Pittsburgh and the swiftboat PR firm they're working with.

BREAKING: Exclusive Interview with Committee for a Better Pittsburgh

Mayor Luke's Swiftboating Friends

Let's start here, with Bob Mayo of WTAE:

Campaign finance reports filed with Allegheny County's Elections Division and the Pennsylvania Department of state indicate that the group behind an attack ad in the Pittsburgh mayor's race has past ties to Mayor Ravenstahl's now shut down reelection campaign.

The TV spot begins with an announcer saying "Bill Peduto wants to be Mayor of Pittsburgh, but Peduto only seems to care about his own district". The attack ad charges that Peduto was against helping Homewood seniors, Hill District development, and a living wage -- claims he denies. Peduto says "it's an outside group lurking in the shadows that's trying to determine who the next Mayor of Pittsburgh is". Peduto is one of four people competing in the spring primary to run as the Democratic mayoral candidate in the fall.

The Repubican-aligned agency hired to make the ad also created the 'Swiftboat' ads against Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry -- a third-party attack ad that hurt Jerry's run for president. The anti-Peduto ad's fine print says it's paid for by a "Committee for a Better Pittsburgh".

You can read the Peduto Campaign's response to the Swiftboat ad here.

But that's not the part of the story I want to look at.  Mayo mentions how "The Repubican-aligned agency hired to make the ad also created the 'Swiftboat' ads" but doesn't mention the name.

From this document posted at the P-G, we learn the name: SRCP Media.  So Luke's "Committee for a Better Pittsburgh" hired SRCP for the Peduto ad.

So how did they do on the Kerry Swiftboat stuff?

As of this morning this ad is still posted at SRCP's "Presidential work" page.  I guess they're still proud of it.  I guess they still think it's good work.

It isn't.  Factcheck.org took a look at the ad and found it wanting.  Here is their summary of the ad:

A group funded by the biggest Republican campaign donor in Texas began running an attack ad Aug. 5 in which former Swift Boat veterans claim Kerry lied to get one of his two decorations for bravery and two of his three purple hearts. But the veterans who accuse Kerry are contradicted by Kerry's former crewmen, and by Navy records.

One of the accusers says he was on another boat "a few yards" away during the incident which won Kerry the Bronze Star, but the former Army lieutenant whom Kerry plucked from the water that day backs Kerry's account. In an Aug. 10 opinion piece in the conservative Wall Street Journal, Rassmann (a Republican himself) wrote that the ad was "launched by people without decency" who are "lying" and "should hang their heads in shame."

And on Aug. 19, Navy records came to light also contradicting the accusers. One of the veterans who says Kerry wasn't under fire was himself awarded a Bronze Star for aiding others "in the face of enemy fire" during the same incident.

Factcheck takes spends a lot of time on the (now debunked) account of then-Captain George Elliot:

Several of those who appear in the ad have signed brief affidavits, and we have posted some of them in the "supporting documents" section to the right for our visitors to evaluate for themselves.

One of those affidavits, signed by George Elliott, quickly became controversial. Elliott is the retired Navy captain who had recommended Kerry for his highest decoration for valor, the Silver Star, which was awarded for events of Feb. 28, 1969, when Kerry beached his boat in the face of an enemy ambush and then pursued and killed an enemy soldier on the shore.

Elliott, who had been Kerry's commanding officer, was quoted by the Boston Globe Aug 6 as saying he had made a "terrible mistake" in signing the affidavit against Kerry, in which Elliott suggested Kerry hadn't told him the truth about how he killed the enemy soldier. Later Elliott signed a second affidavit saying he still stands by the words in the TV ad. But Elliott also made what he called an "immaterial clarification" - saying he has no first-hand information that Kerry was less than forthright about what he did to win the Silver Star.

What Elliott said in the ad is that Kerry "has not been honest about what happened in Viet Nam." In his original affidavit Elliott said Kerry had not been "forthright" in Vietnam. The only example he offered of Kerry not being "honest" or "forthright" was this: "For example, in connection with his Silver Star, I was never informed that he had simply shot a wounded, fleeing Viet Cong in the back.

Factcheck points out a BIG problem with that last part:

The official citations show Kerry was not awarded the Silver Star "for simply pursuing and dispatching" the Viet Cong. In fact, the killing is not even mentioned in two of the three versions of the official citation (see "supporting documents" at right.) The citations - based on what Elliott wrote up at the time - dwell mostly on Kerry's decision to attack rather than flee from two ambushes, including one in which he led a landing party.

In the end, Senator John McCain summed up the ad still being used to polish SRCP's conservative street cred:

I think the ad is dishonest and dishonorable. As it is none of these individuals served on the boat (Kerry) commanded. Many of his crewmates have testified to his courage under fire. I think John Kerry served honorably in Vietnam.

Why am I spending so much time on this one ad?

Because I want everyone to remember that Luke Ravenstahl's "Committee for a Better Pittsburgh" purchased an ad smearing Bill Peduto from the same folks who produced the dishonest and dishonorable ad that smeared then-Senator and now-Secretary of State John Kerry.

You think they suddenly found religion and became honest and honorable?

Yea, I don't either.

The Old Coalition Vs. The New Coalition

The Old Coalition

I'm not saying there's no differences between current Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Democratic primary candidate Jack Wagner. Wager served very honorably in Vietnam while Ravenstahl wasn't even born until years after that war ended. But, they do have an awful lot in common.

They share many of the same big donors.

They both share support from many of the same pols.

Neither is exactly against fracking.

They both have come late to the party in terms of LGBT rights (coincidentally right after polls show a change in public attitude).

They both have even more muddy views on women's reproductive rights -- Wagner didn't even show up for Planned Parenthood of Western PA's "Candidate's Forum on Women in Western Pennsylvania" (which was about more than just women's vagina's).

Ravenstahl was unexpectedly propelled into the office and his vision didn't ever seem to get more detailed than to "move forward" (though he never seemed to meet a big developer he didn't like or a city asset he didn't want to sell). Wagner's details on issues and policies can at best be described as light and breezy, especially when compared to someone putting out 100 policy papers. And again, Wagner shares the same supporters as Ravenstahl...

And, while Wagner is now trying to say he is the change we need from the current administration, he chose not to run until the current mayor dropped out of the race (meanwhile, doing back flips trying to paint Bill Peduto as both someone who will butt heads and someone who is part of what needs to be changed).

So there you have it, folks. This race is primarily Wagnerstahl Vs. Peduto.

The Old Coalition Vs. The New Coalition.

It's up to you to choose.


*** Obligatory Disclaimer: As everyone should know by now, I've been working part-time for People For Peduto since 2010.

Coming full circle

You have to admit, there's a nice symmetry to it. Lil Mayor Luke's very first scandal involved the police and an Officer Frank Rende and now his administration is up to its eyeballs in police scandals and the latest involves an Officer Frank Rende.

Back in 2006, Ravenstahl had to drop his public safety director nomination of Dennis Regan. Part of the reason was because police Cmdr. Catherine McNeilly had sent an email to city officials warning them that "Mr. Regan undercut her effort to discipline city Detective Francis M. Rende, the brother of the woman with whom Mr. Regan shares a Point Breeze home." The article in the Post-Gazette back then noted that Rende had a "dozen accusations of conduct unbecoming an officer, verbal abuse and excessive force" including coming back to have sex with a woman who was depressed and very drunk when he had answered a domestic call earlier that day. Rende was also calling off sick for his police job to work side jobs and had been using another officer's password to pick up even more work. The other part was because Bill Peduto (and others) were hammering Regan as being completely unqualified for the position. Rende kept his job.

Now, some six and a half years later, Officer Frank Rende is in the news again, but this time, Ravenstahl is calling for him to be fired. Maybe it's because this time the incident is on tape. But the snark in me says that while Luke was able to look past officers beating down Jordan Miles and look past officers having incidents of domestic violence when promoting them, this is just a case of projection on Luke's part. After all, soon he may be the drunk white guy who's partied a little too hard on the South Side:

Damn your eyes!

Frances is at it again...No, no...The other Frances. She's written "The Ballad of Luke Ravenstahl" which you can listen to here. The lyrics are below the fold. After hearing it, I felt sufficiently moved to create an album cover for this post.

Hat Meet Ring

Hail, Hail, the Gang's All!

Lil Mayor Luke does Pittsburgh a solid and drops out of the race, but now apparently every Johnny-come-lately (and Joanne-come-lately) wants to throw their hat into the ring. Retired PA State Auditor General Jack Wagner and City Council President Darlene Harris are already gathering petitions. PA State Sen. Jim Ferlo is planning to begin gathering signatures today. And, according to The Trib, City Councilman Ricky Burgess and State Rep. Jake Wheatley are feeling out the unions, but aren't commenting to the media. They of course join City Councilman Bill Peduto and City Controller Michael Lamb.

Who's on first? According to PoliticsPA:

Today’s developments benefit Peduto most directly; Wagner and Lamb share a political base in Pittsburgh’s south side/south hills.

Called it

It should come as no surprise that Luke Ravenstahl's decision to not run again for Mayor of Pittsburgh is not even the least bit bittersweet for me, but unlike some comments on the intertubes, I don't believe this is all about some possible fallout from the police investigation (more like the last straw). I do believe Ravenstahl when he said yesterday that he'd been thinking about not running for a long time. And, I called it a year and half ago here:

The Thrill is Gone  

Larry Roberts/Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl at the
opening of the new Beechview supermarket

John Heller/Post-Gazette
Ravenstahl "listens" to East Enders' flooding concerns

You almost have to feel sorry for the guy. Now in his 30s, he's lost his "youngest mayor" news worthiness. He can't get away with the hijinks of his earlier years of stalking Tiger Woods or joyriding in a Homeland Security vehicle. At odds with the majority of Council, he can't deliver City assets to his bankster friends or even help oust his critics in that body. And, while he always had a problem with showing up/staying at important meetings (including those with the President), he can't even manage to be at the right place at the right time when natural disasters hit our region.

Just look at those pictures.

Is that the face of a happy camper?

And, even as the thrill may be gone for him, it's also gone for the voters. With a 19% approval rating, he's no longer Pittsburgh's Favorite Grandson.

But, Lil Mayor Luke still has over two years to serve in his current term. Maybe he should just do himself -- and all of us -- a big favor and pull a Palin. Say you're doing it for your family for Pittsburgh and just go.

Too soon?

Somewhere in an alternate universe:  
(Via Bram via Facebook)

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl drops bid for re-election (Update 1x) Not resigning

It's official

Mayor Luke Announces...

Luke Ravenstahl, the mayor of Pittsburgh just said:

I'm here today to announce that I am dropping my bid for re-election.

It's done.

No matter what happens in the next few minutes, there's already this

No matter what happens in the next few minutes, there's already this:

A "StepDahn" T-shirt to go with the "#StepDahn" Twitter tag.

Short Ravenstahl Update

WTAE's Bob Mayo just tweeted:

Mayor's office news release says 11amnews conference.
— Bob Mayo (@bobmayo) March 1, 2013

In case you're curious...

Song of the Day