On the Spot Funder Tonight!



 Via Facebook:

Remember how awkward middle school was?

Imagine you are a seventh grade girl in foster care. Life is all sorts of awkward. For many local girls like this, some days are worse than awkward. For many girls in foster care or unstable family situations suddenly finding yourself in school, with your period, and WITHOUT supplies is an unfortunately regular occasion

Join us at Nico's to drink beer, and make sure that no girl in our area has to struggle to find these basic necessities!

All your (and Oprah's) favorite things will be back:
Menstrual products
Silent auction
Cookie table

$10 or $5 and a package of pads/tampons.

PS: Wednesday is Pitchers and Pizza night at Nico's, so start training your stomach for the amount of food and beer you will be ingesting.

**On the Spot is a campaign to raise funds to help purchase menstrual supplies for local schools to hand out to girls who find themselves unsupplied and ‘on the spot.’ For more information about the project check out our facebook page or go to our website: http://pghonthespot.wordpress.com/ ( You can also find out how to donate if for some reason drinks, pizza, and cookies don't sound like a good time!)

On the Spot Fundraiser
When: Tonight! March 6, 2013, 6:00pm until 8:00pm
Where: Nico's, 178 Pearl St, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15224 (map)
More Info/RSVP: Facebook

 

One of the auction items includes 2 tickets sitting in the Harris Family box to see the Penguins play on March 17th, courtesy of F. Dok Harris! 

 

The big storm was a big bust, so come out, have fun, and support Pittsburgh girls!

Bizarro World Slate Card!

In the Bizarro World of "Htrae" ("Earth" spelled backwards), society is ruled by the Bizarro Code which states "Us do opposite of all Earthly things! Us hate hacks and DINOs! Us love real Democrats!

Here is us Bizarro World ACDC slate card:



US Senate
Joe Sestak!

PA Governor
Joe Hoeffel!

4th Congressional District
Jason Altmire Franco Dok Harris! (Write-in)

40th State Senatorial District
Dan DeMarco! (Write-in)

20th State House District
Adam Ravenstahl Tim Tuinstra!

36th State House District
Harry Readshaw Write in us own names!.

Making Jason Altmire Look Good

Yes, I know it's a tall order but here it is via CQ Politics (by way of PA2010):

Former U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan is increasingly leaning towards running against Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.), according to two Pennsylvania Republicans with first-hand knowledge of her budding campaign.

Buchanan is interviewing political consultants and will likely announce her campaign by the end of the month, the GOP sources said.

Who wouldn't want someone who saved us from the dreaded water pipe and who persecuted prosecuted Cyril Wecht (twice) from having a national stage to work her magic?

Of course Altmire -- who royally pissed off many with his vote against HCR -- may not be safe even in a primary vote. Rumors abound that he may face a challenge from Georgia Berner or Franco Dok Harris.
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With 50% of votes in, Ravenstahl far ahead and Acklin conceding

From Early Returns:

At 49.5% of the city votes counted, the mayoral percentages are holding steady:

56% for Ravenstahl, 24% for Harris and 20% for Acklin.

and

With around half of all votes counted, Independent challenger Kevin Acklin has conceded to Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, his campaign spokesman said tonight.

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Pittsburgh's Bubble Zone Gets Pricked

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the City will have to choose whether Pittsburghers seeking medical attention will be harassed at the doors of medical facilities or be stalked on the way to medical facilities. Apparently allowing Pittsburghers to seek medical care sans some sort of direct intimidation is too much to ask.

Of course, when I write "Pittsburghers" I mean women in Pittsburgh attempting to enter women's clinics because no one is, say, stalking men going to get Viagra prescriptions.

From the Post-Gazette:

That was the opinion of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday in striking down a 2005 Pittsburgh ordinance that limited the rights of pro-life protesters at medical facilities where abortions are performed. [Actually, legally any medical facility.]

The ordinance, designed to protect patients who said they were being harassed as they entered the clinics, created an 8-foot bubble zone around people approaching medical facilities, as well as a 15-foot buffer zone from center entrances.

In an 83-page opinion, the circuit court wrote that the combination of the two zones was too much and burdened "substantially more speech than necessary" [because wimmin are dumb, impulsive bitches and having a state imposed 24-hour waiting period just isn't enough to help these hos with their barely human thought processes -- or something like that I'm guessing].

[snip]

The Supreme Court has separately found in favor of both buffer and bubble zones, but the Third Circuit said the use of both has never been upheld.

Reaction by Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania:

Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania is troubled and disappointed by the recent ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit which effectively reduced the protection of women seeking out medical care at family planning centers in Pittsburgh. While pleased that the court approved a modified version of the original ordinance, Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania is concerned with the reduced protections this rule offers patients and others impacted by protesters at medical facilities.

[snip]

“The security and privacy of our clients has been greatly enhanced by the Pittsburgh Medical Safety Zone Ordinance” said Kim Evert, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania. “We will continue to work with the city to ensure that patient safety needs are met and are dismayed by the courts decision to weaken these protections.”

Reaction by mayoral candidate Franco Dok Harris:

“Protecting women’s rights to have unfettered access to family planning services free of intimidation and threats will be a top priority for my administration. Protecting free speech is important but the Nation’s founders never meant free speech to be used to intimidate, harass and endanger women” Harris says.

Many of the clinics this ordinance protects provide health services like free and low cost breast exams, pap smears, and pre-natal care for low income women.

Franco Dok Harris is the only pro choice candidate in the race and the only candidate not to receive endorsement or large donations from anti-choice Political Action Committees.

Harris added that “we must create new protections immediately so that there is no lapse in the safety we are able to provide to women seeking health care services. Women should never feel unsafe or intimidated when they need care.”

Reaction by Pittsburgh City Councilor Bill Peduto:

William Peduto, a city councilman who helped craft the original legislation, said that there will be a meeting with the solicitor's office this week to determine how to move forward.

The city could appeal the court's decision, or choose to narrow the ordinance.

"In my opinion, it's essential that people have the right to obtain legal health care without being subjected to intimidation," Mr. Peduto said. "We can do that while protecting individual rights of freedom of speech and expression."

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Pittsburgh Mayoral Debate at Noon on WPXI

A reminder that the third and final Pittsburgh Mayoral Debate will be broadcast at Noon today on WPXI.

And, Lil Mayor Luke has lost one of his biggest boosters.
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Why I'm voting for Franco Dok Harris

It ain't just a vote against Lil Mayor Luke.

A few months ago I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to Franco Dok Harris. His campaign had invited a group of progressive, activist women to have a conversation with the candidate. Can anyone imagine Ravenstahl doing this kind of outreach? Yes, I guess that is rhetorical.

The endorsements that Harris have received are telling: gay rights organization Gertrude Stein Political Club of Greater Pittsburgh, the Veterans Alumni Association of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania National Organization for Women. They speak to a candidate who is truly progressive.

His platform is also progressive. First, he has a positive vision for the City of Pittsburgh, but one which recognizes the problems that we face including: violence in our neighborhoods, a [city with a] history of actively excluding strong professional women from City Governance and a current administration who is unwilling to listen to those who feel they have no voice. He also is a candidate who cares about campaign finance reform and transparency.

Franco Dok Harris is a candidate with actual business and entrepreneurial experience who promises to focus on creating family-sustaining jobs and revitalizing our neighborhoods by empowering small-business owners.

He has a vision for a Pittsburgh which is not just green buildings, but also creating sustainable businesses and sustainable neighborhoods -- an actual platform for our future.

During our sit-down, I found a candidate who is sharply intelligent, knowledgeable, funny and self deprecating -- a world away from our present mayor.

And Kevin Acklin? I truly appreciate his focus on the Ravenstahl Administration's personal and corporate favoritism. He also has a compelling personal story. However, that story reminds me that here is a person who faced great financial hardships growing up, yet somehow came to the conclusion to become a Republican -- can you say cognitive dissonance? And, yes, he supported Santorum and Hart and only switched party affiliations right before running for mayor. (He's also someone who couldn't even beat a candidate who dropped out before an election). Moreover, Acklin is anti choice and I simply do not trust anti choice candidates as having my best interests at heart "pro life" personally but pro choice practically speaking but won't call himself pro choice or something like that (see comments).

For all these reasons, I will happily cast my vote on Tuesday for the person who I believe offers the best opportunity to actually move Pittsburgh forward:

Franco Dok Harris


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NOTE: The Other Political Junkie would like to add that he no longer lives in the City of Pittsburgh, but if he did, he would vote for Harris.
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"Where's Luke?" Harris hits Ravenstahl hard in new TV ad

Just WOW.

After watching the commerical below I thought that maybe it was just one of those Internet-only ads, but a press release tells me that it is running on Comcast.


(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXPIIdswslA)
I do have one quibble: Lil Mayor Luke also was a no show when it came to meetings and public hearing about action on a domestic violence police policy (see here, here and here). But to be fair, I don't think that there would have been any video clearly demonstrating this for the purposes of an ad.
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Pittsburgh Mayoral Debates, Round 2

Regarding last week's debate, I noted the following exchange:

The candidates are allowed to ask each other questions and Acklin asks Lukey, "Who are John Verbanac and Ed Grattan and what role do they play in your administration?" Lukey answers with "John Verbanac and Ed Grattan are friends of mine and they have no formal role in my administration."

The other shoe dropped last night when Acklin followed up with this:

"Our campaign has come into receipt of very specific documents and e-mails that prove that Mr. Verbanac has had a very intimate relationship with your administration," Mr. Acklin said to the mayor.

"He has written your speeches. He literally puts words into your mouth. He's called the shots on who you hire and fire. He advises you on city policies and developments. . ... It is very clear, Mr. Ravenstahl, that you lied to the people of this city on Saturday."

The mayor responded, "Your accusations are wrong, they're inappropriate and I think it shows the level to which apparently this campaign is going to go over the next couple of weeks, bringing private citizens into conversations, making accusations that are false like Kevin just did. ... I would just advise Mr. Acklin to be very, very careful."

Bram has excerpts of some of the emails at The Pittsburgh Comet.

If nothing else, they demonstrate that Verbanac has a profound relationship with and influence on Ravenstahl's Administration -- formal or not.

While the Acklin campaign has turned over the documents to the FBI has said that the documents were turned over to the FBI before the campaign received them, whether or not any actual illegalities occurred is unclear. Acklin has a press conference scheduled at his campaign headquarters this afternoon to speak about the contents of the Verbanac emails.

It's certainly been apparent for a while now that Acklin likes to play hardball. He's also good at it. If memory serves me correctly, Patrick Dowd had far more concrete ammunition against Lil Mayor Luke but couldn't get much traction. Which leads me to Franco Dok Harris.

It's sad to read in the P-G that after the debate:

While reporters shuttled between the mayor and Mr. Acklin, Mr. Harris, who turned in a solid debate performance, was largely ignored by the media.

It's a shame because I think that Harris provides a very positive vision for Pittsburgh, has progressive values like concerns for transparency and campaign finance reform, and yet, is not afraid to speak to issues like violence in the neighborhoods.

And, Luke? While he may have curbed his tendency towards tacky and juvenile public and semi public displays, he still comes off as an arrogant frat boy during the debates. Mr. Privilege. They may have had to talk Acklin down last night, but Lukey was constantly speaking out of turn. Also, when he talks about taxing college students and hospital patients, he seems to forget that many of them are actual Pittsburgh residents.

UPDATE: More on the Verbanic issue at Bob Mayo's blog.
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2nd Pittsburgh Mayoral Debate Tonight

WHAT: Pittsburgh Mayoral Debate
WHEN: Tonight, Wednesday, October 21, 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
WHERE: On your teevee (WTAE)
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Just a reminder

Just a reminder that when the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette declares this in today's less-than-ringing endorsement of Lil Mayor Luke

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who was not endorsed by the Post-Gazette in the Democratic primary, is being challenged by two independents: Franco Dok Harris of Shadyside and Kevin Acklin of Squirrel Hill. [Emphasis added]

...that they had to remind folks back during that primary that they had not endorsed Lukey for that race despite what his campaign fliers falsely implied then.

Maybe Lukey actually does have a " vision for the future" vision of the future.


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Today's Pittsburgh Mayoral Debate Available Online Now

While the debate between incumbent Democrat Lil Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and independents Franco Dok Harris and Kevin Acklin (moderated by Ken Rice and Jon Delano) won't air on KDKA until Noon today, you can watch it online now at:

http://kdka.com/video/?id=63992@kdka.dayport.com

Here's my thoughts on the debate:

Lukey claims he's taking this campaign seriously, but I notice that his campaign web site appears not to have been updated since May.

Acklin and Ravenstahl both seem to be far more up the butts of the police while Harris raises concerns about their actions during the G-20.

Acklin mentions that he was for the expansion of an "anti-discrimination bill" up before County Council and how that cost him among Republicans but he somehow leaves out that the expansion was all about teh gays. Is he having it both ways with the teevee audience who will likely not look this up or is this a genuine oversight?

On explaining why he's running as an independent rather than as a Republican (which he's run as before), Ackin says "I woke up one day and found myself on the other side" but fails to mention that that day was right before he started his mayoral campaign... (Lukey is the only one on the Republican ticket.)

The debate got a bit testy when questions arose about Harris' qualifications for mayor. He is qualified because he has lived in the city for the required number of years but was still registered to vote in Sewickley until earlier this year.

Drinking Game: Take a shot every time Acklin says "door knocking."

Check out the look on Lil Mayor Luke's face when Acklin mentions that he's met with current members of Lukey's administration. Harris is amused.

Rice mentions Pat Ford. Lukey says that he's "growing increasingly comfortable with staff we have." Well, I hope so, it's been three years, no?

Harris mentions that he's spoken with Judy O'Connor. (I wish the camera had been on Luke for that.)

The candidates are allowed to ask each other questions and Acklin asks Lukey, "Who are John Verbanac and Ed Grattan and what role do they play in your administration?" Lukey answers with "John Verbanac and Ed Grattan are friends of mine and they have no formal role in my administration." (Verbanac Wikipedia page here. More on both of them in the comments section at the The Pittsburgh Comet here and here.)

Harris makes a play for women, minorities and labor.

After watching the debate, I still like Harris best and will be voting for him.

http://www.harrisforpittsburgh.com/

http://www.acklinforpittsburgh.com/

http://www.lukeformayor.com/

UPDATE: Notice that in the above URLs Harris and Acklin are both for the city and Lukey is for...himself!
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Call a whambulance for Lil Mayor Luke!

In an article in yesterday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Lil Mayor Luke Ravenstahl goes whaaaaaa that he's had to suffer running in elections* and that people have had the gall to actually run against him in those elections:

"What I can tell you is that the existing relationships we have, in many cases, are not beneficial to the residents of the city," Mr. Ravenstahl acknowledged.

"I think what's been unique in my three years, from day one and even as we sit here today, I've constantly been running for office," he said. "One of them [Councilman Patrick Dowd] ran against me. Another one [Councilman William Peduto] started to, a third [Council President Doug Shields] had indicated his interest, and so that political battle that they've been engaged in really has been unhealthy for city government."

Someone needs to remind Fluke Ravenstahl that the circumstance which led him to face two elections in three years is the same one that installed him in the office without an election.

Later in the same article, Lil Mayor Luke sheds more tears with this:

"When you look back and consider some of the things that have been said -- I mean literally accusations that this administration should be in jail, or I should be in jail, or I've broken the law, some of the personal attacks that they make -- it's very difficult for me to deal with somebody that believes that or at least says that."

The mayor insists he wants better ties in the future, but added: "Right now, I don't sense the other side of the hall, the majority of the other side of the hall -- I do have some good relationships -- being genuine about putting the past behind us. If they're genuine about it, then we're genuine about it, but it's hard for us. We can't make the entire lift; it has to be a two-way street."

Let's also remind Lukey that he both threatened the paychecks of Council's staff and had his creature threaten his opponents on Council with immediate removal from office for crossing him.

And finally, he should be reminded that when talking about jail, Steelerstahl has only really been handcuffed by his own actions.


* Luke's not the only one who thinks that elections are some big distraction for the public.
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Debating the Mayoral Debates

From Camp Acklin:

MAYORAL CAMPAIGNS ACCEPT ACKLIN DEBATE CHALLENGE, REFUSE TOWN HALL FORUM

PITTSBURGH - After three months of challenges and delays, the competing candidates for Mayor of Pittsburgh have accepted Kevin Acklin's call to debate, agreeing to participate in three televised events. Neither Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, nor Franco "Dok" Harris, agreed to take part in a town hall forum debate, which the Acklin Campaign proposed and at least one local station was interested in hosting.

"I'm thrilled that voters will be able to see all three of us on the same stage," Acklin said, "But I'm also disappointed that the other candidates refused to answer questions directly from voters. As candidates for public office, we have a responsibility to interact with voters and directly address their concerns."

"I'm out in the neighborhoods talking to voters every day, and they always get straight answers from me. That will be my commitment when I'm elected Mayor."

The debates will be broadcast on KDKA, WPXI, and WTAE. The KDKA Debate will be taped on Friday, October 16th, and most likely air the next day. WPXI will tape on the 29th and air on WPXI Saturday, November 1st, and on PCNC November 1st and 2nd. WTAE will record its debate on Wednesday, October 21st, and most likely air it that night at 7pm -- making it the only prime-time debate this election cycle.

All three debates will be podium-style and will not be filmed in front of a studio audience, despite calls from the Acklin campaign for a more interactive, voter-friendly format.

Camp Harris Responds:

Inaccurate statement by challenger amounts to intentional misleading and smearing of opponent

Challenger in Mayoral Race Kevin Acklin released a misleading statement today regarding the willingness of Candidate for Mayor Franco Dok Harris to engage in specific debate formats. “This amounts to a flat out lie by the Acklin campaign and we’d like to see it retracted,” commented campaign manager Michael Capozzoli.

The Franco Dok Harris campaign has been expecting to engage in debates since their initial announcement in March. Furthermore, the initial release requesting debates included Town Hall Meetings as a desirable format.

“This kind of inaccurate and insinuating release has no place in a progressive and above board campaign," says Franco Dok Harris. "It’s a minor point, did we ask for town halls or not, but it’s sleazy and is exactly the tactic that I am campaigning against. To somehow insinuate that I am unwilling to debate and answer voters' questions, or that he was the sole individual pushing for debates is ludicrous."

In fact, the debates were organized by Franco Dok Harris' campaign manager, Michael Capozzoli. “The Mayor has one person on staff who happens to be an old friend of mine. When we approached them about putting together debates, he asked me to help set them up, which we both did. So, in reality, Acklin is accepting our invitation. While we could have spun that to make Acklin look insignificant, we chose not to. We intentionally took the high road because Dok believes this should be about ideas and about who is the best candidate, not about who can lie or spin most effectively,” said Capozzoli. “Furthermore, in my conversations with the stations, I heard strong resistance to trying to do a town hall based on logistical issues. I suggested taking questions by email and Youtube and a number of possible ways to incorporate voter questions. In the end, we settled on the format the broadcast outlets wanted. We’re just happy the Mayor agreed to debate at all, frankly.”

The Harris campaign is calling on Acklin to issue a retraction of that statement and to clean up their campaign to exclude this kind of pointless politicking and focus on the issues.

The Post-Gazette's Early Returns blog notes:

We haven't talked to the TV stations, but it seems like it's easier for them to shoot in a closed studio space than set up for a more complicated town hall -- in fact, we can't remember a Pittsburgh TV station ever taking live audience quesitons in a mayoral debate. And if you're trying to gauge TV interest in the debate, note that none of the three debates will be anywhere close to live -- the second debate won't be broadcast for three days. [Wouldn't that be the third debate? See below.]

I will note that the Acklin Campaign will use any occasion to take a swipe at Dok.

Here's the debate schedule:

- KDKA will tape on the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 16, and likely broadcast the following night (Saturday, October 17th) after college football.
- WTAE will record its debate on Wednesday, October 21st, and most likely air it that night at 7pm.
- WPXI will tape on the 29th and air on WPXI Saturday, November 1st, and on PCNC November 1st and 2nd.
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Franco Dok Harris Joins Kevin Acklin In Airing TV Ads

I was surprised while watching MSNBC this morning to see a campaign ad for Franco Dok Harris. For a couple of seconds, I thought that I was watching a local news report until I realized that I had switched from local news to cable.

Here it is:


I did receive a press release from the Acklin campaign (specifically from Chad Hermann, Communications Director) two days ago stating that Acklin purchased the first TV ad buy of the fall campaign, but I haven't actually seen his ad on the air yet (you can view it here).

Luke, your turn.


Campaign Web Sites:
http://www.harrisforpittsburgh.com
http://www.acklinforpittsburgh.com
http://lukeformayor.com
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Douchebaggery

I've taken petitions around for numerous candidates to get them on a ballot. Some of you may have as well.

If you have, you know the drill. (You pretty much can repeat it in your sleep.)

1) You caution folks that their signature has to be legible (don't sign it like you'd sign for your debit/credit card).

2) You give them the right date to enter (because you don't want, say, signatures dated 2/11/09, then one after those signed 2/10/09, then others following with 2/12/09 -- got's to be chronological order).

3) And, you tell them to write out "Pittsburgh" even though there's not a lot of room. If they screw up and write "PGH" you let them know that it leaves an opening for some douchenozzle to waste time and money on a challenge, but ultimately their entry won't be thrown out on that basis alone (mostly I believe because the US Postal Service accepts that as an abbreviation).

So what do we know about the challenge of Franco Dok Harris' petitions from "lawyers tied to the campaign of another independent mayoral candidate, Kevin Acklin"?

Well, first we know that the Acklin campaign put out a telephone conference for the media, a downloadable, colorful 11-page .pdf, and a follow up summary email all disputing Harris' right to be on the ballot the morning of the court challenge.

We know that Harris won the court challenge.

And, we know that 'the challenge included questions about voters who failed to spell out “Pittsburgh” and wrote “PGH” on the petition' (according to the Harris campaign).

I'm surprised that Republican newly independent candidate Acklin didn't work in ACORN into his presentation to the media.

Douchebaggery indeed.

Was it worth it?

Thankfully, we seem to be back on track today with both Harris and Acklin calling for debates and Lil Mayor Luke -- as expected -- not responding.
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Franco Dok Harris Campaign Events

For more info: forgeahead@harrisforpittsburgh.com / 412-620-8823
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Pittsburgh's Mayor's Door Chained Against Protestors

WPXI


KDKA


Pittsburgh City Paper

Approximately 150 protestors (union members and community activists) protested for nearly an hour today outside the office of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. They had to protest outside the office because a city worker chained and padlocked the door (police also showed up).

The protestors were demanding that, along with all the taxpayer subsidized giveaways to developers that have become commonplace in this city, they get a promise of family-sustainable jobs.

More on this story:

http://pghcomet.blogspot.com/2009/07/were-here-to-ask-mayor-to-change-his.html

http://twitter.com/bobmayo

http://pghisacity.blogspot.com/2009/07/theyre-back.html

http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A66316

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_635143.html

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09205/986133-100.stm

http://www.wpxi.com/news/20165257/detail.html (with video)

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/20165049/detail.html (with video)

http://kdka.com/local/union.protest.mayors.2.1099491.html (with video)

"CANDIDATE FRANCO DOK HARRIS SUPPORTS UNION PROTEST AT MAYOR'S OFFICE"
Full statement here.

UPDATE: Bram has video Yarone Zober on Development and CBA's
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Franco Dok Harris Challenges Rivals to Put Limits on Campaign Contributions

From an email from the Harris camp sent to other Pittsburgh mayoral candidates:

To All Candidates for the Office of Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh:

I declared I would maintain campaign finance contribution limits on day one of my campaign, and I have kept my word. Because I am committed to the people of this city, not large contributor, back-door influence peddlers of the past, I remain the only candidate to enforce federal limits.

Following in the footsteps of President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, I am choosing to hold to the federal fundraising guidelines so that the people of the city of Pittsburgh can elect our Mayor--not special interests. We all need to have a voice in our future and we need to know that no one will have special privilege with the Mayor because they contributed greatly to his or her campaign. The federal limits of $4800 per individual and $10,000 per PAC are fair limits, and for candidates dedicated to transparency in government this should be enough. These limits offer every single person from every single neighborhood in this city an opportunity to have a voice in who they want to lead us towards a green future full of jobs that can sustain a family, and safe places for our children to play.

I invite Mayor Ravenstahl and all Mayoral candidates to join me in utilizing the federal fundraising limits so that we can ensure that the Mayor is beholden only to the people of the city of Pittsburgh.

Sincerely Yours,

Franco Dok Harris
Independent Progressive
For Mayor

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Five City Councilors Shirk Responsibilities and Rubber Stamp Mayor/Lamar

(Click graphic to view larger image)
Looks like I picked a bad day to watch the live Sotomayor hearings instead of the live City Council meeting.

[sigh]

Today, the majority of the City Council of Pittsburgh decided to deny the public the right to hear from nominees to the Planning Commission, the Zoning Board of Adjustment, the Historic Review Commission and the Shade Tree Commission.

Today, the majority of the City Council of Pittsburgh decided to deny the nominees the right to appear before the public.

Today, the majority of the City Council of Pittsburgh decided to themselves forgo interviewing twelve nominees for these boards.

Today, the majority of the City Council of Pittsburgh decided that "the mayor appoints and we approve."

Today, the majority of the City Council of Pittsburgh decided that if nominees already have enough votes to pass, there simply is no need for any real discussion or review.

Today, the majority of the City Council of Pittsburgh decided that their function was to serve as a rubber stamp for Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Lamar Advertising.

FOR SHAME

For those who haven't been paying attention: Lil Mayor Luke has lots of friends who give him lots of money -- Lamar Advertising being one of them. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Amid a reshuffling of city boards and commissions this week, the Ravenstahl administration dismissed the author of a Zoning Board opinion that blocked a controversial electronic billboard proposed for the city's Grant Street Transportation Center with the support of the administration.

Alice Mitinger, a lawyer with expertise in zoning issues who had been appointed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment by the late Mayor Bob O'Connor, was informed by the administration this week that she would not be named to another term. Ms. Mitinger wrote an opinion supporting a 2008 ruling, which was upheld yesterday, that denied a permit for Lamar Advertising to erect an electronic billboard on the transportation center.

The administration also chose not to reappoint David Toal, another board member, who had recused himself from the Lamar case because his firm had represented it on unrelated issues. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl did reappoint the third member of the board, Wrenna Watson, who wrote a dissenting opinion in support of the Lamar application.

This doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the Lamar controversy which included free billboards for Lukey's election the Ravenstahl Redd Up campaign, major conflicts of interest, threats to Councilors' jobs, civil lawsuits against Councilors from Lamar, etc.

So while Council had voted unanimously on June 29th to interview each of the 21 nominees on the list that the mayor had sent over on June 22nd and had already interviewed nine of them, lame duck Councilor Jim Motznik introduced an amendment to the already partially enacted 6/29 bill to stop the interview process and simply vote up/down on the remaining twelve candidates.

It was clear during the hours of discussion that the minority of Council felt that the main purpose of the amendment was to deny the asking of tough questions of Wrenna Watson who was up for reappointment to the Zoning Board.

Motznik's amendment by substitution to stop the interview process passed by 5 to 4.

Motznik's twelve bills to rubber stamp the approval of the twelve remaining nominees passed by 5 to 4.

Oh yeah. It became apparent during the meeting that the Rubber Stamp Five didn't even know enough about one of the nominees to be able to attempt to pronounce his last name.

[sigh]

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Statement by Franco "Dok" Harris about the Mayor’s "Closed-Door Appointment Processes":

As other local and state governments, throughout this great country embrace fair and open processes as well as clarity in all government dealings, the current Mayoral administration stands out by championing an opaque, “back-room deal” system of government. The Mayor has consistently shown questionable judgment when the people of Pittsburgh are not looking; I encourage him to try to win back the public trust by reversing this dangerous course of action and filling the positions in a clear, open, and transparent manner. The residents of this city deserve to see how their government’s decisions impact their daily lives. As Mayor, I am committed to establishing good government processes and ensuring that every Pittsburgher has the opportunity to be involved in the leadership of our great city.

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