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Sunday April 7th 2013 10am-5pm Circuit Center in the South Side 5 Hot Metal Street Pittsburgh, PA 15203 U Fashion Show U Vendors U Local Bike Shops
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10
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 03.20/03.27.2013
THEY’RE OFF Large field of mayoral hopefuls meet in first debate {BY CHRIS POTTER} BY DECIDING NOT to seek re-election amid a
swirl of controversy, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has settled some questions about the city’s future. But he also raised a new one: “Who are all these people?â€? Ravenstahl’s original challengers — City Controller Michael Lamb and City Councilor Bill Peduto — have now been joined by four other contenders: City Council President Darlene Harris; political neophyte A.J. Richardson; former state Auditor General Jack Wagner; and Hill District state Rep. Jake Wheatley. So how to make a choice in the May 21 primary? The ďŹ rst post-Ravenstahl debate — a March 17 gathering at East Liberty’s Pittsburgh Obama 6-12 School — featured all six Democrats, and a crowd of more than 200. But the discussion offered few strong points of contrast. The format limited responses to 60 or 90 seconds, without rebuttal, and the candidates refrained from challenging each other. Still, some early trends are starting to emerge.
Ravenstahl: Not gone, but already forgotten? Judging from crime statistics and local headlines, wrongdoing in Pittsburgh seems to be on the decline everywhere except City Hall. Yet Ravenstahl’s departure will likely de-emphasize ethics questions. At the debate, candidates were asked to demonstrate their reformist bona ďŹ des. Harris, for one, touted her North Side neighborhood-activist roots: “I’ve never been sold, and I never will be.â€? Peduto, Ravenstahl’s sharpest critic on council, boasted about opposing the mayor on a slew of issues; Lamb touted his ofďŹ ce’s “Open Book Pittsburgh,â€? a website that tracks city contracts alongside campaign contributions. (“Guess what? There’s overlap,â€? Lamb said.) Wheatley groused about a lack of transparency in city contracting procedures.
{PHOTO BY CHRIS POTTER}
“The six Democratic mayoral candidates posed for photos withstudent organizers after the March 17 debate at Pittsburgh Obama 6-12 School.�
But there was hardly any discussion about the ongoing problems in the city’s police bureau, which have dominated headlines this year. Instead, candidates were asked about their own public safety plans ‌ and most of them focused on putting more police on the streets. Peduto stressed “decentralizingâ€? the bureau, transferring more decision-making to individual zone commanders. Lamb pledged to turn over more deskwork to civilians, freeing police to hit the streets. Only Richardson suggested there could be too much policing: “More cops on the streets means more money out of our pockets,â€? the self-described community activist said.
Some hot-button issues are things candidates can’t do much about. While concerns about the city’s pension fund, for example, went ignored, candidates were united in arguing that large nonproďŹ ts like UPMC weren’t contributing enough in taxes. But tax law is set by the state, and it wasn’t clear how calls for “accountabilityâ€? from nonproďŹ ts — or for-proďŹ t companies who paid workers too little — would translate into action. (Although Lamb, for one, routinely cites his advocacy of a “community paramedicâ€? program, in which UPMC and Highmark are training city paramedics to visit chronically ill city residents during slow periods.) Wagner especially raised issues — like CONTINUES ON PG. 12
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