Sunday, October 30, 2005

PG Editorial: The next mayor / Only through change can Pittsburgh survive

O'Connor gets the endorsement. Lots of blame is heaped upon the Republican party by the Post-Gazette.
Editorial: The next mayor / Only through change can Pittsburgh survive: "Alas, 2005 found Republican leaders fast asleep."
I remember four years ago when I ran for Mayor along with a loyal opponent within the same party, James Carmine. We didn't get any help from the Republicans. Zippo. That lack of help was not because we didn't try. And, as it seems, it is not because we were not worthy. Joe Weinroth's lack of support from his own party proves that the party does not care about Pittsburgh. Joe is a 'worthy' candidate in their eyes. Joe is a state Republican committee person. Neither Carmine nor I were in state Republican leadership, like Weinroth has been.

The Post-Gazette rips the Republicans, and the rip is deserved.

Many Republicans from around the city, not in it, would like to see the city of Pittsburgh crumble and decay into nothingness. That's not my attitude.

The city matters to me. We can't give up on the city. Churchill said, "Never give up."

I'm a Libertarian. I've not given up. We need viable opposition to the party machine. The Libertarians offer a base to do the good work that needs to be done in fighting for the city, with smarter plans and better solutions.

The point of Joe Weinroth having a hard time as Mayor, because he is a Republican and all of City Council is from the D's party has two big flaws. First, the PG endorsed Bob Hillen, Republican, for City Council. That means Hillen could be on city council -- elected on the same day as Weinroth. So, we could get one, two or three new members on council from the Republican party. (Alan P and Sam B, two others running for council with R designation did not get the PG endorsement.)

The other flaw is the fact that the mayor has little to do with city council now that there are two oversight boards. We have both the ICA and Act 47. Those bodies are more and more important to the dealings of the city while city council is diminished.

1 comment:

Thomas Leturgey said...

Those suburbanites who want the city to crash and burn should simply turn in their Republican registration and join the Liberal Elite.

It's a shame that the P-G devoted most of its editorial to the vastly underperforming county (we don't really DO anything) and state parties (pay increase, anyone?), and not with Joe Weinroth's ideas.

Not that Joe has gone out of his way to champion ideas in these slow months, mind you...

But it's the same old, same old for the Post Gazette.

By the way, where is this coal mine for the Lawrenceville guy?

Tessitor, "not gainfully employed." Where's the ballot box again?