I think it is okay to be a politician who is idealistic, a dreamer and an out-of-the-box thinker. We need open-mindedness in all sectors these days. But, the distinction of being a promise breaker, un-accountable, and at odds with reality is another matter totally.
I am a candidate who is idealistic. I try to learn as much, come to grip with the facts and THEN I slave (with others) to craft the best solutions possible. We need to make Pittsburgh a place where we thrive, not just survive. So, I like ambitions. But, the way to get to the "promised land" has more to do with calculated goals in a real world setting and less upon good intentions. The road to hell is paved with "good intentions."
Beware of politicians who are attempting to be hallmarks of promises -- as promises get broken. The over-reaching around here has been, and still is, killing Pittsburgh.
Bob O'Connor should have released his budget changes to the court of public opinion. Negotiating budget adjustments could have been done in the open. His part of the bargain that he struck with the people, just after he swore to God, could have been saved.
The prior Mayor celebrated the arrival of the first oversight board. The old council (mostly still with us today) made the arrival of the overlords necessary by constantly giving away all of our tax money -- like it is theirs to give away. Meanwhile, Bob O'Connor didn't object to the arrival of the overlords.
I am not happy with the overlords continued presence in our once great city. I pushed city council to vote against the arrival of the overlords. My side lost. I wanted a NO vote on Act 47.
I want to be self-reliant. I want self-determination. I think if we get the right people in the jobs on Grant Street we'll know best, without overlord supervision.
Furthermore, and most importantly, I want NO part of the overlords' entry into Pittsburgh, but I didn't want all the overspending (from council and the administration) that necessitated the arrival of the overlords.
The city leaders needed to say NO to the overlords, by spending less, back in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and to the present times. I was at odds with the city's leadership then. The writting was on the wall for years -- and I'm not talking about the run-away-troubles with grafitti in these parts.
They over-reached. Today, we suffer. Today, we don't have "rodent control." Today, we see more people move out of the city. Today, we see certain sections of our city grow deeper and deeper into dispair.
Deadline missed - PittsburghLIVE.com Mayor Bob O'Connor missed a self-imposed deadline to tweak Pittsburgh's 2006 budget by today, the end of his first month in office.
Days after his Jan. 3 inauguration, O'Connor said he would make changes to former Mayor Tom Murphy's $418 million budget proposal 'by the end of January,' even though state law gives the new mayor until the end of March.
'The end of January wasn't a hard deadline,' B.J. Leber, O'Connor's chief of staff, said Monday. 'It was just a target.'
Leber said she's still negotiating budget adjustments with the city's two state-appointed financial overseers -- the Act 47 recovery team and the state oversight board. Both were created in 2004 after Pittsburgh was declared financially distressed in December 2003. "
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