Mr. Rauterkus said he is 'well-equipped' to handle the issues facing the district which includes protecting the freedoms of all citizens in the community. He cited the parking permit program as an example.
He believes this is just a 'backdoor way to a tax increase' and believes agencies such as the URA inhibit the city from growing properly. He opposes any sort of parking-permit program. Most of the other candidates believe permit-parking is a necessity for some urban residents who lose their parking spaces for eight to 10 hours at a time due to suburban commuters who park their cars on the South Side Flats en route to their jobs downtown or in Oakland. Most candidates believe permit-parking is okay if there is a clear consensus within the neighborhood.
Mr. Rauterkus is also upset about a system that allows those who do not pay their taxes to get away with it while "punishing" hard-working citizens who maintain their homes and pay their taxes. He said the tax burden is falling more and more on the shoulders of the law-abiders. He believes if something is not done about correcting this imbalance of leniency for the law-breakers (while putting more of a burden on lawful citizens), the good residents are going to continue to flee the city for the suburbs."
Here is another quote within the article.
Mr. Rauterkus said he is not in favor of privatizing city services such as garbage collection and public works. However, he favors privatizing "a new arena, the convention center and downtown department stores like Lazarus" which should not be given public funding and tax breaks for aiding the private businesses.BTW, my last name was spelled wrong throughout the article.
Posts
1 comment:
full article
and then on South Side
David Assad 07.FEB.06
The Lester Hamburg Studio at the Pittsburgh City Theatre was the site of the District 3 council candidates� debate, but there was not much acting going on.
The candidates may have been putting their best foot forward January 30 in one of the best-attended debate thus far, each one was being themselves in their presentations to the constituency.
The �Candidates Night� attracted a crowd of approximately 50 citizens trying to decide who to vote for at the special March 14 election to fill the final months of the term vacated by former councilman Gene Ricciardi.
Arlington resident Jeff Koch, a foreman in the City Public Works Department, was the clear winner the day before the debate as the Democratic Party endorsed candidate. The remaining candidates are now running as independents or with another party.
Mr. Koch showed up for the debate 25 minutes late and did not give a reason for his tardiness other than to make a joke that he had a difficult time finding a parking space when the topic of permit-parking was addressed during the debate.
�My 25 years with the city has enabled me to be in all the neighborhoods on a weekly basis,� said Koch in a recent interview with one of the city�s daily newspapers and he reiterated those sentiments at the debate.
The other candidates at the debate included South Side Flats residents Bruce Krane, Bruce A. Kraus, Jason Phillips and Mark Rauterkus, a member of the Libertarian Party. Phillips said he is a member of the Green Party.
Other candidates in attendance included Carrick resident Matt Bartus and south Oakland resident Eileen Conroy, who was beaten by Ricciardi in the district magisterial race last year. Although Conroy was among nine persons who filed by a deadline of Jan. 30 to run for the vacant seat, she withdrew her candidacy several days later, citing she could not run as an independent after serving many years as a member of the Democratic Party.
Also filing for candidacy, but not attending the �Candidates Night� were Neal Andrus of Arlington (a Republican candidate) and independent Michael Waligorski of the South Side Flats.
Two former �candidates� also attended the event, but had dropped out of the race immediately after the Democratic endorsement was revealed: Ed Jacob and Pat Sweeney, both from the South Side.
The tone of the meeting was polite and civil. It was almost light-hearted at times with Phillips making some of the funniest remarks of the evening, some of it intentional and some of it unintentional.
Mr. Krane, a person with an extensive background working in the media as an independent television producer, appeared to be the most at ease with the audience.
In campaign literature he distributed before the debate, Mr. Krane states, �I am running for City Council because Pittsburgh needs leadership that targets Pittsburgh�s financial problems and brings the experience and vision to make the tough, necessary decisions to move our community forward. My background in business management and community service equips me with the tools to help build a better Pittsburgh.
Mr. Krane pointed out he is the only person among the large field of candidates who has served in a legislative capacity when he was a North Strabane Township board of supervisors more than 10 years ago.
Mr. Kraus, who is a self-employed businessman and life-long South Side resident, said he has a �passion� for the district and has an understanding of its needs and challenges that must be addressed. He has first-hand experience in fighting against the littering and graffiti that has proliferated in the local area.
Mr. Kraus said he has met face-to-face with community leaders throughout the district as well as local residents in general, as much as any candidate over the past year. He said he has gotten a feel for the �diversity� among the district�s residents and believes he is in a good position to serve the needs of all the residents, not just the ones who live in any particular neighborhood.
Mr. Rauterkas said he is "well-equipped" to handle the issues facing the district which includes protecting the freedoms of all citizens in the community. He cited the parking permit program as an example.
He believes this is just a "backdoor way" to a tax increase and believes agencies such as the URA inhibit the city from growing properly. He opposes any sort of parking-permit program.
Most of the other candidates believe permit-parking is a necessity for some urban residents who lose their parking spaces for eight to 10 hours at a time due to suburban commuters who park their cars on the South Side Flats en route to their jobs downtown or in Oakland. Most candidates believe permit-parking is okay if there is a clear consensus within the neighborhood.
Mr. Rauterkas is also upset about a system that allows those who do not pay their taxes to get away with it while "punishing" hard-working citizens who maintain their homes and pay their taxes. He said the tax burden is falling more and more on the shoulders of the law-abiders. He believes if something is not done about correcting this imbalance of leniency for the law-breakers (while putting more of a burden on lawful citizens), the good residents are going to continue to flee the city for the suburbs.
Mr. Bartus, a 25-year city employee, said he has seen first-hand the deterioration of many of the local neighborhoods and believes one of the first steps toward stopping this trend is through the investment in more police in the neighborhoods. Bartus said he would work closely with new Mayor Bob O�Connor to help buck this down-ward trend in cutting city services for public works and public safety. He is upset that services such as the rodent-control program no longer exist.
Mr. Bartus is also upset that since South Vo-Tech High closed its doors in 2004, there is no longer a public high school in the district.
Mr. Rauterkas said he is concerned about the city's welfare once the proposed closure of 20 school buildings goes into effect in the Pittsburgh Public Schools system later this year.
Mr. Phillips, who at 24 is the youngest candidate, is a student at Pitt and sees the problems caused by the number of liquor licenses in a concentrated area like the Carson Street business corridor where drunkenness and public urination have become a major problem among young adults, many of them college students.
Mr. Phillips said he has personally confronted those urinating in public, catching them �with their pants down�. Mr. Phillips, along with other candidates such as Mr. Kraus, believe there should be a cut-back in liquor licenses being issued in the South Side Flats.
Mr. Rauterkas said he is not in favor of privatizing city services such as garbage collection and public works. However, he favors privatizing "a new arena, the convention center and downtown department stores like Lazarus" which should not be given public funding and tax breaks for aiding the private businesses.
Mr. Koch said he wants more police on the streets, especially for undercover police to fight drug-dealing and other criminal activity associated with it. He believes the money for more police could come through the help of Governor Ed Rendell who is seeking re-election in November.
Mr. Koch figures Rendell is going to have to do something to help the city financially to fight crime if he expects to hold off expected Republican gubernatorial challenger Lynn Swann in November. With the Steelers current Super Bowl run, Swann would probably win a popularity contest with the governor in the western part of the state right now.
The issue about casino gambling was also brought up. Most of the candidates don�t favor it being brought to Station Square because they feel it would hurt the businesses on Carson Street as well as create more traffic congestion and related problems to the local community.
Candidate nights are expected to continue this month in other communities before the March 14 election. - Contributing Writer
Post a Comment