Peduto calls for ethics meeting - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review City Councilman Bill Peduto today called on members of Pittsburgh’s long-dormant Ethics Hearing Board to meet next week for the first time since it was created in July.Great to have some talk of the ethics hearing board.
However, this board was not formed in July 2006. Hardly. The ethics hearing board was around for a long, long time. It was born more than 10 years ago -- if not longer. Historians, how long ago did that come into being?
For years, while Bill Peduto was on city council, there were no members appointed to the ethics hearing board, including the slots that should have been forthcoming from City Council.
Same too with the Citizens Police Review Board. For months and months, that organization was made nearly worthless as there was a shortage of members. The board couldn't even meet -- as there were not enough members to fill the seats and have a meeting.
Some of the members were known to occupy a seat yet refused to go to its meetings.
Crippled by design by the democrats.
Now there is an election and Bill Peduto wants to put on his reformer mask and call for action, action, action. We need action. But genuine action would have been years ago. And, it would have been relentless.
Hat tip to the City's Republicans for keeping this board alive in the minds of some. Hat tip to the late mayor, Bob O'Connor, for putting his effort, finally, into getting the board into a re-birthing phase.
We don't need more stinking boards and authorities. We've got too many of them already. We don't need Propel Pittsburgh. Well, we should not start up another board or task force or authority until we take away an dysfunctional board.
More: Platform.For-Pgh.org
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By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, February 1, 2007
City Councilman Bill Peduto today called on members of Pittsburgh’s long-dormant Ethics Hearing Board to meet next week for the first time since it was created in July.
“Basically, the ethics board exists only in name,” Peduto said.
To change that, he’s asking the five members to meet at noon Feb. 9 in the City-County Building, Downtown. The meeting would be organizational. Peduto plans to encourage the members to select a chairperson and design a mission statement.
“I have been disappointed that the administration has not chosen to convene this group,” Peduto said in a statement.
A spokesman for Mayor Luke Ravenstahl could not immediately be reached.
Peduto is running against Ravenstahl in the Democratic primary May 15.
The late Mayor Bob O’Connor and members of City Council created the board last year to investigate alleged ethics violations among city employees in the wake of an investigation into questionable spending by Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle. She authorized more than $177,000 in payments to political supporters and family friends. Allegheny County prosecutors are investigating her for possible ethical and campaign law violations.
Jeremy Boren can be reached at jboren@tribweb.com or (412) 765-2312.
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