Jonathan and Mary Robison of Oakland give their support to Dok

For Pittsburgh Mayor, we are supporting Franco Dok Harris running as an independent on his own party label. He is a graduate of Princeton and graduated from the joint law-business degree program at the Pitt Law School and CMU’s Tepper School of Business. He is articulate, independent-minded, and progressive. He also is endorsed by the Gertrude Stein Political Club and Planned Parenthood. He is 30 and is the son of Franco Harris, star of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is biracial, like our president – ‘Dok” is short for his mother’s maiden name, Dokmanovich.

The Democratic incumbent is Luke Ravenstahl. His programs are better than his politics. He has been strong on accessibility for persons like me – Jon – who use a power wheelchair to get around. We applaud Ravenstahl for creating an advisory council to work with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. We are told that his Department of City Planning is working creatively with the neighborhoods and neighborhood organizations. We don’t know why Ravenstahl is refusing to proceed with the asphalt recycling paving machine which will save time and money fixing streets and was approved by City Council. And why is Ravenstahl backing Dan Onorato’s bizarre proposal to merge the city into Allegheny County? Does he hope Dan Onorato will succeed Ed Rendell as Governor, and he will run the whole city/county government?

In politics, Luke Ravenstahl is the nation’s youngest “good old boy.” He supports the old guard. He is anti-choice and negative to campaign finance reform. His enormous political treasury both exemplifies and worsens the problem. Big money is a disease in American politics. You or I might give $50 to a candidate we thought good for the public. That’s a contribution. But when a candidate has a $200-a-plate fundraising dinner, and someone buys a table – that’s an investment.

The snip above is from Jon's email newsletter.