Eminent Domain: Statement before the House State Government Committee

Meeting in City Council Chambers, 5th Floor, City County Building from noon to 5 pm on Thursday, September 22, 2005.

From Mark Rauterkus, 108 South 12th Street, South Side, Pittsburgh, PA, 15203
412 298 3432 Mark@Rauterkus.com

Schedule (estimated): To testify at 3:20 pm for 10 minutes for comments and 10 minutes for questions from Committee Members.

Dear Chairman, Representative Paul Clymer, members of the committee and fellow citizens:

My name is Mark Rauterkus. My family and I reside at 108 South 12th Street on the South Side, Pittsburgh, 15203. Home on the internet is at Rauterkus.com. My statements go to a blog and the Platform.For-Pgh.org wiki.

On September 6, 2005, a Pittsburgh daily newspaper ran this front page, above the fold headline:

Venezuelan state governor seizes Heinz plant

A state governor ordered troops to seize a tomato processing plant owned by U.S. food company H.J. Heinz.

At first blush, the Heinz spokesperson said, “We see this as a local issue." The company officials awaited the government's next step.

News quote: "At that time I was mayor of that town, I felt impotent. My hands tied, as 30 million kilos (66 million pounds) of tomatoes -- almost 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) -- were produced, and the closing of the business led the farm workers to go broke," said Briceno.

Officials were expected to expropriate the plant, a move that would require the National Assembly to declare the property to be of "public interest."

Chavez said the government may expropriate the property of companies whose factories are idle or partially paralyzed, in order to put them back to work.

Venezuela's constitution says the government will respect private property but says the state may expropriate property if for public use or "social interest," as long as compensation is paid.

So far this year, the government has expropriated the assets of a failed paper company and an industrial valve maker. Venezuela's largest food producer was challenging the legality of a military takeover of its storage facilities. (Silos are not being used as required by law so soldiers seized control of the facilities.

These actions are much like eminent domain and there are aftershocks.

Consider the actions if you are an investor, board member, stockholder, manager, or sub-contractor. I'm not going to invest there as assets can vanish one day.

Heinz gets 60 percent of its revenue from outside North America, and is pursuing growth in China, India, and Indonesia.

"We're concerned at the actions of the authorities to seize the property. ... We hope this situation will be cleared up shortly and the property will be returned," the Venezuelan Heinz unit said in a statement issued Tuesday.

Heinz was preparing to sell the plant when the governor, an ally of President Hugo Chavez, seized it. The company said it was not warned about the seizure.

Chavez signed executive orders in January, 2005 that established the legal framework for the government to seize private properties it considers unused, and to distribute them to poor farmers and workers.

Sad to say, I expect that the poor will become poorer due to this policy. They might feel empowered for acting, but in the long haul, this will backfire. Meanwhile, the rich in power get richer in power.

Government is force. It is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is not compassion. It is force. And as the proverb goes, “When the only thing you have is a hammer everything starts to look like a nail.” This is why, for government, every situation boils down to a question of control. (Source: a posting at DownsizeDC.)

People in Pittsburgh notice and chuckle at interesting twists of fate. Heinz made tomato paste and baby food here. HEINZ used the leverage of eminent domain to expand its property on the North Side from Pittsburgh Wool. Now we have loft apartments and Del Monte.

Eminent domain is understood. In Homestead and the South Side, mills expanded over neighborhoods including Holly Cross Church. Pittsburgh's Civic Arena saga is well known, as is Fifth and Forbes plans A to F.

I'm a parent, coach, and a ballot candidate.

I ran

for PA Senate, 42nd district, (May 2005 special election),

for mayor, city of Pittsburgh (May 2001 – contested GOP Primary), and

expected candidate for City Council, district 3, (early 2006 upon resignation of Mr. Riccardi for his move to district magistrate position).

I'm a board member of the Allegheny County Libertarian Party. My affinity favors a common-sense libertarianism. I lean to a Geo-Libertarian views. "Geo" here could be "geography" and "land." I have self-identified as a free-market candidate as opposed to a corporate welfare approach.

I call leaders and the public to think again by injecting different perspectives.

Venezuelan authorities need to think again. In a global market, PA's leaders need to think again as well.

Eminent domain is about control, power and force.

Nationally, FEMA officials displayed their hyper-control mentality when a PA doctor was forced to stop giving chest compressions at the New Orleans airport.

Force is the government's hammer.

Dr. Mark N. Perlmutter traveled from Pennsylvania to Louisiana to help the victims. He was in the midst of applying chest compression to a dying woman when FEMA officials stopped him. He begged them to let him continue, but they refused. The doctor wasn't an official FEMA physician. State license clearances mattered most, even in the height of the crisis.

Some speakers want to take the hammer out of the hands of government.

It pleases me that the new laws you hope to advance say that an increase in the tax base of a municipality should NOT be the sole reason for allowing eminent domain. Please, think again about the borders of a real public interest project.

Times have changed. Spaces have changed.Eminent domain isn't what it used to be. I crave more creative ideas in the toolbox so we never need to use the hammer of force.

As a candidate for mayor in 2001, I pledged that I'd fight all instances of eminent domain within our area from any governmental entity. That statement, perhaps just a spec of trivia, didn't resonate with masses of voters then. Only a keen sage could appreciate such a statement and stance. Many keen sages are in this room. That "fringe statement" is becoming mainstream.

Let's make Pennsylvania the best place in the world for investments. Investments must be safe from seizure. Don't simply tweak the eminent domain laws. PA could jump to the head of the pack -- as other states are re-tooling their approach to eminent domain too.

I expect stances from candidates on eminent domain to rise in importance.

According to David Jahn, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania, "the Supreme Court betrayed the constitutional sanctity of property rights in the Kelo decision. Local governments can now seize private property and transfer it to developers of shopping centers, office complexes, hotels and sporting arenas for no more reason than the wishful hope of an increase in local tax revenues. The Court’s decision blights the 'public use' clause of the Fifth Amendment with corporate welfare."

The Libertarian Party plans to make eminent domain and the protection of private property rights a key campaign issue in 2006.

The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the United States with more than 600 officials serving in office throughout the nation.

Pennsylvania has an abundance of land and "brown fields." If we needed bigger spaces, we have them. We have miles of empty space that surrounds the Pittsburgh International Airport.

If you want to build a factory in this state, we don't need eminent domain.

Pittsburgh does NOT need to use eminent domain in downtown's Fifth & Forbes projects. If our leaders were more creative, the need for eminent domain vanishes.

Pittsburgh has blue areas that streak around town, our rivers. We can build anything we want over those rivers without eminent domain.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of acres of prime development space -- if one considers the spaces over the rivers.

We could build a downtown mall (or two) within pedestrian bridges that span from Station Square to town and then to the North Side. Shops, services, and all the goodies can be provided for and paid for by lease holders. There is even room for the mega developers like those that have been so warm to Mayor Tom Murphy in plans.

Create spaces over the water of the rivers.

If this is hard to picture, think of a pier in an ocean-side community. Huntington Beach, California, has a massive pier, for example. Gov. officials in H.B. manage the beach (a shared space, community owned) and built a pier. They sell leases on the pier for businesses. The lease holders pay for the pier itself. That's new development without the pain of eminent domain.

Finding spaces in Pennsylvania is not a problem, even in our biggest cities. Spaces are all over the place -- from closed prisons to waterfronts. Plus, the URA (Urban Redevlopment Authority) already owns plenty of properties, estimated at more than 5,000.

Space is our asset in PA.

We don't need government to take land from its citizens. Find the necessary spots in other, more original places.

Consider Maglev, a high-speed train was to zip from Greensburg to Monroeville to town and then the airport. The citizens in Westmorland County went bonkers figuring where that line would be placed. Elevated tracks are not wanted.

We don't need to use eminent domain for Maglev. Nor do we need to spend a fortune to secure land rights at market rates.

Put Maglev underground 300 to 500 feet. Then we'd have an experimental line. And it is proven as subway systems carry millions of people worldwide each day. Maglev as a subway would not bother anyone's property rights.

If you want to do some real work on eminent domain, unravel the rail road right of way and that relationship with eminent domain. Our state is blessed with rail lines that are not utilized for moving people.

Fix roads, bridges and tunnels that arlready are here. The Commonwealth could spend 25-years to fortify our existing infrastructure with continual maintenance and upgrades and be much, much better off. Hence, we'd never need to use eminent domain for a new road.

Pennsylvania is shrinking.

Schools are another point of entry for eminent domain. Pittsburgh Public Schools needed to use eminent domain to build a new school in recent years as one or two home owners didn't want to sell. But Pgh Public Schools just closed a dozen schools and more are on the chopping block.

The call for eminent domain vanishes if better uses of what we have is demanded.

If a popular, growth area needs a new school -- build taller on the existing footprint.

Nonprofits gobble up land in Pittsburgh. Pitt is trampling with its sprawl. Yet the tallest building on Pitt's campus was built 80 years ago. The newest building from Pitt in my neighborhood is a flat, football field the size of an airplane hangar without a basement nor second floor.

If I'm in your seats, I'd be working on the words to calls for a state-wide referendum that enacts a Pennsylvania moratorium on all eminent domain for 25 years.

I'd certainly want to sunset the provision. My children are here. They can face the problems of the future much better than me. I would never want to tie their hands -- like you did with the 50-million dollar gambling licenses that never expire.

If we had no eminent domain in Pennsylvania for 25 years, this would force creativity among the ambitions for building public spaces. Otherwise, it puts faith in the marketplace, as a fall back.

Finally, there has been a lot of talk about property tax reform. I think that the elimination of all property taxes is a bad idea. I think we should be taxing land. If you were to eliminate property taxes and eliminate eminent domain, we'd be much worse off when my kids have kids. The coupling would slide our Commonwealth into a FEUDAL state.

Pittsburgh already has two oversight boards and judges who dictate property tax shenanigans. I call them "dueling overlords.' With no property taxes and no eminent domain -- a new class of land-lords and royalty will emerge and so too will citizen serfs.

I'd be happy to defend these concepts on principle, if asked.

City Council over budget; staff layoffs are possible

The most logical layoff to consider is Gene Ricciardi's job. Gene is going to resign from City Council some day. But, we don't know when. He'll need to resign around January 1, 2006, as he'll be getting sworn in as a District Magistrate.

Gene is my city council representative. I'm expected to enter the race for his seat.

With gambling's arrival in the future, we do need to have city council's third seat filled by a strong voice. Same too with the arrival of a new mayor.

If Gene was able to resign now -- that would save some money.

Another hit against the overall budget is the cost of the pending special election in early 2006. The election for the city council seat will need to occur on its own day -- rather than coupled with the November general election. The special election tab won't be carried by the city council line items in the budget.

City Council over budget; staff layoffs are possible: "Ricciardi said he believes the situation may be worse, with council heading for a $150,000 deficit.

Perhaps city council should put a little peer pressure on the city controller's office to cut the spending over there. I don't think it is right for Tom Flaherty's office to continue its spending -- blowing a big hole in the budget. Tom Flaherty wants to be a judge and he is showing poor judgement.

Sure, the cuts to the controller's office demanded by Act 47 are not within reason. I hate the fact that everyone always runs to the courts to settle our problems too. But, I'm not seeing much from the Controller's office these days either. They must be spinning their wheels on a court case and not the downward saga of the city.

The city controller's office should put an extra $200,000 or so on the table. Then city council's ills are not so drastic.
The voters of Allegheny County should know how the city controller's office has managed its budget.

I'm in a strange position if I call for the quick resignation of Gene Riccardi. I'm not sure I want to raise that as the best possible solution. It would have been better if the leadership there had been watching the spending and had it match the budget, week in and week out. They didn't seem to do that, as is typical.

Gene does have a few things to attend to in his present role on council. But, time is short and so is money.

Gene has not won the D.J. seat yet as the November 2005 election is still to occur. Elections should not be considered just a formality, even when one is running without opposition, I guess. Humm. I guess it is just a formality now, really.

CmapTools and scaffolding - FLOSSE Posse

CmapTools and scaffolding - FLOSSE Posse CmapTools is a software toolkit design to facilitate manipulation of concept maps. It�s pretty brilliant set of software tools, ...

Murphy Submits another broken Budget -- pants on fire

The school crossing guards have been the responsibility of the city's budget, not the school budget. The school budget was stretched to pick up the fumble that Murphy created.

The police and firefighter positions will not be affected in the budget, but the EMS positions are another matter. A January strike has been predicted for EMS. Murphy's contract offer is so bad that the union isn't even going to consider going to the table with certain provisions in there now.

Murphy was to merge EMS some eight years ago. He didn't.

The hiring freeze is going to come on now -- in January, just as Bob O'Connor comes back to the city. Where have you been Bob. I hope he is looking tan.

KDKA: Murphy Submits Budget To ICA Board
Pittsburgh (KDKA) Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy today submitted his budget proposal to the city�s fiscal oversight board.

The $415 million budget is $15 million less than the board predicted.

However, the city needs to make a $4 million cut.

The city says it will not have layoffs, but will instead institute a hiring freeze through 2006 for non-public safety positions.

Police and firefighter positions will not be affected.

Additionally, Murphy says the city�s budget took a hit after it had to spend $600,000 more than budgeted for gasoline, and paying salaries for crossing guards after Pittsburgh Public Schools announced it would no longer do so.

I'm rich! -- and who would of thunk I had a relative die on 9-11 with roots and riches elsewhere

These spammers must have a lot of fun. See the recent spam in the comment section on the creative spin of a crook.

China's model for a censored Internet

We are going back to Hong Kong next week. So, this posting goes out for what its worth, and not much else is going to come from me now.

China's model for a censored Internet | csmonitor.com: "China's model for a censored Internet

Some worry China's controls could be copied elsewhere.

By Kathleen E. McLaughlin | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

SHANGHAI, CHINA As China began to go online, observers made brash predictions that the Internet would pry the country open. Cyberspace, the thinking went, would prove too vast and wild for Beijing to keep under its thumb.
Now these early assumptions are being sharply revised.

We do expect to go back to China, again, for the Olympics in 2008, too.

UK school switches to Linux

SourceWire | Press Releases - UK school switches to Linux The Mall School in Richmond has replaced its aging Windows 2000 PCs with a state of the art Linux thin-client network, offering access to a wealth of educational software at a fraction of the cost of an upgraded Microsoft-based solution.

Ballot Access Coalition announces speakers for voters choice act rally

For more information contact:
- Ken Krawchuk, 267-496-3332
- David Jahn, 610-461-7755

The Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition will be holding a kickoff rally to introduce their Voters Choice Act on Saturday, September 24th, at 4 PM in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg, with a reception to be held immediately afterwards at the Harrisburg Hilton, Second and Market Streets in Harrisburg, beginning at 6:15 PM. Both events are open to the public.

Speakers at Saturday's Rotunda rally include the 1998 and 2002 Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Ken Krawchuk, Libertarian Party state chair Dave Jahn, former Green Party state chair Jennaro Pullano, Constitution Party national chairman Jim Clymer, Reform Party state treasurer Tom McLaughlin, and John Murphy of the Ralph Nader campaign, among others.

Speakers at the Hilton reception include the 2004 Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Badnarik, among others, and entertainment will be provided by Green Party activist Tom Mulligan.

The Voters Choice Act reforms Pennsylvania's draconian ballot access laws by leveling the playing field for third parties and independent candidates. Under the current law, Democrats and Republicans must collect 2,000 signatures to have their names placed on the statewide primary ballot, and none at all for the November ballot. However, to have their names placed on the November ballot in 2006, third party and independent candidates will be required to collect a minimum of 67,070 signatures, more than 33 times as many, despite a Constitutional provision that "Elections shall be free and equal".

The Voters Choice Act would change the definition of a minor political party from the current district-by-district electoral formula (2% of a recent winner's vote total) to one based upon statewide voter registrations (0.05%), and allow minor political parties to nominate candidates for all offices directly according to their party rules, and at their own expense, rather than by the existing nomination papers process. Independent candidates would continue to nominate candidates for all offices via the current nomination papers process, but using the same signature requirements required of the two old parties rather than the current district-by-district electoral formula (2% of a recent winner's vote total).

A copy of the Voters Choice Act and its accompanying white paper can be found on the Coalition's website at www.PaBallotAccess.org.

The Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition (PBAC) is an association of representatives from Pennsylvania’s largest political third parties and independent campaigns, including the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, the Constitution Party, the America First Party, the Reform Party, the Prohibition Party, the Socialist Party, the Unified Independent Party, the New American Independent Party, and the Ralph Nader campaign, among others.

The Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition, PO Box 309, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081
www.PaBallotAccess.org PBAC@PaBallotAccess.org
Voice: (610) 543-8427 Fax: (215) 572-9248

KSDK News - FEMA Sends Trucks Full Of Ice For Katrina Victims To Maine

KSDK NewsChannel 5 - Where The News Comes First - FEMA Sends Trucks Full Of Ice For Katrina Victims To Maine

Flight 93 movie and memorial

A couple of my friends have recommended the Discovery Channel film about Flight 93, the plane that was hijacked on September 11, 2005 and crashed in Somerset County, PA -- about 130 km east of Pittsburgh.

The film is called "The Flight that Fought Back" and the Discovery Channel is selling it on DVD. I checked it out and decided that this is a really good deal:

1. They say that the ENTIRE PURCHASE PRICE will be dedicated to the Flight 93 memorial
2. There's no charge for shipping (enter code FLT93)
3. The total comes out to about $23.
   

It's a good deal, raising money for a good cause, and helping to memorialize the heroic actions of the 40 passengers on Flight 93. Check it out.

Sunnyhill, our church, turns 40 this weekend.

Keep on thinking free.

We'll be missing The Great Race due to services. Oh well.

PA Doctor says FEMA ordered him to stop treating hurricane victims

2theadvocate.com: News - Doctor says FEMA ordered him to stop treating hurricane victims 09/16/05
Advocate staff writer

In the midst of administering chest compressions to a dying woman several days after Hurricane Katrina struck, Dr. Mark N. Perlmutter was ordered to stop by a federal official because he wasn't registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Rescuing a School Technology Program: Linux Thin-client Overview OP/ED - www.reallylinux.com

Rescuing a School Technology Program: Linux Thin-client Overview OP/ED - www.reallylinux.com Rescuing a School Technology Program:
Linux Thin-client Overview

Oak Hill developer sues Pitt over tactics

Pitt, known for taking other universities to court to force them to be friends in a football conference, is playing under the table games with others now.

Oak Hill developer sues Pitt over tactics A developer is suing the University of Pittsburgh, claiming that it's offering 'inducements' to Hill District residents in an effort to undermine a proposed housing expansion.
The inducements include scholarships and business opportunities for key residents of the Oak Hill development, says the lawsuit by Boston-based Beacon/Corcoran Jennison, which owns that 639-home complex.
The lawsuit, filed in Common Pleas Court, is the latest heave in a long tug-of-war between the developer and Pitt. The developer wants to build 200 more homes on land bordering Pitt. The university wants the land for sports fields.

Who was it that told Pitt it could buy off his influnece if Pitt used the old Pitt script on its helmets? For two games this season, we'll see turn the clock back uniforms with the Pitt script! (giggle)

It stinks to have bullies in your neighborhood. It stinks worse when the bullies are non-profit institutions. It stinks tripple-dog bad when the bullies are universities -- institutions of higher learning.

OMG. "Mostly is is our way of saying to Pitt -- back off." The developer isn't done playing with its vision.

Pittsburgh needs to be done with the playing of childish games.

WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Disasters and governance

WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Disasters and governance by Jon Lebkowsky

Libertarian Party statement on eminent domain reform

Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania
3863 Union Deposit Road #223
Harrisburg, PA 17109
1-800-774-4487
www.lppa.org

For Immediate Release:
Date: 09/20/2005

For more information contact:
Doug Leard (Media Relations) or David Jahn (Chair) at 1-800-R-RIGHTS

Eminent Domain Reform
A step in the right direction, but further steps are needed

The State Government Committee is holding a public hearing on House Bills 1835 and 1836 on Thursday, September 22nd at the City Council chambers in Pittsburgh. House Bills 1835 and 1836 reform Pennsylvania statutes to prevent municipalities from using eminent domain to appropriate property to:
• turn the property over to a non-public interest
• add or increase the tax base of the municipality
• take land by condemnation without a reverter clause in the declaration of taking.

This clause assures that the property will revert to the condemee or his/her heirs or assigns should the condemned property ever be used for a non-public purpose.

"While a step in the right direction, these bills do not address the root cause of the outrage over the Supreme Court decision," said Ken Crippen, Chair of the Legislative Action Committee of the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania. "Municipalities still have wide latitude to take our property by just declaring that the property in question is in the 'public interest.'"

The United States Supreme Court ruled in the Kelo v. City of New London case that local governments hold the power to widely interpret what “public use” means for their purposes. As witnessed by the Kelo case, this expanded power comes at the expense of tax paying property owners.

According to David Jahn, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania, "the Supreme Court betrayed the constitutional sanctity of property rights in the Kelo decision. Local governments can now seize private property and transfer it to developers of shopping centers, office complexes, hotels and sporting arenas for no more reason than the wishful hope of an increase in local tax revenues. The Court’s decision blights the 'public use' clause of the Fifth Amendment with corporate welfare."

The Libertarian Party plans to make eminent domain and the protection of private property rights a key campaign issue in 2006.

The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the United States with over 600 officials serving in office throughout the nation. Please visit www.LP.org or www.LPPA.org for more information on the Libertarian Party.

Running Mates, help. Input on eminent domain needed urgently!

I'm slated to make a presentation for up to 10-minutes (with 10-minutes of time for possible questions from the committee) to a PA State House Committee hearing slated for Thursday afternoon on Grant Street (City Council Chambers) on EMINENT DOMAIN.

HELP.

Got content? Insights? Tips? Pointers?

Want to offer your services as a reviewer of a draft of my prepared statements? Email me, Mark@Rauterkus.com, and watch your inbox for their arrival shortly.

Frankly, I'm not too worried. But, I do want to put out this call in advance to others who might like to have a meeting on the minds about this important issue. Thanks for the consideration.

Otherwise, I'll upload the statements to this blog in the next 48 hours or so.

Flex Your Rights (wallet card)

1. Officer, am I free to go?

2. Officer, I don't consent to any searches.

3. Officer, I want to speak with a lawyer.

The movie, Busted, from FlexYourRights.org, was shown at Pitt by the College Libertarians.

The Fourth Amendment: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable causes, supported by Oath or affimation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons of things to be seized.

Alcosan Open House

Gratis events for the public from 9 am to 4 pm on Saturday, October 1, 2005. Call 412 732-8002, or www.alcosan.org.

Welcome to Pittsburgh, Mr. Roosevelt. My address to the Pgh Public School Board and Administration

My words: Welcome to Pittsburgh, a city where politics matters, as it should. But where what matters in politics isn't as it could be.

---

Statement before the Pittsburgh School District and its Administration, September 19, 2005

Statement before the Pittsburgh School District and Administration
September 19, 2005

From Mark Rauterkus, 108 South 12th Street, South Side, 15203
412 298 3432 Mark@Rauterkus.com

I'm a parent of two students at Phillips Elementary (PPS), a community activist, swim coach, former stay-at-home dad, and a ballot candidate:
-- for PA Senate (May 2005),
-- for mayor, city of Pittsburgh (May 2001), and
-- expected candidate for City Council, 2006.

Topic: POLITICS

Welcome to Pittsburgh, Mr. Roosevelt. (I too am Mark R.)

We both are self described non-traditionalists with shared interest in education and politics.

Politics is a part of life. Only the foolish choose to ignore it.

In my opinion, Dr. Thompson tried to ignore politics. Upon Dr. Thompson's arrival to Pittsburgh, like those before him, I wrote him a note saying we had a dysfunctional political landscape. In computer-speak one could say, “garbage in, garbage out.” I hinted that the life of a school superintendent would bound to be full of frustrations as long as this Pittsburgh political quagmire persisted. Dr. Thompson was not interested in actions in this realm. Suffering in our community continues.

Examples:
Three on city council formed an alliance to exert influence in school board elections. These were no friends of public education. (Diven, Motznik, Ricciardi)
A+ Schools is a resume builder for Michael Lamb and certain factions and special interests.
A wealthy gatekeeper for school board elections has been Elsie Hillman who can stroke $10,000 checks for lawn signs so as to win the day.
Religious leaders, such as Rev. John Monroe, are going to work themselves into a state of frenzy and protest – perhaps with another extended prayer in the public school's board room disruption's sake.
The teacher union leader, the late Mr. Fondy, never was known to speak to non-Democrats without an abundance of profanity.
Mayor Tom Murphy only came to the school administration when he was seeking a TIF (tax break for a new development). That robs the present incomes on the hope for the future – but they have not pulled their weight in the slightest.
Bob O'Connor spoke in all seriousness when he said, if he was mayor, every school student would have his homework completed by 6 pm. Yeah right. I guess he has an after school magic pixie dust.
The state situation is no better as Gov. Rendell can't understand why 80-percent of the school districts in the state didn't swallow his plan for gambling incomes.

Pittsburgh's dysfunctional political landscape comes from neglect.

The good news, with some attention, the potential for improvements exist. Great strides can be made with some time and energy investments – and a new attitude. Benefits are sure to touch the lives of the students and school performances – and city-wide wellness.

Politics and voting are significant elements of the American way. We need an open minded approach that is inclusive and educational. The decision logic for voting in Pittsburgh is frail. Sadly, ignorance rules.

A solution suggestion:
I would love to either lead or assist with a coordinated effort from the Superintendent's office to create an extensive position paper. Perhaps it should be called a “PINK PAPER on Pittsburgh Politics and Schools.”

Better policies on politics can be established after wide debate:
Where are:
- school assembly opportunities,
- TV debates (with cable and public TV),
- policy talks with web streamed delivery, and
- zones for politicians and issue discussions at and following PPS sporting events?

A handout from a suburban school district invites citizens to meet the candidates for school board at a school function. Those type of events are rare in Pittsburgh.

Furthermore, suburban districts have the distinct advantage of being smaller and more intimate in terms of knowing candidates. In the suburban districts, neighbors have better chances of knowing one another. Pittsburgh's larger, urban district has 10 times the schools and neighborhoods yet the same number of board members. City-wide, Pittsburgh needs many more opportunities to meet the candidates, but we have less.

Another problem stems from petitions. Petitions should be dealt with in a simple and direct manners – and not treated as if they were plans for the overthrow of a dictator.

Another larger solution suggestion for the political landscape of Pittsburgh and schools is to end the stepping-stone trend.

I'd love to see a rule/law/charter addition that is similar to the one in place with Allegheny County Council. Twice, the voters of the county upheld a charter provision that makes a resignation necessary before a member of county council can seek candidate status for another elected office.

If you are on county council and you want to run for state senate, you need to resign your seat on county council before you are a candidate for the other office.

People like this rule. It imposes a clean purpose. Those with ambitions elsewhere need to leave their present positions first.

The same would work wonders for Pgh Public School Board Members.

I think those on the Pittsburgh Public School Board should be IN-ELIGIBLE for any ballot position for two years from the concluding date of their tenure on the board.

We have a history of others using the school board as a way to increase in power and and personal influence. This career advancement uses the school board seat as a stepping stone to other jobs.

Valerie McDonald and Barbara Burns moved to City Council after being on the school board.

Once the elected school board members – and the public know that these positions were TERMINAL and not a pathway to advancement -- then a different flavor of behavior and different style of candidate for these seats for arrive.

We need politics in the schools, about school matters and beyond. We do not need to continue the flooding that rage from a litany of other political factors appearing in our school decisions. Now it is as if the tail (politics at large) wags the dog (our schools, educational efforts and children's best interest). This happens because of ignorance by design from the main body.

Education reform might work without any political process reform. However, education reform that occurs with political reform, in parallel, is what I desire.

Reform should be like a pitched fork – with multiple prongs, one being politics.
Or, the dog can be whole, tail and all. But each needs to be aware and engaged and grounded.

Welcome to Pittsburgh, a city where politics matters, as it should. But where what matters in politics isn't as it could be.