Thank You to the Candidates

Congratulations to the winners of the Pittsburgh Democratic primaries.

To Mayor Ravenstahl: You have earned this victory through rampant spending and incumbency, but also through showing that you can work with Council over the last few months. I was very happy to see you parternering with Peduto and helping to institute some reform changes. Please continue to work with council. I'm sure that last night while you were at Hofbrauhaus, you made some flowery speech about the future of Pittsburgh. If you succeed in the general election this Fall, then I expect that in 4 years, we will have LED street lights, mandatory green building codes, the first tracks laid for a line between Oakland and Downtown, a manageable pension system, and real transparency in city contracting, city maintenance, and campaign donations. Please don't disappoint the constituents that have decided you are worthy of the Democratic nomination.

But most importantly, thank you to all that ran in this election. You make our election process respectable and responsible. Even if you didn't win, you are still contributing to the city by bringing new ideas to the forefront. I am glad that Dowd still has a position in the city as councilman. I hope that he keeps up hammering Ravenstahl when he disagrees with him. I also hope that he can work with Ravenstahl to make this city a better place. It is unfortunate that Carmen Robinson does not have a fall-back position in the city. I greatly admire her motivation and determination to become mayor of this city. I sincerely hope that Ravenstahl (or someone else in a position to do so) sees her connections with the community and initiative and can find her a position someplace in our city government. If not, Carmen Robinson, you must run for another position as soon as you are able.