The City of Pittsburgh might have just crawled out of a fiscal crisis, but at least we can still pay photographers to follow Luke Ravenstahl around. Cooky Lukey has spared little time or expense in getting his name and picture plastered everywhere a Mayor can, and even some places they ordinarily don't. The City's website does not lack for pix of Luke and one can lose themselves for hours, or at least minutes, watching the picture slideshow of Luke with real hand-shaking and back-slapping action.
http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us
Meanwhile the Mayor's page has become a comprehensive photo archive or Luke's comings and goings.
http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/mayor
So what about the guy rubs me the wrong way. He's the guy who walks in the room at the last minute and takes credit for everybody else's work. He was not elected and when he did sit on City COuncil, he showed up to be counted on the roll call, then he turned the meeting over to Motznik and left. Consistently. He wasn't elected Mayor, he got there because no one expected him to become Mayor and they wanted to put the least offensive (and perhaps the least effective) council member in the President's post. I realize that last part is not a fair dig because so many council members compete for the distinction of being the least effective.
His only "accomplishments" are taking credit for the work of the O'Connor administration. I find it extremely offensive that he claims the Mayor Ravenstahl 3-1-1 line and the Mayor Ravenstahl Redd Up campaign.
MAYOR RAVENSTAHL INVESTS IN ALTERNATIVE FUELS: http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/mayor/html/city_press_releases.html#December_07,_2006_Alternative_Fuels
This is another example of an inability to tell the truth. Ravenstahl isn't investing the money - his patron in the Governor's office is. Because Luke has been a good soldier and protected the back of crony Denny Regan, he is being rewarded. Regan by the way is rumored to be be heading up Senator Casey's Pittsburgh office.
This is the kind of leadership that has got us where we are today.