Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has done the unthinkable. He has provoked me to openly support his Republican opponent in the November election.
It must be winter in hell again; I’m endorsing a Republican. In the 10 months since he succeeded the late and great Mayor Bob O’Connor, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl (D) has proven himself to be an incompetent fool that is derelict in his responsibilities as Mayor. Ravenstahl is a poser, Pittsburgh needs a leader.
First Ravenstahl tried to promote one of his political hacks to the position of Public Safety Director. Dennis Regan is a great political soldier, but he wasn’t qualified to oversee the public safety department. Months after Regan’s nomination bit the dust, we learned that Regan had intervened on Ravenstahl’s behalf after Ravenstahl was handcuffed for disorderly conduct at a Steelers game in 2005.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Mayor decided to skip work one day in April. He crashed a party with Tiger Woods that was held at Oakmont Country Club. Instead of dealing with the city’s budget, services, or the police department, the Mayor spent the day in the woods chasing after Tiger Woods.
Then the Mayor showed that he learned nothing from the Dennis Regan fiasco. He promoted three police officers that have a history of domestic violence in their past. Women’s groups in Pittsburgh were, understandably, enraged. They petitioned City Council to hold a meeting, and they requested the Mayor’s attendance at the meeting.
When the meeting occurred, the Mayor was no where to be found. It turns out that he was, you guessed it, golfing in a celebrity tournament for charity. His $9,000 ticket to the event was paid for by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which always has pending business with the city. Ravenstahl not only turned his back on the women of western Pennsylvania, he engaged in unethical practices in the process.
I basically loathe the Republican Party. I don’t believe in their principles, or their leadership. I think George W. Bush may be the worst President in American history. I am a loyal Democrat. But there comes a time when one must cross the aisle and support a candidate of another party. When office holders place their own self-interest above the good of the people, it’s time for new leadership.
There’s a choice in Pittsburgh between Republican Mark DeSantis and poser Democrat Luke Ravenstahl. I endorse Mark DeSantis for Mayor. I hope that the readers of this diary that vote in Pittsburgh will cast their ballots for him in November.