They would be mayor...

Sunday Forum: They would be mayor
Mark DeSantis and Luke Ravenstahl explain why they should be elected
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

MARK DESANTIS: Let's change the city's insider politics and the way it does business

I want to be mayor of Pittsburgh not for my own fame and not because I think it would be fun, but because I want to solve the real and formidable problems we're now facing. Because I want to change the back-room, closed-door, insiders-with-access politics that have shaken our faith in city government. And because I love this crazy, beautiful city.
Mark Desantis , a high-tech businessman and consultant, is the Republican candidate for mayor of Pittsburgh (www.desantisformayor.com).

Being mayor isn't something to play at or put on my resume. It's a calling. A commitment. Something I feel in my head and my heart and my gut.

I believe in Pittsburgh. And I know you do, too. But we can't unleash this city's true potential until we deal with its problems honestly and directly.

If I sometimes sound negative, I don't mean to. I'm just facing some unfortunate realities. Because that's what you have to do as mayor. Real leaders don't smile and tell you everything's going to be all right in the end. They don't shrink from tough problems. They face them head-on.

And I promise you: If we face Pittsburgh's problems head-on, if we join together and really work at them, we can solve them.

We can improve public safety by placing new emphasis on community-oriented policing, getting more officers out of the stations and onto the streets, returning to merit-based promotions and instituting the kind of broken-window policing that worked so well in New York City and other communities.

We can reduce our crippling $500 million pension debt -- and ensure that our retirees get the money we owe them -- by devoting all gaming revenues and nonprofit contributions to the pension fund, and by requiring all new city employees, starting with me, to participate in defined contribution plans.

We can create a thriving economy by getting government off the backs of our citizens and our businesses, collecting fewer and fairer taxes, emphasizing the birth and growth of new businesses and providing opportunities to all Pittsburghers -- especially minorities -- through micro-lending and entrepreneurship programs.

We can make our government and our budget reflect economic reality by reducing spending, consolidating some city and county services, learning to do more (and better) with less and reducing taxes to increase our population and create new jobs.

The financial realities we're facing pose a tremendous challenge. But they also provide a tremendous opportunity, a chance to forge a new and responsive and transparent city government.

This is a critical moment in Pittsburgh's history, one that calls for a new and different kind of leader: someone with a record of success in private business and public service. Someone who's started companies, created jobs, mentored students and helped launch small businesses. Someone who's worked for a senator and advised a president. Someone who understands how business and government work. Someone who wants to apply the full depth of his knowledge and breadth of his experience to a city he loves and wants desperately to improve.

On Nov. 6, for the first time in more than 50 years, we'll have the chance to chart a bold new direction for this city, a clear choice between the mistakes of the past and the possibilities of the future.

We can do more of the same -- just cheerleading and happy talk and hope that all our problems one day magically disappear -- or we can take a chance and strive for something better. We can once more accept the enabling timidity of wishful thinking, or we can rise up to embrace the undaunted courage of visionary change.

I know the path we should take. I'm ready to lead us upon it. And I'm asking you to follow me.

LUKE RAVENSTAHL: I'd focus on financial responsibility, job creation and public safety

Growing up on Pittsburgh's North Side, I witnessed a phenomenon that changed me forever. I watched sons and daughters say goodbye to their families as they left the city they love to find jobs.
Luke Ravenstahl is the mayor of Pittsburgh and the Democratic candidate for mayor (www.lukeformayor.com).

When it was my turn to decide, I chose to stay in Pittsburgh. I chose to follow the path of public service, to implement changes to our policies and programs. Changes that will not only keep Pittsburgh's families here and together, but will also grow our city again.

Over the last year we have faced some unique challenges. We managed through a difficult time following the loss of Mayor Bob O'Connor. I have proudly carried on many of his programs, while creating an aggressive agenda of my own to move Pittsburgh forward. My strategy for Pittsburgh's renewal and resurgence focuses on three fundamental objectives: financial responsibility, job creation and public safety.

We have just had our 2008 budget unanimously approved by Pittsburgh's financial oversight board. This is proof positive that my administration is bringing responsible, common-sense financial management back to city government. We have eliminated $150 million more in expenditures than the Act 47 plan recommended. As a result, our projected spending over the next five years is more than $100 million below what is called for in the plan.

Our savings will allow us to create a pay-as-you-go program for capital improvements. This program will move us away from the credit-card mentality of the past by not issuing new debt.

As the financial health of our city continues to move forward, so too do our efforts in job creation and economic development. Today, there is more than $3 billion in investments and job creation in Pittsburgh. From major corporate headquarters on the South Side, to new skyscrapers Downtown, to new development in our East End, North Shore and Uptown, evidence of progress can be seen everywhere.

We are making city government business-friendly. That's a big change from the days when doing business in the city involved climbing mountains of red tape. We are working closely with job generators and economic engines like our universities and medical centers. If a business idea is created here, we want it to stay here. To enhance these opportunities, I have put a number of programs in place: residential tax abatement, urban redevelopment programs that reward green building practices, a streamlined permitting process and money to rebuild neighborhood business districts.

Finally, my public safety action plan is making our streets among the cleanest and safest in the country. We must be responsible for the safety and conditions of our city and our people. I am putting more officers on the street -- more than 100 since I became mayor -- and keeping them there through beat-cop programs and by investing in technology that allows them to report from the field.

I have doubled the budget to demolish condemned structures that are hazards in our neighborhoods. I have asked my staff to proactively market the city's Side Yard Program, which, by encouraging ownership, empowers residents to turn blight into beauty.

Pittsburgh has talked for many years about ways to retain its young people as a means to secure a bright future. It is now time to make those plans a reality.

Making Pittsburgh the city we all want it to be will require hard decisions and boundless energy. Most of all, though, it will take us working as a team. It is my goal to make Pittsburgh the kind of place that my future children and grandchildren will choose to call home, just as I have.
First published on October 21, 2007 at 12:00 am