Democracy Has Prevailed.

June 13, 2007

Delano's Follow-up

This evening, Jon Delano had a follow-up to his initial report about Mayor Ravenstahl and the Oakmont Country Club. You can see it here.

His reporting included something first blogged on here - that the non-Mayoral guests of American Express each paid $900 for the privilege of attending.

That $900 charge for the American Express' guests may come back to bite young Luke on the ass, in light of section 197.07 of the municipal code which states:

A public official, City employee or agent of the City shall not solicit or accept from an interested party, nor shall any interested party offer or give anything of value to a public official, City employee or agent of the city, subject to the following exceptions:

(a) Gifts from direct family members;
(b) A nonpecuniary award publicly presented, in recognition of public service;
(c) An occasional nonpecuniary gift of nominal value;
(d) Complimentary travel for official purposes;
(e) Admissions to charitable, civic, political or other public events;
(f) Admissions to cultural or athletic events not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) per calendar year in the aggregate and one hundred dollars ($100.00) per calendar year from any single person, agent or other interested party; or
(g) Complimentary meals and/or refreshments.

Seeing as by his own admission, he got in to the Oakmont Country Club, and seeing that for anyone else it would have cost $900 to be a guest, doncha think at the very least his actions should be investigated by the City's Ethics Board?

Now that there's possible ethics violations, it's not so petty, is it?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

When Luke first took office, I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

But he has been nothing more than a complete embarrassment for the city of Pittsburgh. Even if what he did wasn't illegal, he looks absolutely pathetic. It's just sad.

I heard Johnny Mac say today that Luke like's to give proclamations to celebrities in the area he'd like to meet. Pittsburgh needs a mayor; not some starry-eyed teeny bopper.

It should definitely be investigated. And in light of Luke's other "problems," it's quite possible that momentum could build for an independent candidate. I mean, only if someone can make some hay and really knock Luke down a few pegs.

It seems like an easy case - "Luke has done nothing but use his office for his own personal glory, at the expense of the city." If the Dem. establishment in Pittsburgh wants to support him, let 'em. But maybe it's time to that the people of Pittsburgh took back not only the Mayor's office but the Democratic Party as well.

Anonymous said...

I think you need to seriously look at the Republican candidate Mark DeSantis. He is a quality candidate and appears to be quite progressive from what I read. While I don't make it a habit of voting for Republicans in this case I am willing to do so enthusiastically.

Skip said...

Touché! Great point!

Dayvoe said...

My interview with DeSantis was the second in town (it was a few days after Delano's interview).

You can read it here.

Anonymous said...

don't know how many regulars here ever listen to or even know about some sports talk guys on 1250 am - Junker and Crow - but every Wednesday they do a "Jagoff of the Week" vote among listeners - a sort of who is the biggest loser/jerk in sports or sports-related news for the previous week.

And, as you may have guessed by now, this week's jagoff of the week was none other than little lukey. Couldn't go to a bigger jagoff.

Hip, hip, hooray for little lukie.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I'm going to step into this fray...and take what I think it probably an alternate view...

I have been wondering what would have happened had former Major Bob O'Connor gone out to Oakmont because he "always wanted to meet Arnold Palmer." Or if Rendell had done the same?

Would we be having the same reaction to this? I'm just sayin' that part of the response to Opie's boner move is based on the mere fact that he is a kid.

If a longtime adult pol has pushed his way into the middle of something that was none of his business (and let's remember; that happens every day...and is almost a defining characteristic of politicians...) we probably not only would not be talking about it, we never would have heard about it; because it would have been considered SOP for them.

I'm not excusing Opie, I Just think we need to put this in perspective....

Pilt

Gary said...

Perspective? What's that at this blog?

Luke appears to be an immature frat boy who screws up at every turn. Yet the prospect of running against him was so daunting that Peduto couldn't even work up the nerve to fight the losing battle.

Odd, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

From what I know about Bobby O, I can imagine him doing the very same thing. I heard he was a bigger golf fan than Luke...would this had become an issue or would people have said "oh he is our beloved mayor bob o'conner, it's not a big deal"

Also, I hear MacYapper refer to Luke as a frat boy, and I saw it on these posts as well, but I don't think he was in a fraternity. I could be wrong...let me know.

Anonymous said...

I am assuming most of the people that read these blogs had watched The West Wing when it was on. This West Wing quote sums up Pittsburgh Bloggers (specifically Maria) in a nutshell...

CJ: Let me explain something to you. This is sort of my field. The people on these sites? They're the cast of 'One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest.' The muu-muu-wearing Parliament smoker? That's Nurse Ratchett. When Nurse Ratchett is unhappy, the patients are unhappy. You? You're McMurphy. You swoop in with your card games and fishing trips.

Josh: I didn't swoop in, I came in the exact same way everyone else did.

CJ: Well now I'm telling you to open the wardroom window and climb on out before they give you a free frontal lobotomy and I have to smother you with a pillow.

Josh (pause): You're...

CJ (nodding): I'm Chief Romden, yes, at this particular moment.

***Nurse Ratchett = Maria***

Maria said...

Anonymous,

Yes, I'm Nurse Ratchett and you're sucking Lil Lukey's dick.

There, I did what you just did only with fewer words.