2 Political Junkies: True to pattern, Lil Mayor Luke tries to run from another stupid mistake

June 26, 2007

True to pattern, Lil Mayor Luke tries to run from another stupid mistake

Posted by Maria

According to today's Trib, Post-Gazette, KDKA, WTAE (and likely elsewhere) Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is claiming today:

1) He's upset about the police promotion system -- particularly when it comes to promoting officers with histories of domestic violence.

2) He somehow wasn't aware until today that there were three officers promoted who had domestic abuse run-ins. (Ravenstahl said he was not aware of domestic situations involving Lt. Charles Rodriguez and Sgt. Eugene Hlavac."I did not know of those individuals and their history or allegations that were out there, and I now do," Ravenstahl said. "I'm upset that I didn't know. And I let the chief know that he should have communicated that to me.")

I think that PittGirl and Mac Booker covered his first claim very well.

From The Burgh Blog:

Tuesday, June 19:
Mr. Ravenstahl approved the pick.

“There are good times in careers and bad times in careers, and I think Cmdr. Trosky would be the first to acknowledge that,” the mayor said. “But this decision was made based on a 30-year portfolio, not based on one or two incidents … He’s had letters of commendation. He’s been Officer of the Month numerous times. Certainly the clearance rate in his work as a homicide detective, and his work there, has been admirable.”

Tuesday, June 26:
Following an hour-long meeting with police brass, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said today that the promotions last week of three police officers with domestic issues were “unacceptable” and that the procedures for approving upgrades in rank are “obsolete and unacceptable.” Ravenstahl said, “Sergeants and lieutenants are promoted now without the ability for the mayor to say yes or no, either way.”

From Metroblogging Pittsburgh (but go there to read the whole post):

So, he doesn't think that it is a problem, he supports and endorses Nate Harper's decisions, and he isn't going to talk about it. Until, that is, the Post-Gazette, the National Organization for Women, and the Citizen's Police Review Board make a stink about it. In that case, no more approval, no more endorsement, no more dismissing a history of violence both in uniform and out. It is "obsolete and unacceptable."

And, the second claim?

Again, it would seem that, at the very least, Luke isn't communicating with his Communications people very well. This is from last Friday:

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who approved the promotions, could not be reached for comment. His spokeswoman, Joanna Doven, said the mayor would not discuss the promotions or their effects on women.

"He's not going to talk about that," Doven said.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...: When children make these sorts of mistakes, you toss it off to "lesson learned." The problem here is that Luke isn't 12 and he isn't lying about whether his homework is done....

Have we "given the kid enough of a chance" yet?

Pilt; June 26, 2007 at 10:46 PM
Smitty said...: ya think he mighta been lying????; June 27, 2007 at 12:28 AM
Maria said...: That question is rhetorical, right? LOL; June 27, 2007 at 5:56 AM
Anonymous said...: Basic question, aren't police officers subject to civil service rules? Why should Mayor Meathead have ANY say in who is promoted, it seems that that could lead to a horrible situation of politicization of the Police.; June 27, 2007 at 7:50 AM
Anonymous said...: I agree. Mayor Meathead - and for that matter, all of the meatheads in the mayor's office - should stay far away from police personnel matters. They've done such a bang-up job so far that even if they could be trusted to refrain from politicization of the bureau, they will still screw up the organization due solely to their poor management skills.; June 27, 2007 at 8:05 PM
Smitty said...: sorta,kinda, sarcastic,too; June 28, 2007 at 12:55 AM