A Man (or two) With A Plan!

(Recent mailers for Readshaw and Ravenstahl)

I have a plan to not vote for either of them...EVER.

Little girl, do your parents know what district you're in? (My guess would be PA-iStock.)

The Trib on HB 574

Maria's already written about the bill here.

While I have no problem pummeling Scaife's braintrust when they deserve it, my inner sense of fairness compels me to point out (every now and then) when they get it right.

Today is one of those days. Take a look at what they have to say about HR 574:

Abortion is legal. And facilities performing abortions should be held to basic standards that apply to physicians' offices and outpatient settings.

But a bill that has passed the Pennsylvania House is nothing more than a back-door attempt to limit abortions by limiting the number of facilities performing them and increasing the costs of those facilities that might be able to overcome government's overreach.

House Bill 574, adopted last week, would require the commonwealth's 20 free-standing abortion clinics to meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers, facilities which provide more complicated and risky procedures. It's in response to the West Philadelphia "House of Horrors" abortion case in January.

Among the proposed new law's measures, however, are those that strike us as "slap measures," quite expensive and specifically designed not to enhance care but to eliminate abortion providers. Among them are requirements for medical-grade elevators, much larger procedure rooms and a full-time registered nurse being on staff even when abortions are not being performed.

A sound litmus test for the legislation is this: Had it been in place, would the rogue actions of the Philadelphia facility been prevented? No. Punishing safe abortion clinics because of one horrific bad apple exposes the real agenda of the 148 state House members who voted for H.B. 574.

When they're right, they're right. Doesn't mean they're right on anything else they're wrong about (for instance, global warming) but it's good to see they're not entirely without rational thought.

By the way, did you know that Mayor Luke's brother (a Democrat) voted FOR this rather odious legislation?

Go take a look.

More fail

This is a resume???

That's what PA State Rep. Adam Ravenstahl called what he sent to Pittsburgh City Council for his gig at the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority board (cover letter and larger version can be seen @ The Pittsburgh Comet).

You'd think after all the charges of nepotism and unethical behavior over this appointment he'd at least try.

Though to give Adam his due, it does contain way more personal information than his campaign flyers did. And, he's also probably taking political advice from his roomie and big bro Lil Mayor Luke, who undoubtedly told him if he gave an inch they'd be asking about his socks and underwear next.

Stand strong, Lil Rep. Adam!

(h/t to Bram)
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Peduto's Letter to Ethics Board RE Adam Ravenstahl Appointment to ALCOSAN

Pittsburgh City Councilor Bill Peduto has sent the following letter to Sister Patrice Hughes of Pittsburgh's Ethics Hearing Board regarding the appointment of Adam Ravenstahl to ALCOSAN's board.

Dear Sister Hughes:

I am requesting that the Ethics Hearing Board rule on the decision of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to nominate his brother State Representative-elect Adam Ravenstahl to the Board of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority. The City Code has rules for appointing, hiring and promoting direct family members of elected officials and employees. As the code states, the only time a direct family member can be appointed is through a waiver from the Ethics Hearing Board.

§ 197.05 EMPLOYMENT OR APPOINTMENT OF RELATIVES.
(a) No public official or public employee shall appoint, hire, advance or advocate the appointing, hiring or advancing of a member of his direct family to a position that is under the jurisdiction or control of the city.
(b) A member of the direct family of a public official or public employee shall not be appointed, hired or advanced to a position which is under the direct jurisdiction or control of the public official or public employee.
(c) The provisions of this section may be waived by the Board upon the Board's finding that considering factors as the person's experience qualifications and the responsibility of the position, the public interest would not be harmed as a result of the waiver.

These rules are similar to those followed by state and federal officials. They were adopted and approved in 1990 when the City created the Ethics Code. Questions regarding jurisdiction apply to both elected officials and city employees. For employees, the rules of jurisdiction were to oppose attempts of supervisors hiring their own direct family members. For elected officials, it is obvious that our jurisdiction goes beyond any one department or authority.

As elected officials, the Mayor and City Council have jurisdiction over the nomination and appointment of all Board, Authority and Commission members. The Mayor has the sole responsibility of nominating candidates to these positions and Council has the sole responsibility of approving the Mayor's nominees. City Code, § 197.05 clearly states “a) No public official or public employee shall appoint, hire, advance or advocate the appointing, hiring or advancing of a member of his direct family to a position that is under the jurisdiction or control of the city.” In this case, the nomination of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority nominee is the sole jurisdiction of the Mayor.

I am formally requesting that the Ethics Hearing Board investigate this nomination to determine the legitimacy of any elected City official appointing, hiring, advancing or advocating the appointing, hiring or advancing of direct family members.

According to Peduto, Councilman Doug Shields has sent a similar letter to the State Ethics Commission.

The Ravenstahls: He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

Pittsburgh's Lil Mayor Luke "The Son Also Rises" Ravenstahl has nominated Lil PA Rep. Adam "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" Ravenstahl to a seat on the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority board.

According to Rich Lord at the P-G:

A seat on the Alcosan board is widely considered a political plum because members have contact with engineering and construction firms that tend to be campaign contributors.

Ravenstahl (Luke, not Adam) had to first toss Dan Keller off the board. Keller recently ran against Ravenstahl (Adam, not Luke).

Additionally, via Tim McNulty at the P-G's Early Returns, we learn that nominating your baby bro to such an appointment is a violation of the City of Pittsburgh Ethics Handbook (special Ravenstal edition here) though apparently a board -- majority appointed by the very same mayor/big bro -- can waive the rule.

Pittsburgh City Council, of course, also has a say in approving board members and I'm certain that we can expect a rigorous review of Ravenstahl's (Adam's, not Luke's) qualifications.

[Oops! Just peed myself laughing.]


2007 Luke Ravenstahl campaign brochure. . . And blueprint for the future

And, in the "Anybody But Another Ravenstahl" Race...

...or as some refer to it the "PA General Assembly District 20" race, Lady Elaine interviews Democratic primary candidates Tim Tuinstra and Mark Purcell.

Must Must Must Read

They were obviously wearing a wire to this event.
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Adam!

Actually, his name is pretty much all we know about Adam Ravenstahl (other than he's Lil Mayor Luke's baby bro and he's running for PA State Rep). And, it's not just us. Adam's not returning calls or written requests from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. His campaign web site doesn't work.

But, the P-G did manage to snag some lit:


In it, he promises to continue his family's "tradition of service." One would hope that at a minimum he could do better than that.
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