Friday, December 1, 2006

Good News, Smothered in a Light Bullshit Sauce

There is at least something to smile about in Pittsburgh this evening. Dennis Regan has finally resigned from city government, and is no longer being handed our tax dollars to sit at home and watch "The View". The only thing that tempers my joy at this development is that is has been accompanied by this nonsensical claim by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl that his investigation found "... no conclusive evidence that [Mr. Regan] committed any wrongdoing."

My respect for Mr. Ravenstahl is beginning to drop precipitously every freaking time he opens his mouth.

My guess is that the Mayor's statement is factually correct in a strict semantic sense, depending on how one defines the terms "conclusive" and "wrongdoing". But it has been clearly obvious ever since former mayor Bob O'Connor first appointed Mr. Regan that he was a fish out of water in city government. He had zero experience going in, was handed a hefty amount of power in a very short period of time, became our mayor-in-everything-but-name during Mr. O'Connor's illness, and continued to wield considerable influence during the first few weeks of the Ravenstahl administration. Almost anyone in that situation, having been handed so much power and influence without the benefit of any real experience, would slip up from time to time and use that power for personal benefit. It's actually pretty understandable, especially once Mayor O'Connor got sick and wasn't available to provide the guidance and oversight that would have helped check any selfish impulses.

This was yet another one of those situations where a simple apology, a recusal from any further participation in the disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Regan's defacto brother-in-law (Detective Francis Rende), and a vow to learn from these mistakes would have worked far better than the usual indignant denials. Such an approach might not have saved Mr. Regan's bacon; his credentials were pretty shaky to begin with, his role in the firing of Chief of Staff B.J. Leber, Solicitor Susan Malie, and Finance Director Paul Leger cast real doubts about his judgement, and his appointment by Mayor Ravenstahl as Public Safety Director was so ridiculously unsupportable that it cast Mr. Regan in a very harsh spotlight of public scrutiny. But it might have softened the widespread public condemnation a little bit. And it certainly would have helped prop up Mayor Ravenstahl's credibility by sparing him the necessity of supporting Mr. Regan's unsupportable conduct.

Speaking of our mayor, this a crucial time for him. He appears to be in the midst of a downward spiral, and will need to take some bold actions to get out of it. Mr. Regan's resignation removes one more unqualified crony from city government; Mayor Ravenstahl would be well served to get rid of any others who are still hanging on. It's also time for the mayor to seize on some genuinely new ideas of his own instead of simply rehashing the same old tired slogans from the O'Connor administration.

There still is time for Luke Ravenstahl to use youthful idealism and enthusiasm to push through some real improvements in city government. But if the past 3 months are any indication, that kind of dynamic leadership seems very unlikely to reveal itself.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

If not for People's Republic, MacYapper, BurghReport and BurghBlog, the mayor's office would be subject to little or no scrutiny whatsoever. Where is our mainstream media???Ravenstahl/Regan/Cassidy/Zober/ Skrinjar = no substance, all bullshit. Since O'Connor's admission into the hospital, the mayor's office has become a training/play-ground for 3rd-rate hacks. It's a 100-ton dinosaur with big fangs and big claws and a very small brain.

Richmond K. Turner said...

Well, that's pretty decent company for my little blog to be in. Thanks for reading, and thanks for the comments. My only addition to your points is that the "playground for third-rate hacks" actually began well before Mayor O'Connor got sick. After all, that's when Regan was first appointed, and that's when Dom Costa became police chief.

Anonymous said...

I stand corrected - Mayor O'Connor is responsible for the original Regan infestation and for Chief Costa's appointment. However, there was at least hope that the hacks would be held in check before the Thursday Morning Massacre. The hacks now run un-checked.

Your articles are quite thought-provoking and extremely well-written. I look forward to future posts!

Maria said...

"If not for People's Republic, MacYapper, BurghReport and BurghBlog, the mayor's office would be subject to little or no scrutiny whatsoever."

I would add 2 Political Junkies to that list, but then again, I'm biased.

;-)

Maria said...

Nice blog, by the way!

:-)

Anonymous said...

Maria,

How could I forget! You're absolutely right! 2PJ's is among this distinguished company!

Keep doing what you're doing! (And get well soon!)

Richmond K. Turner said...

As an avid reader of 2PJs, I should have added your blog into my link list long ago. I apologize for the oversight. And definitely get well soon!

Anonymous said...

All of those listed blogs suck.

Richmond K. Turner said...

All of those listed blogs suck.

You've gotten them to suck? Hell, I can't even get them to jerk me off. Good job, mate!