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In a break from the political infighting between Tony Ceoffe and Deb Gross, a Tuesday-night forum organized by Ceoffe at the Union Project gave the three other candidates vying for Patrick Dowd’s seat in District 7 a chance to make their case.
Everything from the small stuff (improperly managed sewer grates) to UPMC’s tax-exempt status got a hearing. But concerns about violent crime and management of the police bureau kept bubbling to the surface.
“Various [police] zones are given the same resources even though you don’t have drive-by shootings in Squirrel Hill,” said David Powell, a libertarian candidate who is against the “militarization of local police forces” and often cites the police response to the G-20 protests.
“We have too many officials sitting at North Shore at headquarters pushing paper,” Ceoffe said. He proposes moving more police officers into the field and replacing them with civilian administrators.
Each candidate said he supports maintaining the city’s residency requirement for police officers.
Ceoffe’s pitch centers around his experience with community organizations like Lawrenceville United and Friends of Arsenal Park, affiliations he says prove his ability to listen to constituents.
Powell promises to uphold his fiscally conservative and socially progressive brand of libertarianism, while Fallon touts his experience in city council, and working for now State Sen. Jim Ferlo.
On UPMC, Fallon said he’d rather get the healthcare giant “back to the table” instead of pursuing litigation, as Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has done with a lawsuit challenging its tax-exempt status.
Wudarczyk directly challenged that notion, arguing a legal challenge is the only realistic option. He took a more populist rhetorical stance, saying he wouldn’t make phony promises and has no interest in professional politics.
Powell said his approach to UPMC is tied into a more systemic reform, requiring a “land-value tax” that he said “will take care of the revenue problem we have with such a large part of the city owned by non-profits” and shift away from subjective property value assessments.
Each of the candidates addressed the need to revitalize parts of the district, while working to deter nuisance businesses.
Ceoffe said he’d support businesses that want to set up shop in his district, but would meet with community groups to establish “conditional licensing agreements” that would require them to adhere to community standards.
Taxicab reform was Powell’s suggestion, arguing that drunk driving could be reduced if regulations were dropped on taxi operators.
And while the forum gave four candidates a chance to speak directly to several dozen community members, they took the chance to point out that Gross, the Democratic nominee in the race, didn’t show up.
“How can we vote for somebody if we don’t know what they stand for?” Ceoffe said.
Wudarczyk called her absence “un-American.” (His own credentials as an American are beyond reproach, judging by the posters he distributed of himself clasping the flag).
In a statement, the Gross campaign said she would participate in forums organized by community groups, not political rivals.
Ceoffe acknowledged Gross has built some institutional backing, but he said he’s relying mostly on a ground-game until the election, which will be on the Nov. 5 ballot.
This article appears in Sep 18-24, 2013.
Deb gross has never stated a plan and to be honest I don’t think she has one. It obvious she doesn’t care for our district and she plans on attempting to win this race with who she is supported by…..I love how she called the Stanton heights meet and greet a debate…..I have reached out to her several times only to be ignored. If it is this hard to get answers now I cant imagine what it will be like if she won.
Agreed. Deb Gross is a joke of a candidate. She’s done nothing but hide behind her political supporters until she finally spoke to a tiny group of residents at the Stanton Heights community gathering last night (NOT a forum or debate), and from what I understand, she didn’t say much except that she is the endorsed Democrat. Who cares about that when she was endorsed by such a tiny margin and under very suspicious and shady circumstances? The three independents running have all been lifelong Democrats. Her claim is completely irrelevant.
Not only that, but she’s now completely white washed her Facebook page, removing any remnants of posts or comments that don’t uphold her false perceptions and facade. Luckily, some of us were smart enough to catch some screen shots. For a piece of the truth, check out the top post here: https://www.facebook.com/frank.yehlan. You might need to view it as fullscreen.
all deb did last night was avoid the questions asked by answering the question with the question. When tony was speaking ROLLED her eyes ( very mature deb)!!! Myself and several others are blocked from her Facebook page because we asked her questions that she couldn’t answer. The only thing I have ever heard that she was concerned about is ART….ummm that is the LAST thing I care about. I care about pgh schools, safety for my child, parks to play, places to park. I don’t think she has what it takes to be an independent voice for our community. I think she is going to do what she is told to do and that is NOT what we need. If the city of pgh is smart they will vote Ceoffe.
Jim Wudarczyk for Pittsburgh City Council
PRESS RELEASE: CLARIFICATION ON “CLEAR DIFFERENCES EMERGE DURING FIRST COMMUNITY-LED FORUM IN DISTRICT 7 RACE”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 19, 2013
Media Contact:
Lydia Wudarczyk, Campaign Manager
Lydiaann823@verizon.net
(412) 681-4637
CLARIFICATION ON “CLEAR DIFFERENCES EMERGE DURING FIRST COMMUNITY-LED FORUM IN DISTRICT 7 RACE”
All candidates call on past experiences of community involvement in District 7 neighborhoods
Pittsburgh, PA-
On September 18, 2013, the Stanton Heights Neighborhood Association afforded each of the five candidates for the November City Council District 7 special election the opportunity to state their case. Apparently, clarification is necessary because of misleading statements and unfounded assertions made by the Democratic nominee. Ms. Gross contended that beyond a shadow of a doubt she proved that she was the most qualified candidate for the position of City Council Representative of Pittsburgh’s District 7.
After an examination of her press release, James Wudarczyk wondered if he had been at the same meeting as Ms. Gross. Each candidate presented their qualifications and for any one candidate to hold herself superior to the others reflects an overly-bloated ego. There is no doubt that Ms. Gross effectively stated her biography in the allotted time. However, every candidate clearly demonstrated his or her competency for the job.
Tony Ceoffe showed that he has a long record of community activism and commitment to a number of worthwhile organizations.
Tom Fallon illustrated that he is a man who could bring to the job solid business principles, an understanding of people skills, and past experience in public service.
David Powell is equally qualified in that he possesses an understanding of systems analysis, land tax laws, and a passion for Libertarian politics.
James Wudarczyk stated his case by presenting to the audience his business credentials, a love of Pittsburgh history, and the hard work and dedication it takes to research and write five books and approximately 300 articles.
Had Ms. Gross paid more attention to the other candidates and less time on her mobile device, she would have walked away with a greater appreciation for the dedication to public service of her rivals.
Instead of giving an accurate and unbiased report, which acknowledged the contributions of the other candidates, the Gross campaign elected instead to twist the events to showcase Ms. Gross. While Mr. Powell was polite and complimentary, Ms. Gross mistakenly identified his gentlemanly conduct for an endorsement of her. She seemed to have missed his next statement: “While raising grant funds is great, I don’t think that begging money from Harrisburg and Washington D.C. is a viable business model for our area.”
As for Mr. Wudarczyk, he acknowledged the safety value of a bus system. His picture of the bus system was in sharp contrast with Ms. Gross’ notion that everyone takes a happy bus ride because they live in isolated communities and are totally unaware of the existence of other areas of Pittsburgh.
Considering the fact that Mr. Wudarczyk’s short speech was interrupted several times by the applause of the majority of the attendees, it illustrated that he could make the assertion that he was best qualified. However, for him to do so would be a slap in the face to the other candidates running.
Another fallacy in the Gross rendition of last night’s event accused Mr. Ceoffe of inappropriately clapping at a remark made by Mr. Wudarczyk. Ms. Gross must have eyes in the back of her head because she was facing the speaker in the front of the room, while Mr. Ceoffe was seated far behind her. At no time, did Ms. Gross or her supporters turn around and look at Tony Ceoffe during the applause. Therefore, an apology is owed to Mr. Ceoffe.
Ms. Gross never mentioned any of the major issues. To the contrary, the other candidates were eager to discuss their views on specific issues.
It was unfortunate that very few Stanton Heights residents were in attendance. Most of the audience was comprised of Gross or Ceoffe supporters. When one of the true residents of Stanton Heights posed a specific question to Ms. Gross regarding the neighborhood, Ms. Gross completely sidestepped the issue.
Ms. Gross claims that she has a great love of communication. Sadly, she is missing objectivity in her latest release.
This release is approved by James Wudarczyk, Independent Candidate for Pittsburgh City Council.
The press release I posted was about the debate gross said she attended but was a meet and greet and this was how she acted…unreal