Peduto Pledges New Approach If Elected Mayor
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto's announced his third run for mayor last Thursday, but he believes this time will be the charm.
Over 1,000 supporters turned out to hear Peduto say he'd challenge incumbent Luke Ravenstahl. Peduto characterized Ravenstahl as an out-of-step, old-school politician and pledged a new approach.
"That means creating a city government that catches up to all the wonderful things that Pittsburgh has been accomplishing. That means we have to break the shackles of the old rusty political machine forever," Peduto said.
When KDKA-TV's Jon Delano sat down with Peduto on Friday, he said he's overwhelmed by the outpouring of support.
"It's a lot different than it was in 2005 and 2007," Delano said.
What's different, he said, is support from a diverse coalition of neighborhood leaders across the city, some labor unions and elected officials led by County Executive Tom Fitzgerald.
"That type of a coalition that starts to get built can actually become bigger than the supporters that the incumbent has, and I think that's how you beat an incumbent mayor," Peduto said.
Peduto said Ravenstahl claims a city renaissance because of downtown Pittsburgh, but ignores the neighborhoods.
"What Mayor Ravenstahl is doing is looking at Pittsburgh as a downtown. That's only one of our 89 neighborhoods. As mayor of the city, I'll be focusing on the other 88," Peduto said.
If elected, Peduto said he'd reverse the mayor's top-down approach.
"People who are living in these neighborhoods have an opportunity to have a say at the beginning. That's how you see development occur. It's turning that whole paradigm upside down and creating a community based focus," Peduto said.
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