community-based, non-corporate, participatory media
community-based, non-corporate, participatory media
Oversight Board to Rule Pittsburgh
by stephen donahue
Monday, Feb. 23, 2004 at 9:05 AM
sdonahue412@hotmail.com
So says State Representative Joseph Preston.
For those who might not have heard, the state legislators from Pittsburgh's suburban districts finally got their way last week when the Pennsylvania General Assembly established a fiscal oversight board for Pittsburgh for the next seven years. There is a wrinkle however because the legislature only picked old white men to be on this board.
Today (2/23/04) at a news conference calling for the appointment of black and women members to this oversight board one state representative stated something that is a given for some but might be a revelation to others.
Regarding the fiscal oversight board, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quotes State Representative Joseph Preston, of East Liberty as saying, "THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO WILL BE GOVERNING THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH, NOT THE MAYOR, NOT THE COUNCIL, FOR THE NEXT SEVEN YEARS."
So this board of 5 white men appointed by the suits in Harrisburg not elected by the people who live in this city will rule us for the next seven years. No mayor, no council just an unelected board ruling over us.
Should the legislature take the action to make the board more diverse (and they better) will that then make it okay that an unelected body govern us for the next seven years?
This is what democracy don't look like.
Our new unelected rulers meet for the first time this week.
| TITLE | AUTHOR | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 27 Call to action | stephen donahue | Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2004 at 8:37 AM |
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