Mayor discusses $250,000 trash can bill

‘ ‘ ‘ Preaching on fiscal responsibility, Oakland slum lords and the placement of his name on… ‘ ‘ ‘ Preaching on fiscal responsibility, Oakland slum lords and the placement of his name on $250,000 worth of trash cans, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl covered a little bit of everything last night in the William Pitt Union. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The event was mainly a question-and-answer session sponsored by the Pitt Democrats, who repeatedly stated that they do not officially endorse Ravenstahl. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The mayor, who is the youngest the city has ever had, talked to students about the current state of many Oakland homes. Ravenstahl said he’s working hand-in-hand with the University to ensure that landlords provide adequate housing for students. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The mayor and the Pitt Democrats hope these sessions will encourage young people to become more involved in politics. A lot of students at Pitt are not necessarily from the city, but do spend eight months out of the year here. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘This is what really affects you here. Local politics,’ said Ian Lauer, president of the Pitt Democrats. ‘That’s our day to day.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Ravenstahl told the about 45 attendees, ‘We have to invest in our colleges and universities.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ He added that young people were the next generation of Pittsburgh, and that ‘we need buy-in from young folks [to grow].’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Ravenstahl also stressed the fact that economically, ‘We don’t have a deficit. The world around us is crumbling, but Pittsburgh is surviving.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ He said he felt that the city’s strong education base helped contribute to this. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But the biggest reason for this, he feels, is because of fiscal conservation. He said that when the city is writing up its budget for the year, it uses a figure that will be smaller that what it predicts it will actually receive. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Students fielded a number of questions to the mayor. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Dan Gore asked how the mayor could speak of fiscal conservatism when yesterday the mayor authorized spending $250,000 on 250 trash cans throughout the city. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The mayor responded by saying, ‘In order to be a safe city, you have to have a place people can dispose of their trash.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ He said that while, at $1,000 a piece, the trash cans were expensive, they were the cheapest trash cans the city could find. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Gore also asked Ravenstahl if he thought it was a conflict of interest to have his name written across the cans. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The audience members had mixed responses to Ravenstahl’s comments. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Lauer said, ‘I think he was as honest as you could expect from a politician.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But not everyone felt that way. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I don’t think he answered directly at all,’ said sophomore Torie Glasser, the social chair for the Pitt Democrats. ‘He avoided a lot of questions by talking around them. He came here prepared with what he was going to say and said it anyway.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Bryan Marco, the PR chair for the College Republicans, supporting the mayor, saying, ‘We think he’s done a good job.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But Gore still can’t get past those trash cans. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I find it hard to believe a trash can cost $1000.’