Ravenstahl courts young voters

With election day less than two months away, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl stopped by the William… With election day less than two months away, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl stopped by the William Pitt Union last night to speak to Pitt students and answer questions about his vision for the city.

Students slowly trickled into the dimly lit room, but by the time the mayor made it to the podium at 8:30 p.m., they occupied the approximate 60 seats and greeted him with applause, whistles and cheers.

“I have a Republican opponent who is actually on campus tonight at the Cathedral of Learning,” Ravenstahl said, smiling. “I’m not sure how that worked out.”

Ravenstahl, 27, stressed the importance of the financial situation in Pittsburgh; three years ago, the city was near bankruptcy.

“The good news is, we’re now on solid financial footing,” he said. “We’re working very hard to be as fiscally responsible as we can.”

The mayor spoke briefly about how the city of Pittsburgh will save $17 million over three years since he implemented a new health insurance incentive for city employees.

The new plan compels city employees and retirees to use Downtown-based Highmark instead of UPMC Health Plan and Health America, two providers that contributed to costing the city $42 million on health insurance alone.

Ravenstahl added his strong advocacy for neighborhood cooperation. Since he was appointed mayor after the death of Bob O’Connor, the city of Pittsburgh now picks up garbage for Wilkinsburg.

This saves money for the city, Ravenstahl said, because sharing services allows for higher efficiency of taxpayer dollars.

Ravenstahl said he’d like to see Downtown Pittsburgh expand so that students have opportunities to go out and experience the city outside of Oakland.

“Economic development and job creation contribute to how we grow as a city,” the mayor said. “It’s our goal and my goal to capitalize on the youth and the talent that’s in this room and in this city.”

A question-and-answer session followed his 15-minute lecture, and students touched on issues from the mayor’s take on the Port Authority issue to his experience on the David Letterman Show.

Ravenstahl said the number one transportation issue is linking Downtown Pittsburgh to Oakland.

“I think we’re foolish if we don’t do that,” he said, adding that it’s his hope to someday get rid of the bus traffic Downtown and make it a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood.

Ravenstahl added that the city of Pittsburgh has utilized its riverfronts in terms of providing more attractions for its citizens. The South Side Works, he said, allows people to live and work in close proximity, which is essential in order to keep people in the city.

“Creating that environment involves job creation,” he said. “We have to have jobs here. When you graduate from the University, you may love Pittsburgh, you may want to spend the rest of your life here. But the reality is that unless we can give you jobs, you won’t be able to stay.”

He added that Pittsburgh immigration is also a prevalent issue that the city must acknowledge with open arms.

“We haven’t done a good enough job of embracing the diversity in Pittsburgh,” Ravenstahl said. “As we all know, the world is shrinking by the minute. We have to embrace diversity, we have to embrace all ways of life.”

He added that the Pittsburgh City Council and other government jobs are becoming more racially diverse, which is something he feels is crucial and takes very seriously.

The mayor stood at the back of the room when the lecture ended to give students a chance to meet him and discuss the political issues in depth.

“I think [the lecture] communicated exactly how he is going to connect with today’s youth,” Pitt’s College Democrats president Jim Sheppard said. “I was most impressed when he brought up the diversity issues in Pittsburgh.”

Christy Bergstresser, business manager of College Dems, stood at a table with information on the organization and coffee for the attendees.

She said it was good Ravenstahl reached out to a younger generation.

“I mean, we’re all almost his age,” Bergstresser joked, adding that it’s admirable to see a young mayor connecting with passionate Pitt students.