Ravenstahl visits voter turnout training session

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl lent his presence to a “get out the vote” training session Thursday… Mayor Luke Ravenstahl lent his presence to a “get out the vote” training session Thursday night.

“We love the Gov” posters and a cardboard cutout of Gov. Ed Rendell flanked the brick walls and wooden rafters of Bob Casey and Ed Rendell’s coordinated campaign headquarters Downtown, as Ravenstahl spoke to about 50 students who volunteered to help campaign for the Democrats on Election Day.

“As you may know, I’m only a few years older than you guys and probably not nearly as smart,” the 26-year-old mayor joked.

He said he was happy to see so many students willing to campaign.

“I want to build a relationship with students at Pitt. We need to keep you guys around. I understand it’s important to have a city where you can live, work and play. I’m excited to be a young person in government, and I’d be happy to come out and talk to any of your organizations to answer any questions you might have.”

The mayor said he wants the city to work with corporations that will agree to accept interns and hire graduates from the area’s 34 universities.

He also plans to form an advisory council of 20- to 30-year-olds to advise the city on the concerns of young people.

“I plan on organizing a council of young Pittsburghers in the very near future who can be a voice for the city and inform me on the issues that affect them,” he said.

Two interns for the PA Victory ’06 campaign, sophomore Sarah Posner and junior Sarah Horowitz, helped to organize the event.

The campaign is a part of the Democratic Party’s National Election Day Volunteer Program. The program hopes to have more than 2,000 Allegheny county volunteers on Nov. 7. They are targeting neighborhoods with high concentrations of people who only vote occasionally to encourage them to get to the polls and vote Democrat.

The training session made junior Schawnne Kilgus feel more involved in the midterm election. “I really want to see some change,” she said, while role-playing with another student. “Santorum has ruined PA. He’s put forth nothing but the Republican platform. I feel like I’m actually doing something. I think that if I help out, I can actually see that change.”

Kilgus, who had never seen the mayor before, thought he looked very young, but seemed confident in his speech and appearance. His presence was meant to make the students feel more connected to the local Democratic leadership.

“We always look for young people to get involved. It’s a tribute to you guys that you’re motivated to get out there and campaign. We have a lot at stake here in this city. Our city cannot continue to operate under the dwindling resources we’re getting from the federal government,” Ravenstahl said.