Weinroth wants debt improvement

Marky Billson moved to Pittsburgh when he was eight. He fondly remembers seeing the Cathedral… Marky Billson moved to Pittsburgh when he was eight. He fondly remembers seeing the Cathedral of Learning while his mother drove them down Forbes Avenue, and he has been enchanted with this city ever since.

“I love Pittsburgh more than my next breath,” he said, “I believe in it.”

That’s why he decided to join the Joe Weinroth campaign for mayor – because he wanted to be a part of a positive change for Pittsburgh. He wants to see a sense of pride restored to this city.

Weinroth, a Republican, shares the same feeling as Billson. He also made the choice to become a permanent resident of Pittsburgh after graduating from Pitt in 1980 with economics and political science degrees. He then attended Pitt’s law school, graduated in 1983 and has since been practicing law.

“I love Pittsburgh,” he said. “I was born here, and it’s my home. It wasn’t really a decision about staying.” Weinroth added that he has always been politically aware, and when no one else stepped up to become the Republican candidate for mayor, he felt that he needed to make an effort.

Weinroth, 46, of Squirrel Hill, is the Republican candidate in November’s mayoral election. He said that his biggest challenge will be facing a population of Democratic voters who are wary of change.

He said that many of the Democrats he has been trying to reach through his campaign have been open-minded and willing to consider voting for him. Others, he said, are staunch in their party line voting.

“It could be Adolf Hitler on the Democratic ticket, and these people would still vote Democrat,” Weinroth said.

Weinroth said that Pittsburgh has been controlled by the Democrats for 70 years, and he feels that a change in political control is the solution to many of the city’s problems.

“That’s not healthy for any city,” Weinroth said. “A two-party system is critical if you’re going to get an exchange of ideas and open discussion about what’s best for the city and the region.”

Weinroth said that Pittsburgh has a debt approaching $2 billion, the highest of any city per capita in this country. According to Weinroth, vacant properties contribute to this debt because they aren’t on the market and aren’t generating any revenue. If he is elected, he plans to get these properties back on the market or sold to individuals, then using this revenue to help the city out of debt.

“The taxes in this state and city are so high compared to other locations that it doesn’t pay for businesses to locate here,” Weinroth said.

These high taxes and low job prospects have been driving young people away from the city. Weinroth said that the city loses about 2,000 people a year.

“We have great universities here. We have terrific health and medical facilities, but we are still losing population,” he said. “You have to give people a reason to come here.”

Weinroth used Atlanta, a city with a growing population of young people, as a model for the future of Pittsburgh. He said that their state lottery subsidizes the state higher education for residents and that attracts a lot of young people.

“I think that’s a terrific thing to start looking at for Pennsylvania,” Weinroth said.

He also wants to reduce financial mismanagement. By starting with his own salary, he would take a 10 percent pay cut, then ask members of city council to do the same.

“That is to show that leadership begins at the top. If we’re going to ask other people to make sacrifices, we’re going to have to make them too,” Weinroth said.

Greg Yoest, Weinroth’s campaign manager, said that the Democrats were the people who ran the city into bankruptcy, and he feels that Pittsburgh residents are ready for a change.

“The irony is precisely because they have been around. They’ve heard the song and dance before,” he said. Yoest said that many Pittsburghers are registered as Democrats because that’s how they were brought up.

Yoest said that 38,000 Pittsburgh residents voted for Bush in last year’s presidential election. This demonstrates Pittsburghers’ ability to think outside of the traditional Democratic policies, he added.

“The target population is to get people who will see through party labels at a local level,” Yoest said.

Weinroth said that he appreciates friendly politics, such as when he ran against Bill Peduto for city council.

“We were gentlemen the whole time,” Weinroth said. “We talked about issues in a friendly manner. He is the type of city councilman I will be able to work with.”

Weinroth said that Bob O’Connor, the Democratic candidate for mayor, has not been as responsive.

He said that O’Connor has been delaying debates, finally agreeing to hold them at the very end of their campaigns. He has been seeing him regularly since February, and he feels prepared to go up against O’Connor.

“I can recite to you his speech by heart. But I can also tear it apart in minutes,” Weinroth said.

Weinroth and his campaign volunteers said that they feel they can win.

Billson said that many people are “in tune” with the Weinroth philosophy, but don’t know enough about his candidacy.

“When I’m knocking on doors, you have no idea how many people are like ‘My God, there’s a choice. I wasn’t aware of this,'” Billson said. “They look at the literature and they like it.”

Billson said that he can’t remember the last time that Pittsburgh has had such a strong Republican candidate for mayor. He believes that pride still exists in Pittsburgh residents and that many of these people would support Weinroth.

“I see it when I go and knock on doors. You’ve got little Steelers flags, little unofficial flags,” Billson said.

“These people think of themselves as Pittsburghers before they think of themselves as Americans. And we’ve got to do something to make this place more livable,” he said.