In a recent editorial board meeting with Mayor Bill Peduto he didn’t seem to be the same man as candidate Peduto.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the mayor is very sincere and wants to do good by all, but I’m going to wait and see if that sincerity reaches into the Black community by helping move the unemployment rate, which is twice that of the Whites, by helping the pay gap begin to equal out, and by reviving communities such as Larimer and Homewood.
The problems in the Black community facing Mayor Peduto are the same problems he faced as Councilman Peduto.
What should his priorities be?
•Ensure that more Black police officers are on the police force: He said he was very concerned with that and wanted to see more Blacks on the force, but he presented no plan to make sure this happens.
When we suggested that there might be one or two individuals who have blocked Blacks from the force he simply said that they are working to get more Blacks on the force. But he was concerned about a possible law suit against the city. Something is wrong with a system, Civil Service or not, that can’t find qualified Blacks. It needs to be changed, overhauled, or gotten rid of. I suggested interviewing more military veterans, since they already have a lot of the training, and receive extra points for being a veteran. But he presented no plan to do so.
•Police Promotions: The mayor said test scores alone avoid favoritism, noting earlier problems with people skipping ranks. Well the new chief, who most likely will not be from Pittsburgh, will probably skip a rank. What I’m saying is that if a sergeant is more qualified than a lieutenant then he should be promoted. But it shouldn’t be based solely on the test. What about on-the-job performance? You can have a great cop on the street, that people love, and who does everything great on the job, but because he doesn’t score as high on a test as someone else he doesn’t get promoted. Why not a combination of both? I’m just sayin’.
•Getting more young college grads to stay in Pittsburgh: Well the first thing has to be good paying jobs, then decent housing. That must start with rentals, because college grads are not going to be looking to purchase homes when they just start off. Why not put together a citywide program to build new apartment buildings, as well as new homes in the hundreds of blighted lots throughout the city, while renovating the hundreds of blighted houses? This would give young people places to stay as well as creating more places for those people who have been on the job a while the ability to purchase a home in the city instead of having to move out to the suburbs. The mayor said this is a priority as well and he’s working on it.
Pittsburgh unemployment numbers are some of the best in the country at 5.6 percent and dropping. But the Black unemployment rate, as it is throughout the country, is double that of Whites. I didn’t hear Peduto pushing anything to combat that except, maybe his education goals.
He said he would work to get more education funding. He said education was the key to better employment for Blacks. And that he would work toward that end. OK.
•Violence throughout the city—but mainly in Black communities. The mayor said he is just as concerned about Blacks being killed as Whites, and has shown his concern by attending several vigils and community gatherings held to address violence. At these meetings he said he talked to mothers of some of the Black victims of violence, which strengthened his desire to help stop the violence.
He said the new police chief would be selected after a series of community meetings in which the people express what they want in the new chief. But I got the impression that he and Public Safety Director Steven Bucar would listen to the so-called experts and make their decision, which will have little to do with what the people want. He said he needs a chief who will bring back respect to the police force. Come on. One man, Chief Nate Harper was convicted of stealing money, not the entire police force. No one else on the force has been convicted of anything.
If the mayor wants to bring respect and dignity back to the force he needs to get more Blacks on the force, and make sure police officers treat everyone with respect. That includes Blacks of all ages, and all parts of the city, which includes Zone 5. Oh, by the way, I understand the number of women is nearly at its all-time low for the police and fire departments. Correct me if I have the wrong information.
Even though I had my problems with Luke Ravenstahl, especially his refusal to meet with the Courier, I still think he did a fairly good job overall in rebuilding Pittsburgh. But I don’t think Blacks got their fair share.
Hopefully Mayor Peduto can do just as well or better than Ravenstahl in building Pittsburgh into one of the greatest cities in the country, and that will include Blacks as well as Whites.
I love this city and would love to write a column next year praising the work of our new mayor on the wonderful job he did in our Black neighborhoods, communities and city to make sure everyone got their piece of the pie.
He has been far more visible than Ravenstahl, has visited, and will visit, all the communities to get a better understanding of the people’s needs. But after all is said and done, actions speak louder than words.
(Ulish Carter is the managing editor of the New Pittsburgh Courier.)
