By now, all good Burghospree readers have seen the NYTimes story about the Mayor. Mostly it speaks for itself, but I want to interject just a bit. Around about the middle of the story the Mayor stipulates to five different controversies that he has largely brought upon himself. It is left to Doug Shields to mention *part* of a sixth, the police promotion/Lemiuex tournament-gate. Perhaps wisely Mr. Shields did not include the Mayor’s visit to the Ethics Board. And everyone pretty much knows that the Mayor has, in each instance except perhaps for “TailGate”, had to amend his story because the facts did not support his original statements. Yet the Mayor says he is not going to attend Steelers games because he believes the press will hound him continuously during the game. Which, by the way, means the Mayor missed Sunday’s game, I guess, and will miss one Monday night game the day before the election (big sacrifice).
Has anyone seen a TV or print story where the Mayor was approached at a Steelers game or on the golf course? There was Schultz’s blog entry about the Mayor at a Steeler’s game, but that was apparently happenstance. I’d be curious, and willing to trumpet loudly bad media behavior, at least as loudly as I complain about the Mayor.
So, in the story, the Mayor admits to several controversies only after he accuses the press of harassment. The media in Pittsburgh is reasonably respectful, presumably because it wants access to the Mayor’s office in the future. Yet in a town with two papers and three TV stations, there is enough competition that they have to report these stories.
Maybe it is a good thing the Mayor isn’t going to Steelers games for now. I still remember this quote from last March, concerning accepting tickets for multiple events, while staying under the $250 ethics limit:
“”So accepting a ticket from the University of Pittsburgh that night in my opinion in no way violated any ethics code in the city of Pittsburgh," he said.
"I don't necessarily keep track, but I don't believe that I've ever exceeded that amount with any corporation or any entity””
Maybe no one wants to give the Mayor a ticket right now, which might explain this closing statement form the Times story ““But asking whether I paid for my own seats at the Steelers game and requesting for me to show the hot dog receipts still seems ridiculous to me.””.
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3 comments:
Yes, my encounter with the mayor was indeed happenstance. I also did not "hound" him, nor did I notice anyone from the MSM around him. Apparently the mayor sits up in the 500 level with us non-celebrity folk to avoid any MSM attention. This has been repeated by others who have seen him at Steeler games.
Pittsburghers should feel good about their city after reading that the mayor was able to gleam some nuggets of wisdom from one of the wealthiest men in the whole wide world. Yes, we should feel good that mayor Luke asked Mayor Bloomberg how he avoids getting "attacked" when he goes golfing.
Worst question ever. Most inappropriate question to. This is Michael freaking Bloomberg Luke - did you even know his claim to fame?
It's quite simple Luke - Bloomberg gets sh!t done. He is a self made billionaire. The guy knows how to work hard and he becomes successful at anything he does - in both the public and private sectors. With all his accomplishments, the New York media, the most brutal media in all the land, could care less about him taking some time to golf.
Maybe, before you worry about squeezing in your next golf outing between those photo opps, you should put in some hard work of your own, and aim to achieve something significant. Maybe then, at that point, you can enjoy your golf without the media screaming that you are golfing when there are important meetings to attend.
Until then you need to prove yourself!
Schultz,
I think you have been following the Mayor around with Rick Earle.
Touche, Matt, that was better than average.
Schultz, personally I think the description of Bloomberg as an apolitical technocrat might be a good description of Mark DeSantis as well. It strikes me that the first Bush administration was one of the less political administrations in the recent past.
It is another funny coincidence that the Mayor ran into Rick Earle and cameraman at that same game you saw him at. Bad luck.
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