A Pittsburgh Post Gazette editorial published in today’s paper highlights the fact that new faces in local government will not be the only changes that come out of this year’s primary election season.

The editorial praises Councilman Bill Peduto for his willingness to take action and push for campaign finance reform during the opportune moment.  Voters are paying attention now more than any other time of the year to the actions of their elected officials, which means that Councilman Peduto’s push for campaign finance reform was not unnoticed by the residents of Pittsburgh.  With the Mayor facing challengers in the upcoming election, Councilman Peduto chose the right moment to push for reform, and his efforts were successful.

The reforms passed in Pittsburgh City Council last Tuesday could not have happened without those that spoke out in support of change.  Thank you to everyone who called, emailed and wrote to Council Members.  This bill would not have passed without the army of supporters that fought for it.  Councilman Peduto’s re-election campaign has worked to build the largest field army for reform in the City of Pittsburgh, and will continue to work to empower citizens through information and technology.  Everyone, especially those who worked to make it happen, should be celebrating this victory!

The blogosphere weighed in on the importance of this vote in local politics – Chris Schultz’s from “Thoughts on government… and other stuff” had this to say.

On Tuesday, Councilman Bill Peduto’s series of 5 reform bills designed to end pay-to-play politics was passed by the Pittsburgh City Council – but the reform will not stop there.  At a press conference later that day, Councilman Peduto introduced a 10 point plan to reform the Pittsburgh City Government, in conjunction with the re-launching of the Reform Pittsburgh Now PAC.

The passage of the reform legislation on Tuesday was the largest action taken against pay-to-play politics by Pittsburgh City Council since the adoption of the Home Rule Charter, but Pittsburgh’s First Reformation of Local Government will continue with the 10 theses of reform introduced on Tuesday.  This theses on the Structure and Reformation of Government details areas of emphasis to continue to bring true reform to Pittsburgh, such as attacking waste, fraud, and abuse, and creating a firewall between politics and government.  Reform Pittsburgh Now also provides a report card, which tracks the votes of every City Council member, and the Mayor on progressive government reform issues.

Reform Pittsburgh Now was originally launched in 2007 by Councilman Bill Peduto, and the re-launched website works to empower the citizens of the City of Pittsburgh by giving them the tools to track the actions of their elected officials, and speak out for change.  The website provides an email forum that allows users to voice their opinion to all members of Pittsburgh City Council and the Mayor with the click of a button, and will also be a source of information about progressive issues.

Visit Reform Pittsburgh Now today, and be a part of Pittsburgh’s First Reformation of City Government – it cannot happen without the involvement of citizens like you!

Read about Tuesday’s press conference, Reform Pittsburgh Now, and the passage of Councilman Peduto’s reform bills:

• Pittsburgh Post Gazette – Council Passes Government Reform Package
• Pittsburgh Tribune Review – Limits on Pittsburgh Campaign Donations Approved
• Pittsburgh Post Gazette – Pittsburgh Council Approves Reforms; Peduto Pushes for More

The reformation comes to the City of Pittsburgh this week, as City Council prepares to vote this Wednesday on Councilman Bill Peduto’s reform package.

This package will end “pay-to-play” politics in our city through several different reforms to our current system.  If passed on Wednesday, this package will:

• Cap contributions by individuals at $2,000 for Mayoral and City Controller Races, and $1,000 for City Council races
• Mandate the creation of an online, searchable database of all campaign contributions and city contracts
• Ban all no-bid contracts over $30,000
• Create the Lobbyist Disclosure Act, which would require all lobbyists to register annually with the city
• Create the Lobbyist Registration Act, which would require all contract bidders to disclose any payments to lobbyists and consultants
• Strengthen the city’s ethics code to greatly limit gifts to government officials

Now we need you to speak out for true reform for your city!  Click here to tell your  City Council representative that you support clean government reforms!

Now is your chance to speak up to clean up City Hall!

Yesterday, Councilman Bill Peduto held a press conference to present his plan for a clean government for the City of Pittsburgh.  He presented several proposals, all with the goal of bringing an end to “Pay-to-Play” politics in our City.

These reforms include an amendment to lower the contribution limits in Mayor Ravenstahl’s proposed campaign finance reform legislation, and would cap contributions by individuals at $2,000 for Mayoral and City Controller races, and $1,000 for City Council races.  They would also mandate the creation of an online, searchable database of all campaign contributions and all city contracts, and would put an end to all no-bid city contracts over $30,000.  Lobbyists would be required to register annually with the City, and  contract bidders would be required to disclose any payments to consultants and lobbyists.

To learn more, read the proposed package for clean government here:

Reform Bills Summary
Lobbyist Disclosure Act
Lobbyist Registration Act
Eliminating No-Bid Contracts
Campaign Finance Reform Ammendments

What others are saying about Bill’s proposal to clean up City government:

• Peduto to Propose Changes in Rules On Campaign Donations – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
• Peduto: Time to End “Pay-to-Play” Politics – KDKA
• Campaign Finance Reform Bills on the Table - WTAE
• Peduto Bill Pushes for Reform of City Contracts, Campaign Contributions – Post Gazette
• End Pay to Play Legislative Package – WDUQ News

Today I will introduce a package of bills aimed at reforming government in Pittsburgh and ending “pay-to-play” politics.  The legislation includes:
  

1. Campaign Finance Reform legislation that sets donation limits per election.
2. The creation of an online, searchable database of all campaign contributions and contracts.
3. The elimination of no-bid contracts.
4. The Lobbyist Registration Act, which will require the annual registration of all lobbyists in Pittsburgh.
5. The Lobbyist Disclosure Act, which will require all RFP responses to disclose all finders fees and payments to lobbyists.

For too long, Pittsburgh has operated under a “pay-to-play” system.  Today is just the first step to bring transparency, fairness, and financial responsibility to City government.

Check out this article from Sunday’s Post-Gazette about the need for campaign finance reform for the City of Pittsburgh.

Councilman Bill Peduto’s position on campaign finance reform for our city is similar to the view expressed in this article.  Councilman Peduto will not support a campaign finance reform ordinance that does not do three things:

1. It must have significantly lower limits than the Onorato-Ravenstahl proposal, to match limits that have been established in other cities.  The current bill would give Pittsburgh politicians one of the highest limits in the country, and would do nothing to end pay-to-play politics.
2. It must end all no-bid contracts over 25,000 – not just for contributors, but end all no-bid contracts for everyone.  It must be an ordinance, it must be the law, and it must be written into the city code – not just an executive order from the Mayor.
3. The bill must also contain a law that requires the City Controller to post all campaign contributions and all contracts in a searchable database for the public. True transparency must be written into this bill.

Didn’t make it out to the Skating Party last weekend?

You can still get the inside scoop on Councilman Bill Peduto’s vision for Pittsburgh.  Click here and check out this short clip from Bill’s speech.

And – don’t forget to check out all of the pictures from the party on Bill’s Flickr account!

Welcome to our new website.  This will be our portal to the 2009 Re-election campaign and local politics.  It is our goal to provide you with information and input.  Let us know how you think we are doing.  For the next few months, this site will be updated daily, so stop back often.

Besides my videos and blog entries, our campaign staff – Kayla and Scott – will also be posting about the campaign, events and local happenings.  We intend to run a high energy campaign – one that will do more than just strengthen our base.  We intend to run a campaign that will expand it and include more people than ever in our continuing campaign to build a better Pittsburgh.

Scott and Kayla

We will continue our leadership on government reform, fiscal discipline and progressive ideals.  During this next year will will focus more attention to creating “clean government”, “lean government” and “green government” in Pittsburgh.  And, we will institute new technology to engage you in the process – from live, interactive webcasts to cutting-edge mobile messaging – you will have a seat at the cyber-table.

This campaign is for more than my re-election to City Council, it is for all of those who believe in the potential of Pittsburgh and want to do something to realize it.  I hope you stop back everyday and get others to join you.

Bill.