It's Bob O'Connor's mantra: Get everybody in a room, sit down, work out a deal.
Yesterday, the new Pittsburgh mayor tried a different approach: Get everybody on a sidewalk, walk around, make a plan.
In an event that was equal parts news conference, interagency meeting and very early campaign event, Mr. O'Connor led a gaggle of officials, police and news media representatives down Penn Avenue in Garfield, highlighting problems, giving orders, taking suggestions.
Told North Evaline Street was a drug market, he turned to city police Cmdr. Linda Rosato-Barone: "You going to get 'em tomorrow?" he asked, referring to the dealers, who weren't in evidence.
A lot of mayors use this kind of approach early in their terms.
Kudos
President Bush will become fluent in Mandarin before a Republican seizes the reins of Grant St. in Pittsburgh, but Mr. O’Connor hasn’t been half-bad thus far. He has been saying (AND doing) the right things, and few, if any, complaints have arisen from either side of the political spectrum. Already, one notices a huge difference between O’Connor and former mayor Murphy’s PR style (Murphy being the relationally-challenged of the two). The city seems relatively optimistic about O’Connor being at the helm, but, as always, time will tell.
Re: Kudos
3 months in… always a lot of good will. Don’t worry, he’ll tick of somebody. That’s the way it goes with new mayors.
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