Summary
Both [Tonya Payne] and [Theresa Smith] are facing challengers - Daniel Lavelle in Payne's case, Rob Frank and Georgia Blotzer in Smith's - who have allied themselves with the cause of political reform. And they're doing so in working-class districts whose politicians, traditionally, haven't offered that message to voters recently.
Whatever [Luke Ravenstahl]'s motivation, he's made it a little easier for the next unendorsed candidate to get a second look. And the turmoil of the [Patrick Reilly]/Coghill matchup could even help deliver District 4 this year to Natalia Rudiak, who's denounced party shenanigans from the outset ... and who won't owe anybody anything if she's elected.Don't get me wrong: I'm not calling for a Dewey -beats -Truman headline here. Or even Pirates -beat-Brewers. If Ravenstahl wins, he'll have four whole years before facing another election. And progressives have a knack for cheating themselves out of victories. In 2007, three reform-minded candidates actually got elected to council: [Patrick Dowd], Bruce Kraus and Ricky Burgess. Hopes that the newcomers would join to form a progressive coalition have, well ... not panned out. The relationship between Dowd and [Bill Peduto] is especially fractious.See the full content of this document
Extract
Hitting for the (Election) Cycle
MOST YEARS, being a reform-minded Pittsburgher is like being a Pirates fan. Spring rolls around, and while a primary election may create excitement in other cities, we've come to expect the same old dreary, uncompetitive perfor...
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