hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Bill Peduto sworn in as 60th Mayor of Pittsburgh
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Bill Peduto sworn in as 60th Mayor of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh - Shortly before 2 p.m. today, Bill Peduto was sworn in as the 60th Mayor of Pittsburgh before a standing-room only audience at Heinz Hall in downtown Pittsburgh.
Peduto, 49, who defeated two opponents in a landslide victory in November, announced his agenda will be guided by, “Accountability, Responsibility, and Sustainability.” In his speech, Peduto promised transparency in the hiring practices by the city, saying, “We have begun that process by hiring on merit.” “Let me be clear; The qualities that make a city successful are the same ones that make a city honest. The politics that undermine growth…corruption, self-dealing, and disregard for the common good are the very ones that doom a city to economic failure,” Peduto said. Peduto takes the helm of a city that is suffering from a severe financial crisis, and since December 2003 has been in a State-mandated financial recovery plan. Former Mayor Luke Ravenstahl who succeeded Bob O'Conner as mayor after his unexpected death in September 2006, has been the focus of several investigations into alleged corruption, and announced in March he was not seeking re-election. Peduto, a three-term city councilman lost a bid for mayor in 2003 and dropped out of another race for mayor in 2007 against Ravenstahl. Swearing in Peduto was retired Superior Court Judge, Justin Johnson, who used a Bible that belonges to Peduto’s brother and was held by the parents of slain Pittsburgh Police Officer Paul Sciullo, II, who was one of three officers killed while responding to a domestic violence call in April, 2009. Peduto told the audience of almost 2,000 people, “Two weeks ago, I was handed 1,100 pages of inspiration. An advisory committee made up of hundreds of ordinary citizens, proved that a spirit of democracy produces extraordinary ideas. In the coming months, I’ll take some of those ideas and turn them into an agenda for the future.” During his speech, Peduto while acknowledging former Mayors David Lawrence and Richard Caliguri, who also died in office in May, 1988, did not mention Ravenstahl by name. Also attending the Inuragation were Allegheny County Exexutive Rich Fitzgerald and Congressman Mike Doyle and Keith Rothfus. Today from 2:30 to 4:30 Peduto plans to greet Pittsburghers at PPG Place, Downtown.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Bill Peduto sworn in as 60th Mayor of Pittsburgh