Bill Peduto
Encyclopedia
William Peduto, Democrat, was elected to Pittsburgh
City Council, District 8, in November, 2001, and to a second four-year term in 2005.
In the spring primary of 2005, Peduto ran for two positions. Besides running for re-election for his council seat, Peduto was a candidate for mayor. He finished second in the Democratic primary behind Bob O'Connor and ahead of Michael Lamb and others.
Peduto operated a political consulting business throughout 25 counties of western Pennsylvania. He served as general consultant, campaign manager, finance director and other roles for over one dozen Democrat candidates and elected officials. At 28, he served as western political director for then acting Governor Mark Singel
, Democrat. He has worked on Capitol Hill through a deputy press secretary internship and inside the beltway as a campaign analyst with a political research firm. In addition, Peduto has worked as a busboy, road crew laborer, disc-jockey, Deputy Coroner, ski store clerk, sidewalk painter and spent 10 years delivering the Pittsburgh Press.
and PNC Park
. As a member of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, Peduto works with organizations and individual artists to promote culture as a tool for economic growth and the arts as a critical industry for this region. He also serves as a Board Member of Carnegie Museums and Libraries, Pittsburgh Community Design Center and PCTV-21.
Peduto volunteers his time to several worthy causes including the NCJW/Komen Foundation Race for the Cure, Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force AIDS Walk, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, ZOA Anti-Intolerance Program for Public and Parochial Schools, and the Pittsburgh Celebrity Hockey Team.
He has sponsored several worthwhile programs to encourage a New Emerging Pittsburgh, Youth Agenda, Technology and Tolerance. Included in the projects he has sponsored are the UV Loop, the Sprout Fund, FLUX, Cool Space Locator, the Centre-Baum Initiative, Guyasuta Fellowship Program, Pittsburgh Policy Issues OnLine Forum and the Pittsburgh Pride Festival. He is also serving as Executive Producer for a documentary film about the history and scientific achievements of the University of Pittsburgh's Allegheny Observatory in Riverview Park .
Peduto is a supporter of the Fixing Broken Windows
approach to crime reduction, and has argued for harsh punishment for graffiti writers. On June 6, 2007 he claimed the Pittsburgh Organizing Group
was responsible for a string of vandalism against chain businesses. POG denied the charge saying "there are real people and real causes being hurt by this type of political grandstanding.".
The district includes major regional institutions including Carlow University, Carnegie-Mellon University, Chatham College, the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museums of Natural History and Art, UPMC, and the Hillman Cancer Center.
In order to balance the necessary economic growth of the region with the quality of life in the neighborhoods, Peduto's strategy calls for "Community-Based" development, which merges community plans with economic development initiatives and gives people a voice at the beginning of the process. He supports a more transparent government that utilizes technology to provide more efficient services for less money. He has advanced policies that provide more resources to improve neighborhood corridors through infrastructure upgrades, instead of grants to individual companies. And he has championed greater funding of public transit to build a countywide light rail system that would connect with a regional commuter rail system.
William Peduto calls himself a Reform-Democrat and states on his website that "issues should outweigh special interests." The Democratic Leadership Council
put Peduto into the "100 to Watch" New Democrats. Peduto has been profiled by the Pittsburgh Business Times as "One to Watch", selected by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as "Pittsburgh's 50 Finest" and chosen by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
as one of the region's "50 Cultural Forces".
to be April 1 (April Fools' Day
) rather than October 30 (Devil's Night
). Keeping with the theme, Peduto was quoted as saying, "The Devil made me do it, specifically Martin Brodeur
."
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
City Council, District 8, in November, 2001, and to a second four-year term in 2005.
In the spring primary of 2005, Peduto ran for two positions. Besides running for re-election for his council seat, Peduto was a candidate for mayor. He finished second in the Democratic primary behind Bob O'Connor and ahead of Michael Lamb and others.
Before City Council
Prior to holding a seat on city council, Peduto served as chief of staff to former City Councilman Dan Cohen. In 1996 Peduto was Cohen's campaign manager in a challenge to former U.S. Representative Bill Coyne in the Democratic primary. Peduto is reported to have urged Cohen to make an issue of Coyne's record. The Cohen campaign's subsequent use of negative advertising backfired and contributed to a landslide defeat.Peduto operated a political consulting business throughout 25 counties of western Pennsylvania. He served as general consultant, campaign manager, finance director and other roles for over one dozen Democrat candidates and elected officials. At 28, he served as western political director for then acting Governor Mark Singel
Mark Singel
Mark Stephen Singel served as the Democratic lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995 under Bob Casey He was acting governor from June 14, 1993, to December 13, 1993, during Casey's lengthy battle with amyloidosis and subsequent multiple organ transplant.A graduate of Pennsylvania...
, Democrat. He has worked on Capitol Hill through a deputy press secretary internship and inside the beltway as a campaign analyst with a political research firm. In addition, Peduto has worked as a busboy, road crew laborer, disc-jockey, Deputy Coroner, ski store clerk, sidewalk painter and spent 10 years delivering the Pittsburgh Press.
Committees
On City Council he chairs the Committee on General Services, Technology and the Arts. The Committee is in charge of all contracts and purchases as well as city owned buildings and land. Peduto also oversees the City Information Systems department, the Cable Bureau and the Art Commission on Council.Community Activities
In addition to his Council duties he serves on several boards which promote economic development and culture throughout the region. As Council's representative on the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Peduto plays a vital role in creating a comprehensive priority plan for the region's economic infrastructure including transportation and land development. On the SPC he is Vice Chair of the Intelligent Transportation Systems Committee. On the Stadium Authority, he oversees the development of the land between Heinz FieldHeinz Field
Heinz Field is a stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh Panthers American football teams, members of the National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association respectively...
and PNC Park
PNC Park
PNC Park is a baseball park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It opened during the 2001 Major League Baseball season, after the controlled implosion of the Pirates' previous home, Three Rivers Stadium...
. As a member of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, Peduto works with organizations and individual artists to promote culture as a tool for economic growth and the arts as a critical industry for this region. He also serves as a Board Member of Carnegie Museums and Libraries, Pittsburgh Community Design Center and PCTV-21.
Peduto volunteers his time to several worthy causes including the NCJW/Komen Foundation Race for the Cure, Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force AIDS Walk, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, ZOA Anti-Intolerance Program for Public and Parochial Schools, and the Pittsburgh Celebrity Hockey Team.
He has sponsored several worthwhile programs to encourage a New Emerging Pittsburgh, Youth Agenda, Technology and Tolerance. Included in the projects he has sponsored are the UV Loop, the Sprout Fund, FLUX, Cool Space Locator, the Centre-Baum Initiative, Guyasuta Fellowship Program, Pittsburgh Policy Issues OnLine Forum and the Pittsburgh Pride Festival. He is also serving as Executive Producer for a documentary film about the history and scientific achievements of the University of Pittsburgh's Allegheny Observatory in Riverview Park .
Peduto is a supporter of the Fixing Broken Windows
Fixing Broken Windows
The broken windows theory is a criminological theory of the norm setting and signaling effect of urban disorder and vandalism on additional crime and anti-social behavior...
approach to crime reduction, and has argued for harsh punishment for graffiti writers. On June 6, 2007 he claimed the Pittsburgh Organizing Group
Pittsburgh Organizing Group
Pittsburgh Organizing Group, often referred to as POG, was a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based anarchist organization concerned with anti-militarism, social and economic justice, labor solidarity and police brutality issues locally, nationally, and internationally...
was responsible for a string of vandalism against chain businesses. POG denied the charge saying "there are real people and real causes being hurt by this type of political grandstanding.".
Pittsburgh's Council District 8
District 8 includes East End neighborhoods of Bloomfield, Friendship, Oakland, Point Breeze, Shadyside and Squirrel Hill.The district includes major regional institutions including Carlow University, Carnegie-Mellon University, Chatham College, the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museums of Natural History and Art, UPMC, and the Hillman Cancer Center.
Agenda
Peduto wants to help guide Pittsburgh's new economy while preserving the neighborhoods which make up the district.In order to balance the necessary economic growth of the region with the quality of life in the neighborhoods, Peduto's strategy calls for "Community-Based" development, which merges community plans with economic development initiatives and gives people a voice at the beginning of the process. He supports a more transparent government that utilizes technology to provide more efficient services for less money. He has advanced policies that provide more resources to improve neighborhood corridors through infrastructure upgrades, instead of grants to individual companies. And he has championed greater funding of public transit to build a countywide light rail system that would connect with a regional commuter rail system.
Politics
Peduto initiated his second campaign for Mayor of Pittsburgh against incumbent Luke Ravenstahl for the special election to see who would fulfill the remainder of Bob O'Connor's mayoral term (Mayor O'Connor died in office and Luke Ravenstahl assumed the Mayorship as Council President). However, Peduto withdrew his candidacy after the Democratic Committee http://www.alleghenydemocrats.com/content.agent?page_name=Home endorsed Luke Ravenstahl and polling data indicated that defeating Ravenstahl would be difficult. The editorial board of the Post-Gazette was angered by his decision to withdraw, accusing Peduto of "Cowardice". http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07081/771514-192.stmWilliam Peduto calls himself a Reform-Democrat and states on his website that "issues should outweigh special interests." The Democratic Leadership Council
Democratic Leadership Council
The Democratic Leadership Council was a non-profit 501 corporation that, upon its formation, argued the United States Democratic Party should shift away from the leftward turn it took in the late 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s...
put Peduto into the "100 to Watch" New Democrats. Peduto has been profiled by the Pittsburgh Business Times as "One to Watch", selected by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as "Pittsburgh's 50 Finest" and chosen by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
as one of the region's "50 Cultural Forces".
April Fools
On April 1, 2011, Peduto changed his birthday on FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
to be April 1 (April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around the world on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness...
) rather than October 30 (Devil's Night
Devil's Night
Devil's Night or Hell Night ' is a name associated with October 30th, the night before Halloween. It is related to the "Mischief night" practiced in other parts of the United States and the world, but is chiefly associated with the serious vandalism and arson seen in Detroit, Michigan from the...
). Keeping with the theme, Peduto was quoted as saying, "The Devil made me do it, specifically Martin Brodeur
Martin Brodeur
Martin Pierre Brodeur is a French-Canadian ice hockey goaltender who has played his entire National Hockey League career with the New Jersey Devils. In his 19-year tenure with the Devils, he has won three Stanley Cup championships and has been in the playoffs every year but two...
."