Pittsburgh City Code requires that City Council Members run for a new four-year term on a staggered schedule, with four members elected at the same time as the Mayor.

            In 2013, the even-numbered Council seats are up, with District 2 Representative Theresa Kail-Smith unopposed.

            Kail-Smith, who represents the neighborhoods of Banksville, Chartiers City, Crafton Heights, Duquesne Heights, East Carnegie, Elliot, Esplen, Fairywood, Mount Washington, Oakwood, Ridgemont, Sheraden, the West End, Westwood and Windgap, serves as the Chair of Council’s Committee on Public Safety.

            District 4 Council Representative Natalia Rudiak is facing opposition from retired Postal Service employee and teacher/athletic coach Johnny Lee.

            Rudiak was elected to her seat on Council in 2009, and has since been very active in revitalizing the south Pittsburgh neighborhoods she represents, including Beechview, Bon Air, Brookline, Carrick and Overbrook, and one voting district in Mount Washington. She is the Chair of the Performance and Asset Management Committee, overseeing city facilities, information systems and the cable bureau, and sustainability initiatives.

            Rudiak says she always looks at her district from the perspective of three standards she focused on in her first campaign: “Rebuild the business districts, protect our neighborhoods from crime and neglect, and restore public trust” in the Council representative.

            “We’ve taken a look at all our business districts, including Brownsville Road, Route 51, Brookline Boulevard, West Liberty Avenue, and Broadway. In each of those locations, I could name a dozen projects we have going on,” Rudiak says. “In the past few years, I have been meeting with dozens of real estate developers and introducing our South Pittsburgh neighborhoods to them.”

            “I ran for office because I believed our south neighborhoods were being neglected while others were being lavished with attention,” Rudiak says. “I learned that it was not that we’d been neglected, per se, it’s that no one had ever reached out. I’ve been working to bring professional economic development to South Pittsburgh.”

            Rudiak has been working with Economic Development South, a development that previously focused only on the surrounding suburban communities of Baldwin and Whitehall, to work on “corridor solutions.”

            “We are able to pool all of our population and all of our political power to get grants, and have gotten every one we’ve applied for.”

            “In Beechview, we have sixteen buildings that were bought by [Federal and international fugitive] Bernardo Katz, some of which sold at Sherriff’s auction, some bought by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, but unlike East Liberty or the South Side or Lawrenceville, we don’t have full-time community development professionals,” Rudiak says. “We are applying for grants with the Mount Washington Community Development Corporation, which has a half-dozen professionals on staff, to rebuild the business district up there.”

            “Code enforcement is a huge issue,” Rudiak says. “We’re not like some neighborhoods that have whole blocks vacant, but one or two houses are vacant, and unfortunately blight affects everyone. I look forward to working with whoever our new mayor is to completely reform our code enforcement system to hold landlords accountable for high grass and broken windows.”

            “We’ve also been working really, really closely to rebuild our Block Watches, and you can usually find myself or one of my staff at every single block watch meeting. I have actually gone out and door-knocked with people to set up Block Watches in their neighborhoods.”

            “In attempting to restore public trust,” Rudiak says, “I’ve tried to be as open and communicative with residents as possible. We have a monthly e-newsletter with signups at coffee shops and the library — unfortunately we don’t have enough money to do it by post, but we’re trying to do it as ‘grassroots’ as possible.”

            “I’m always on Twitter, I’m always posting on Facebook to be as transparent as possible.”

            “We’re trying to make government work better, and let taxpayers trust that their tax dollars are being spent wisely,” Rudiak says.

            A Carrick High School graduate, Rudiak received her Bachelors Degree from George Washington University, and holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy Management from Carnegie Mellon University.

            She has been endorsed for re-election by the Post-Gazette, the South Pittsburgh Reporter, Equality PA, Steel City Stonewall Dems, Gertrude Stein Political Club, Planned Parenthood, PA NOW, Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers Local 400, Allegheny County Labor Council and the Laborer’s District Council of Western PA, the Sheet Metal Workers, Service Employees International Union Locals 32BJ and 668, SEIU Health Care PA, the Pittsburgh Building Trades Council, Fraternal Association of Paramedics Local 1, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 3, Sierra Club Allegheny Group, Clean Water Action and Progress Pittsburgh PAC.

            Her political endorsers include County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, State Representative Erin Molchany, County Council Representative Jim Ellenbogen, and fellow City Council Representatives Bruce Kraus, Bill Peduto and President Darlene Harris. She has also been endorsed by both of her 2009 opponents for the seat, Anthony Coghill and Richard Weaver.

            Johnny Lee is a lifelong resident of Brookline, and holds a Bachelors’ Degree in Education from Clarion University. He was a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service for 24 years, then worked in Postal management for another 16, and was a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers for eight years.

            A community activist, Lee also worked as a teacher at the Church of the Resurrection School and as a coach there and at Seton-LaSalle and Bishop Canevin High Schools. He is currently an announcer for MSA Sports.

            Lee did not return repeated requests for comment, but has been using the slogan “More for District 4,” claiming that Rudiak is “the second council person for Shadyside.”

            Rudiak says “I think I’m more strategic in my approach to problem solving” than her opponent. “I actually have concrete ideas. One of his more recent mailers says something like: ‘I promise to take whatever action is necessary to protect the safety of our communities.’ We try to work at the entire scope of the problem.”

            “My opponent hasn’t attended any meetings in Beechview or Carrick, and that’s an important part of being a representative.”

            “I’ve been taken aback by the tone his campaign has been taking., by the negativity. People who work with our office on a regular basis feel they are treated respectfully.”

            Lee has received endorsements from City Controller (and former Mayoral candidate) Michael Lamb, the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, Firefighters Local 1, Fraternal Order of Police Local 1, Teamsters Local 211, Steamfitters Local 449, Plumbers Local 27, and Boilermakers Local 154.

By Nancy Hart

nancy@urbanmediatoday.com

Twitter: @nhart543

Pittsburgh City Code requires that City Council Members run for a new four-year term on a staggered schedule, with four members elected at the same time as the Mayor.

            In 2013, the even-numbered Council seats are up, and District 8 offers the only vacant seat as Councilor Bill Peduto runs for the Democratic nomination for Mayor. Vying to fill the void for the Democratic nomination are Peduto’s Chief of Staff Dan Gilman, longtime political and social activist Jeanne Clark and attorney, community organizer and civil rights advocate Sam Hens-Greco.

            District 8 encompasses the neighborhoods of Bloomfield, Friendship, East Liberty, Shadyside, Point Breeze, North and West Oakland, and Squirrel Hill North.

            For the past eight years, Gilman has worked for Peduto after stints with the American Civil Liberties Union and with Congressman Mike Doyle in Washington DC, where he also held a Presidential Fellowship at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. A lifelong resident of the city, Gilman graduated from Shady Side Academy, and holds a Bachelors Degree in Ethics, Hstory and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University.

            Gilman thinks the problems in District 8 are representative of those of the entire city: “How do we improve the delivery of city services? For too long, we have felt that city services are not provided efficiently or fairly across the board.”

            Gilman feels that the city’s lag in technology is a reason why delays occur in city services like building inspections, street paving and other services.

            “We have a lot of really hard working men and women who work for the city, but they’re completely hamstrung by the lack of technology and the lack of infrastructure to provide the services.”

            “The second thing is, how do you grow a 21st Century economy,” Gilman says. “The city is doing amazing things, but we’re still losing young people at an amazing clip. That’s because the types of jobs aren’t here for the type of work that will succeed in a new economy. We need to set up a one-stop shop for small businesses owners, entrepreneurs and for start-up companies to get the answers they need to create a business here and to keep it here, whether it’s tax incentives or city owned properties they could buy to create a headquarters or questions about the payroll tax.”

            “We need to focus on economic development and not real estate development, and that’s a key difference,” Gilman , who has been instrumental in East End developments totaling over $1 billion, regularly meeting with developers, contractors and their employees, and most importantly, neighbors and community groups to achieve growth without negatively impacting livability.

            Gilman does not believe that his association with Peduto, who many claim has been a divisive force on Council, will affect his own tenure, because he is part of a coalition of elected officials and organizations who have pledged to work together.

            Gilman says he thinks the disagreements between members of Council is over-publicized.

            “There’s no doubt there is dissension, but it’s not different from any other democratic body,” Gilman says. “It’s not always bad. Debate and disagreement is a healthy form of government: We’ve accomplished a lot of great things as a City Council over the last eight years, and I think all nine members should be proud of it. I would put this Council against the record of any other in terms of the impact they have had.”

            “I don’t know what body you’re going to get where nine people are all really going to like each other,” Gilman says. “The idea that we should all hang out together is just unrealistic.”

            “I have nine years working block by block and house by house on constituent issues. I’m not an unknown commodity,” Gilman says. “People know what they’re going to get, and I think they’re appreciative of what I’ve done.”

            Gilman has received endorsements from the Post-Gazette, AFSCME District Council 84, SEIU Local 32BJ and 668, SEIU Healthcare, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 23, Paramedics Local 1, Laborers District Council of Western PA, IATSE Local 3, Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers Local 400, the Sierra Club Allegheny Group, and Clean Water Action.

            His political endorsements include State Representatives Erin Molchany, Ed Gainey and Dom Costa, County Controller Chelsa Wagner, and City Council Representatives Theresa Kail-Smith, Bruce Kraus, Corey O’Connor and Peduto.

            Jeanne Clark has been active in public service for more than four decades, working as an advocate for  gender and civil rights, social justice, economic equity and environmental protection. One of 10 children of a District Magistrate, Clark says she learned three lessons: “One, if you want to be heard, you have to speak up; two, a public servant can use government to help people in need, and three, personal kindnesses and a loving heart go hand-in-hand with advocacy.

            “In over 40 years, I’ve helped create and pass laws at a state and Federal level,” Clark says. “I’m also the only woman running for the seat in a district which has never elected a woman. I am committed to diversifying every level of Pittsburgh: Boards, commissions, elected offices, on both a gender and race basis.”

            “If we don’t start having all of our institutions look like the city, and if we don’t stop wasting the talents of women of all colors and men of color who really should be a part of decision making and governance, we will ever be a great city.”

            “We also need to make sure that we have a command staff in the Police Bureau that are not only serving the people, but also providing good leadership for the rank and file,” Clark says. “We need to re-diversify the police department. At one point, we had the most diverse department in the nation under a consent decree, but as soon as we lost the consent decree, we lost the ability to hire men and women of all colors.”

            “We also need to make sure our budgets reflect who we are, and what we believe,” Clark says. “I believe a budget is a moral document that should take care of all of our citizens across all districts, that every community gets the public services they need, that all employees are treated appropriately and paid a living wage, and that they’ve got a pension they can retire to.”

            Clark says that even though Council has “no governance over the schools, we should be committed to creating community support from all citizens, whether or not they’ve got kids in the schools, to help make sure our kids get the very best educations they can possibly get, and to support the teachers who are there day to day doing very good work.”

            “I would help lead the community to reconnecting and recommitting to the schools, because we can’t have a world-class community without world-class schools.”

            Clark says she would be honored to earn the seat because “for 40 years, I have been able to do great work outside of being an elected official. I just think it would be an amazing opportunity to serve the people of Pittsburgh and to serve social justice by being ‘inside,’ making the laws, passing the budgets, and making Pittsburgh all it can be.”

            Clark has been endorsed by the Allegheny County Labor Council, Equality PA, the Gertrude Stein Political Club of Greater Pittsburgh, Greater PA Regional Council of Carpenters, Operating Engineers Locals 66 and 95, Pittsburgh Building and Construction Trades Council, PA NOW, Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, Progressive Majority, and Teamsters Joint Council 40.

            She has also received individual endorsements from former Congressman William Coyne, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Allegheny County Council Representative Amanda Green Hawkins, County Real Estate Department Manager Valerie McDonald Roberts, former State Treasurer Barbara Hafer, former State DEP Secretary John Hanger, and DEP Regional Chief George Jugovic, Jr., former State Senator Allen Kukovich and his wife, Nancy, Chief Operating Officer of Adelphoi USA,  civil rights activist Alma Speed Fox, Kate Michelman, former president of the National Abortion Rights Action League, NOW President Terry O’Neill, Feminist Majority President Ellie Smeal, Green Building Alliance Founder Rebecca Flora, Georgia Berner of Berner International, Josh Knauer, CEO of Rhiza Labs, IUOE Local 66 Business Manager James T. Kunz, Jr., Duquesne Light’s Jody Noble, Attorneys William R. Caroselli, Dusty Elias Kirk, Joan Ellenbogen, Andrea Geraghty and Caroline Roberto, AFL-CIO Execs Jack Shea, Rich Stanizzo ad Sylvia C. Wilson, Caren Glotfelty of the Heinz Endowments, Barbara Barnes, Lee Fogarty, Diane Petronko, Morris Turner and Jamini Vincent Davis.

            In contrast, Sam Hens-Greco says he has sought very few endorsements, and has earned only the Fourteenth Ward Independent Democratic Committee’s nod.

            “Everybody I’ve sought endorsements from, I’ve been very clear: I’m seeking only their endorsement, I’m not seeking their money,” as Hens-Greco has financed his entire campaign by himself or through donations from family and friends. “I’ve received money from one Political Action Committee, a law firm who are actually friends, but the rest is all individual contributions.”

            The candidate says he brings a different kind of leadership, “and a whole different set of world experiences” to the campaign. Hens-Greco is an attorney and civil, particularly LGBT, rights activist, community organizer and environmental activist. Originally from Washington, DC, he moved to Point Breeze with his wife, Katherine after receiving their law degrees from Antioch University School of Law.

            “I’ve been an attorney for 28 years, and I have been helping people in difficult circumstances, in crisis, for more than 30 years. I’ve been an advocate, I’ve been a negotiator, a mediator,” Hens-Greco says, “and I think those are skills that will serve the constituents in District 8 well.”

            “People have been asking me, ‘What are the top three issues you will be working on in Council?’ and what I see the main role of any municipal government as is to provide safety. That’s where the majority of our money goes, that’s where our services are, in police and fire, and when I look at the city and say ‘How do we transform it, what do I want the city to look like in five or 10 years,’ we have to address the issue of gun violence.”

            “We are the group charged with public safety, and if there’s one thing we could change radically, that would be eliminating gun violence.”

            “Federal and state officials are terribly frustrated at trying to work at those levels, and having to fight the NRA,” Hens-Greco says, “but the first question out of everyone’s mouth at every meeting is what can we do now, how can we address this problem now.”

            “I think it’s time to change the model, to look at this at a grassroots level, as a civil right, as a human right, and not just a gun control issue,” says Hens-Greco, “and let’s talk about how we can change it. The group that is most responsible for public safety has to take the lead. We need to have a strategic plan, to say these are the best practices.”

            “There are a number of groups working on the issue, but I don’t see the laser-focused coordination, and I see that as my role on Council.”

            “You give people a meaningful task, and you give them the tools to get it done,” Hens-Greco says, citing the Lost and Stolen Gun legislation as one of those tools.  “But look at what happened at Target. You have an unstable individual who is walking down the street, and he harms a couple people with a knife. It’s a horrible, tragic event, but the next week, the father was able to walk out of the hospital with his daughter.”

            “:You’re not going to eliminate people who have difficulties and act out like that,” Hens-Greco says, “but the fact that he didn’t have a gun changes the whole scenario afterwards.”

By Nancy Hart

nancy@urbanmediatoday.com

Twitter: @nhart543

PITTSBURGH – County Executive Rich Fitzgerald submitted three bills to County Council for consideration at its upcoming meeting:

• Resolution amending the Grants and Special Accounts Budget to (1) authorize a grant from the Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority for the Allegheny County Police:  $214,393 to fund salary and fringe benefits of two county detectives who investigate insurance fraud crimes; and (2) increase a grant award from the PA Department of Community & Economic Development by $250,000 to a total award of $550,000  for Allegheny County homelessness and rapid re-housing activities

• Resolution adopting the Summerset at Frick Park Tax Increment Financing Plan (TIF) presented by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. The TIF will allow for necessary site preparation and public infrastructure improvements to support the development of Phase 3 of Summerset in the Swisshelm Park neighborhood to include approximately 102 single family homes, 37 townhomes and 78 condominium or apartment units. The public infrastructure improvements include environmental remediation; site preparation and grading; road and bridge construction; construction of new water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure; and construction of public park spaces and other recreational amenities.

• Resolution ratifying the year-end transfers for the Fiscal Year ending 2012 that have been approved by the Budget Transfer Committee in order to satisfy post closing entries totaling $9.3 million in intra-departmental transfers (as compared with $21 million in 2011) and $7.8 million in inter-departmental transfers (as compared with $8.3 million in 2011).

Harrisburg, PA -- Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane announced today that Pennsylvania has joined with other states and the federal government in a $500 million settlement to resolve civil and criminal allegations that Ranbaxy, a pharmaceutical manufacturer based in India, introduced adulterated drugs into interstate commerce.   As a result, false or fraudulent claims were submitted to Pennsylvania's Medicaid Program.

The investigation resulted from a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland under the federal False Claims Act and various state false claims statutes.  The whistleblower's complaint alleged that Ranbaxy knowingly manufactured, distributed and sold generic drugs whose strength, purity and/or quality fell below the standards required by the FDA.  The products at issue consisted of 26 generic pharmaceutical products manufactured at facilities in Paonta Sahib and Dewas, India, at various times between April 1, 2003 and September 16, 2010.

Ranbaxy has agreed to pay the states and the federal government $350 million in civil damages and penalties to resolve civil allegations of poor manufacturing practices.  $266 million of this amount will go to Medicaid programs, which are funded jointly by the states and the federal government.

Pennsylvania's Medicaid program, with federal matching funds added, will receive $4.5 million as a result of the settlement. The remaining $83 million is designated for other federal health care programs affected by Ranbaxy's conduct.  Additionally, Ranbaxy USA, a subsidiary, has pleaded guilty to seven felony counts alleging violations of the U.S. Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and has agreed to pay $150 million in criminal fines and forfeitures.  Also, Ranbaxy entered into a consent decree in January 2012 with the federal government to address outstanding current good manufacturing practice and data integrity issues.  These provisions include a wide range of actions to correct its violations and to ensure that the violations do not occur again. 

A team from the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (NAMFCU) conducted the settlement negotiations with Ranbaxy on behalf of the states.

(Reuters) - Under pressure to fight sexual assault, the U.S. armed forces in recent years rolled out education programs about proper sexual conduct through methods like role playing and video games.

The increase in education has nevertheless failed to prevent what the nation's top general called last week "a crisis" after the Pentagon reported a 37 percent jump in the estimated number of sexual assault cases in 2012.

Moreover, the military suffered deep embarrassment when personnel who worked on preventing sexual assaults were themselves accused of sex crimes this month.

On Friday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel gave top brass a week to come up with a plan for discussing the problem with all troops and ensuring proper training and credentials for those who deal with new recruits and sexual assault victims.

Education campaigns teach service members basics like how to make sure the other party is a willing participant in intimate contact, or how to step in as a bystander if an alcohol-fueled situation looks like it could lead to inappropriate conduct.

The Army is in the fifth year of its "I Am Strong" sexual assault prevention campaign, under which all new soldiers are drilled on a set of 10 "sex rules."

All members of the Air Force are required each year to have one hour of face-to-face sexual assault prevention training from a sexual assault response coordinator.

While all the military services have programs on avoiding sexual assault, critics say training may never be enough to do away with the problem. What is needed, says former Marine Captain Anu Bhagwati, is a shake up in the military judicial system.

"The military cannot train its way out of this problem," said Bhagwati, who is now executive director of the Service Women's Action Network, which campaigns for women's issues in the armed forces.

She urges the military to take prosecution of sexual assault cases away from the chain of command, making it easier for victims to seek justice, an idea echoed in a Senate bill last week.

"I think even today the training is not meaningful, certainly not in a significant way that causes behavior change," said Bhagwati, who helped implement sexual assault prevention training before she left the military in 2004.

General Mark Welsh, the Air Force chief of staff, said it will take time and diligence to see progress from sexual assault prevention training.

"The experts tell me we have to be careful ... because sometimes programs that are successful in this area will take a long time to show results," he told reporters at the Pentagon.

"This is not going to be a rapid fix," Welsh said. "It's got to be a constant attention to detail."

'BEHEMOTH ORGANIZATIONS'

While more than half the victims of sexual assault in the military are men, women in the services are still more likely to be accosted sexually.

There are nearly 205,000 women in the active duty military, nearly 15 percent of the total, and women will be integrated in frontline combat roles by 2016.

General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week the military is losing the confidence of women members because of the sexual assault "crisis."

Changing the culture in an armed forces of 1.4 million people is an enormous challenge.

"These are behemoth organizations. They are enormous. They have attempted to deal with the very difficult problem of sexual assault," said Anne Munch, a former prosecutor who has worked as a consultant on sexual assault issues with the military for more than a decade.

"You have to attack the problem in a lot of different ways, and there's no one answer and there's no silver bullet."

The Army has a live, interactive program called "Sex Signals" in which soldiers watch actors role play dating scenarios on stage and discuss whether the participants correctly understand how their actions are viewed.

The Army also makes use of a video game called "Team-Bound" in which players witness a potential sexual harassment incident as it unfolds.

Soldiers and officers receive sexual assault prevention training at all levels. New recruits are drilled on a set of 10 rules, from "sexual assault is a crime" and "no always means no" to "stop sexual hazing, bullying and assault" and "be a leader, not a passive bystander."

To some, the training can come off as half-hearted.

The Protect Our Defenders victims' advocacy group said an Air Force officer told them that a course he took consisted of being given two brochures to read and being told to sign a paper saying he had come to the class.

The treatment of victims often leaves a lot to be desired, despite efforts to help those who have experienced sexual assault, said the Air Force's Welsh.

One story that Welsh says hit him "like a ton of bricks" was that of a service member who had been raped in another country. When she went to a base hospital for testing, a technician came out to the waiting room and said in a loud voice, "OK, now who was the sexual assault victim?"

The Air Force started a program in January in which victims are assigned an attorney to guide them through the process and keep them from having to go over their testimony repeatedly. Welsh said early statistics on the victims' counsel program show the percentage of people willing to proceed with prosecutions is up substantially.

Among those who initially report their cases only on condition it not be pursued as a criminal matter, only about 13 percent shift and agree to prosecute. But in a group of 300 people with special victims' counsels, 55 percent of those who did not want to pursue the case criminally have shifted and agreed to prosecute, Welsh said.

(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Alistair Bell, Mary Milliken and Jackie Frank)