But along the way, Mr. Ravenstahl has given reporters plenty to pester him about, and he rattles off the litany with a chuckle:
“Let’s see, first, in January, there was ‘Heinz-gate,’” Mr. Ravenstahl said, referring to accusations that he was arrested while drunk at a football game at Heinz Field three years ago.
“Then in March it was ‘New York-gate,’” where he was lambasted for having flown to New York on a trip paid for by Ron Burkle, a major real estate developer and political fund-raiser. In April, there was “Tiger-gate,” when Mr. Ravenstahl was mocked for trying to get a photo opportunity with Tiger Woods.
“What did I miss?” Mr. Ravenstahl said, looking to his press secretary, who sheepishly reminded him.
“Boston-gate” was last week, where Mr. Ravenstahl was faulted for being in Boston instead of attending a community meeting on the design of a new casino. This week it was “S.U.V.-gate,” as the front pages of local newspapers criticized Mr. Ravenstahl for using a vehicle paid for with Department of Homeland Security money to take his wife to a country-western concert.
“A lot of it has been overblown,” Mr. Ravenstahl said, conceding that the controversies had also helped him mature. Yet to critics the missteps represent a pattern of poor judgment.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Luke's " -gates"
Mayor Opie's missteps were the subject of the lead story in the national section of today's New York Times. From Ian Urbina's piece:
The photo above from the NYT Website is credited to Jeff Swensen. Caption: Mayor Luke Ravenstahl of Pittsburgh, who is 27, has battled controversies but is expected to win re-election easily in November.
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