Commission says to let voters decide

There was quite a discussion tonight during the Commission Discussion Session held before the regular meeting concerning arrests and convictions of candidates.  The Commission has no say when it comes to candidates, but they do when it comes to boards and committees.  Solicitor Phil Weis, Marcia Taylor, Susan Morgans, and Chief McDonough all participated in the discussion with the Commissioners and Steve Feller.

Commissioner Bonnie VanKirk said that the political parties are to vet their candidates. I don't know who is responsible for the Democratic Committee, but Commissioner Joe DeIuliis does that for the Republican Committee here in Mt. Lebanon.  He was unable to attend tonight's meeting.

President Dan Miller stressed how important it is to know the candidates. We all need to do our homework before we vote.

Update September 14, 2011 6:52 p.m. Dan Miller contacted me to say that he "asked the solicitor to check into a couple of things to flesh out the discussion last night."  To be continued...

62+ days until Election Day

Steve Diaz, guest writer on this blog, has submitted another post. This time, it is out of respect for the 4,000 people who signed the petition to cap the renovation project at $75 million. The following pledge is for school board members, commissioners and candidates.  Since no one seems to be campaigning with just 62 plus days to go, this pledge written by Steve Diaz might be a good start.  And for the incumbents, the current poll shows 67% of voters feel that ALL school board directors should resign. Only 25 votes (13%) out of 186 total voters feel that the school board is doing a fine job.

A Pledge for Public Service:

As an informed citizen, I hereby call upon every elected official of the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon and the Mt. Lebanon School District, and all candidates for such office, to publicly agree to be bound by the following principles of open representative government:

MT. LEBANON OFFICE HOLDER/CANDIDATE PLEDGE OF RESPECT FOR CONSTITUENTS

As an elected official of the Mt. Lebanon School Board, or of the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon, or as a candidate for a seat on the Mt. Lebanon School Board or the Council of the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon, I pledge that my public service will be dedicated to the following principles:

1.  It is my duty to give due and patient consideration to the substance of constituent sentiment on all matters of policy and taxation.

2.  It is my duty to provide a civil, respectful, and thoughtful response to every constituent communication, whether or not I agree with the points of view expressed by my constituents.

3.  It is my duty to be forthright, complete, honest, accurate, and fair in every communication I have with my constituents.

4.  It is my duty to be clear and consistent with my constituents as to my position on all issues, and to be honest, forthright, and timely when I deem it desirable to change my position on public matters.

5.  It is my duty to conduct myself at all times in an open and transparent manner, avoiding meetings with other public officials in circumstances that are likely to hide from public scrutiny my actions and purposes.

6.  It is my duty to assure that meetings at which public business is conducted or decided are open, transparent, duly noticed, and scheduled so as to maximize the opportunity of the public to attend, observe, and/or participate.

7.  It is my duty to fully disclose all information that I reasonably believe is of interest to my constituents and to assure full disclosure and full public knowledge of how official business is conducted.

8.  It is my duty to assure that intergovernmental meetings and coordination are fully open and transparent in a timely manner to my constituents.

9.  It is my duty to seek redress from appropriate authorities for all acts of fraud, waste, abuse, or unethical, illegal, or improper conduct by public officials and employees in the course of my official duties.

10.  It is my duty to consider and avoid any unnecessarily negative impact on the economic welfare of my constituents, including taxation.

11.  It is my duty to speak out against and to actively oppose all attempts to limit diversity of opinion by official policy or action, formal or informal.

12.  It is my duty to insist upon compliance with these principles by the body to which I am elected, and to hold my colleagues accountable to these principles as well.

I ask each person holding or seeking public office in this Municipality or this School District to subscribe to these principles by giving their written concurrence, thereby indicating their commitment to constituent service and respect.  I would hope that all members of the Council and the School Board, and all candidates for seats on these bodies will subscribe to these basic democratic principles now and in the future.

Respectfully.  Steve Diaz

Attention Candidates

A few of us have been recording meetings for lebocitizens.com, but have not always been able to attend every meeting.  Since this is an Election year and we have new School Board and Commission candidates, who aren't incumbents, how about volunteering to record some meetings?  Hopefully, you have been coming to meetings already, but if you haven't, this is a great way to learn more about what is going on.  It isn't hard to do.  Email me at egillen476@aol.com, and I can make arrangements to get a recorder to you. 

These recordings have been listened to in 35 countries across the world.  Having them on lebocitizens.com have given residents, who don't have cable or access to the broadcasts, a chance to listen to the meetings.