In a weak-mayor system, some municipal mayors get to oversee a police department. The first thing that I remember after being sworn in was being whisked away and handed two internal police investigations. I was curious, energized, ready to learn, and ready to lead. The mayor paid less than $100 a month, so my day…
Category: 412 Fresh
When Democracy Feels Like a Distant Memory, We Speak Louder
I gave a speech at the 50501 No Kings Rally in Pittsburgh on Saturday, and it’s heartbreaking/frustrating to continue giving speeches on the City County Building steps because our elected officials are still so out of touch. We assumed that we would get a thousand people to speak, but was overjoyed when there were so…
Cuisine with a Cause: Café Momentum Sets Lunch Menu
Café Momentum, located in downtown Pittsburgh, is more than just food outside of Market Square. If you Google “Food Near Me,” it will show you the Momentum Menu, but delving deeper into what accelerates this restaurant makes you want to come back for seconds. Opened in March 2023, Café Momentum was started by Chad Houser…
The Failed Nippon/US Steel Deal Gives “Buddy I Hope You Find Your Dad” Vibes.
Finding out that one of the last things Biden chose to do while in office was to block the Nippon/US Steel Deal gives me “Buddy I hope you find your dad,” vibes. It may feel blindly optimistic that someone domestic will buy US Steel. Still, the intentions behind the purchase won’t make as much sense…
17 NYE Parties in Pittsburgh to Bring in 2025
Last year I made a list of awesome NYE parties in Pittsburgh and although I made it my mission to go to none of them because staying in is a much better time for me. But if you’re looking for somewhere to bring in the New Year check out these events. CAVO Pittsburgh $60 |…
OMG, It’s Delicious: My Favorite Pittsburgh Eats for 2024
“What you want to eat?” and “I’ll do the dishes,” is obviously my love language. There were no shortage of plates this year. I broke bread with old friends and new ones in some of my favorite places and new favorites. Here’s a quick rundown of my favorite memorable plates from 2024. Starting at the…
Bravery, Burnout or Both?
After almost 10 years of accidentally falling into tech, I quit! I got laid off after giving a company 9 and a half years of my life and looked at my 401k and saw the lack of sustainability when it came to a retirement plan I tried to make the new job work but it…
The Future of Municipalities is Townships
PA has 2560 municipalities and mostly all of those municipalities have their own police departments and resources. This is unsustainable and at some point, if they haven’t already, they’re going to need to band together. This is a hot take but if it was anything less why would I share it? As a former mayor,…
Congrats to The Class of 2022
Recently I was asked by a Woodland Hills School Board Member to give the commencement speech, I accepted, rearranged my work schedule, and then recently the superintendent rescinded the offer. That doesn’t mean that the students aren’t going to get said speech. I even thought things through to the point of sending the speech in…
Why Waiting Your Turn is Overrated and Representation Matters
Why I Joined the Malcolm Movement In my last year as Mayor of Braddock I outdid myself. I played kickball with the Woodland Hills Students, judged a dessert contest at Braddock Farms, spoke at the Women’s March on the City County Steps, greeted folks again and again at Greater Valley Community Services Vaccine Clinics, ran…
OMG It's Just Daé 