Some Raising Questions Over Mayor's Recent Tweets
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Mayor Luke Ravenstahl says he'll be more visible in the coming weeks.
As he toured the new Pittsburgh Public Market in the Strip District Wednesday, he said he was focusing not only on the market but also on his legacy.
"To remind people as I believe that Pittsburgh is better off today than it was seven years ago when we took office," said Ravenstahl.
He says the Pittsburgh Promise scholarship program, lower crime and a balanced budget are the legacies he will leave.
But as he points out what he sees as his successes, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette found that even as his Twitter postings trumpet seven years of successes, some of them were sent from locations other than the City-County Building.
One, which depicted a picture of one of his staff meetings Downtown, was actually sent from Ben Avon. He admits that was sent from the Shannopin Country Club. But he denies he ever intended to imply he was sending live tweets from his staff meeting.
"There was no intent to deceive anybody," said the mayor. "There was no intent to tweet ever in real time. If I'm tweeting in real time, I say it. If I tweet or Facebook this afternoon, I say, 'This morning we were at the Public Market,' which I will."
The mayor says he was at a lunch at Shannopin when one of the pictures was sent, and says some of his dealings there involved city business, and some involved his hunt for a new job.
But he would not disclose much more.
"I don't know that it's important to disclose the specifics of the meeting," Ravenstahl said. "If I thought it was important to do so, I would, but it was within the course of the day. I was having lunch and was doing so clearly at Shannopin Country Club. Nothing to disclose, nothing to hide and that's just the reality of the situation."
"Who were you having lunch with?," asked a reporter.
"I 'd rather not say," replied the mayor.
Meantime, at City Council today, councilmember Natalia Rudiak was asked about the mayor's renewed visibility.
"While the mayor is visible, has been visible at press conferences, he's been less visible here in the City-County Building working out all the challenges on these tough issues," Rudiak said.
The mayor says he'll continue to be more visible at events and on social media till his term ends in January.
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