Does Mayor Peduto’s Office Have an Animal Welfare Advisory Group?

I am seeking information on a possible advisory group to the Mayor’s Office or the City as a whole on animal welfare for my blog Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents. My information is the organization HUMANE ACTION Pittsburgh fills that role with little to no participation from other groups, individuals, with the exceptions of HAR and Animal […]

Q&A With Bill Peduto, Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh

Bill Peduto Mayor

Competitive primaries evince the best out of elected officials. It keeps us honest, and allows us to stay in touch with the communities we serve. I’m proud to have run in multiple tough races, because I think it’s made me a better elected official. We are launching our election season series ‘Political Q&A’ with progressive […]

A History of My Friendship With Mayor Bill Peduto

One of the longest running relationships has been with Mayor Bill Peduto. Our friendship is a very loose use of the word; we aren’t personal friends and have rarely had a lot of face-to-face contact. What we’ve shared has been our investment in LGBTQ and other progressive issues, even though we haven’t always been on the exact same side every time.

The Misinformation of Mayor Peduto’s LGBTQIA Advisory Group

Those of you who have been reading along since 2005 or know how to use Google probably know that I’ve been paying attention to this group since the Ravenstahl era. I was at meetings, I read minutes, I pushed and pulled, I resisted – basically, I showed up and paid attention more consistently than any […]

UPDATED with Comment from Mayor Peduto – City Earns Perfect Score in LGBTQ Equality Index, Remains Mum on Chick-fil-A Sponsorship of Pittsburgh Marathon

This one hurts me on a personal level. When we learned that the Pittsburgh Marathon was teaming up with Chick-fil-A to sponsor the youth events, some of the first people contacted for support were City of Pittsburgh officials. They made a lot of promises about looking into things, standing with the LGBTQ community in a […]

3 Pieces of Advice for Mayor Peduto’s LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council

Pittsburgh Mayor's LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council

I was moved by the reactions of several members of the new LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council to their official swearing-in yesterday at the City County Building. I love that I don’t know everyone and I love the expanse of voices that will now be officially at the table. You know I’m not one to mince words. […]

Mayors Bill Peduto, Bill de Blasio Drop by OUTrageous Bingo UPDATED

OUTrageous Bingo Pittsburgh

The Mayor of New York City was campaigning for Katie McGinty and Hillary Clinton at gay bingo in Pittsburgh. As you can imagine, the crowd went wild. But when Mayor DeBlasio took a seat to call a game with an able assist from Peduto, I was charmed to hear the crowd yelling at him because he called too many ‘O’ numbers in a row and resisting his attempts to launch into a round of ‘Happy Birthday’ in the middle of the game. You come to bingo, you call bingo. LOL

Delta Foundation, Mayor Peduto Resist Transparency About Pridefest Security Plans

Pittsburgh Pridefest

Let it not be said that this divisive blogger doesn’t *try* to get along. I began emailing The Delta Foundation and Mayor Pedutor’s PR folks (Tim & Katie) on May 9 with questions about security plans, prompted by the decision of Repent Amarillo to file a lawsuit against the City of Fort Worth for constraining […]

Pgh Mayor Peduto Records PSA to Promote HIV Testing

Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ Community Center (GLCC) unveiled a 30 second PSA featuring Mayor Bill Peduto discussing the importance of HIV testing. The Mayor came to the GLCC during regular testing hours to be tested ahead of the National HIV Testing Day on June 27, 2014. The GLCC offers weekly testing hours on Thursdays from 5-9 PM. […]

I Owe Bill Peduto an Apology

Pittsburgh Pridefest

Last night, Bill Peduto made his first official Pridefest appearance as Mayor at OUTrageous Bingo. He came in looking very relaxed and comfortable in a blue bowling shirt and took the mike like a pro. He acknowledged the longevity and importance of Bingo, Shepherd Wellness and the Gay & Lesbian Community Center. He called a […]