This morning at 10am, Pittsburgh City Council will make a historic vote that will forever change our system of campaign finance, and the way that contracts are awarded in the City of Pittsburgh.

These 5 bills are the largest reform initiative taken since the adoption of the Home Rule Charter in Pittsburgh.  These reform bills will:

1. Cap contributions by individuals at $2,000 for Mayoral and City Controller Races, and $1,000 for City Council races
2. Mandate the creation of an online, searchable database of all campaign contributions and city contracts
3. Ban all no-bid contracts over $30,000
4. Create the Lobbyist Disclosure Act, which would require all lobbyists to register annually with the city
5. Create the Lobbyist Registration Act, which would require all contract bidders to disclose any payments to lobbyists and consultants
6. Strengthen the city’s ethics code to greatly limit gifts to government officials

Thank you to everyone that spoke out for reform and lobbied City Council – we could not have done this without you.

The reformation comes to the City of Pittsburgh this week, as City Council prepares to vote this Wednesday on Councilman Bill Peduto’s reform package.

This package will end “pay-to-play” politics in our city through several different reforms to our current system.  If passed on Wednesday, this package will:

• Cap contributions by individuals at $2,000 for Mayoral and City Controller Races, and $1,000 for City Council races
• Mandate the creation of an online, searchable database of all campaign contributions and city contracts
• Ban all no-bid contracts over $30,000
• Create the Lobbyist Disclosure Act, which would require all lobbyists to register annually with the city
• Create the Lobbyist Registration Act, which would require all contract bidders to disclose any payments to lobbyists and consultants
• Strengthen the city’s ethics code to greatly limit gifts to government officials

Now we need you to speak out for true reform for your city!  Click here to tell your  City Council representative that you support clean government reforms!

Now is your chance to speak up to clean up City Hall!

Yesterday, Councilman Bill Peduto held a press conference to present his plan for a clean government for the City of Pittsburgh.  He presented several proposals, all with the goal of bringing an end to “Pay-to-Play” politics in our City.

These reforms include an amendment to lower the contribution limits in Mayor Ravenstahl’s proposed campaign finance reform legislation, and would cap contributions by individuals at $2,000 for Mayoral and City Controller races, and $1,000 for City Council races.  They would also mandate the creation of an online, searchable database of all campaign contributions and all city contracts, and would put an end to all no-bid city contracts over $30,000.  Lobbyists would be required to register annually with the City, and  contract bidders would be required to disclose any payments to consultants and lobbyists.

To learn more, read the proposed package for clean government here:

Reform Bills Summary
Lobbyist Disclosure Act
Lobbyist Registration Act
Eliminating No-Bid Contracts
Campaign Finance Reform Ammendments

What others are saying about Bill’s proposal to clean up City government:

• Peduto to Propose Changes in Rules On Campaign Donations – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
• Peduto: Time to End “Pay-to-Play” Politics – KDKA
• Campaign Finance Reform Bills on the Table - WTAE
• Peduto Bill Pushes for Reform of City Contracts, Campaign Contributions – Post Gazette
• End Pay to Play Legislative Package – WDUQ News

Today I will introduce a package of bills aimed at reforming government in Pittsburgh and ending “pay-to-play” politics.  The legislation includes:
  

1. Campaign Finance Reform legislation that sets donation limits per election.
2. The creation of an online, searchable database of all campaign contributions and contracts.
3. The elimination of no-bid contracts.
4. The Lobbyist Registration Act, which will require the annual registration of all lobbyists in Pittsburgh.
5. The Lobbyist Disclosure Act, which will require all RFP responses to disclose all finders fees and payments to lobbyists.

For too long, Pittsburgh has operated under a “pay-to-play” system.  Today is just the first step to bring transparency, fairness, and financial responsibility to City government.

Check out this article from Sunday’s Post-Gazette about the need for campaign finance reform for the City of Pittsburgh.

Councilman Bill Peduto’s position on campaign finance reform for our city is similar to the view expressed in this article.  Councilman Peduto will not support a campaign finance reform ordinance that does not do three things:

1. It must have significantly lower limits than the Onorato-Ravenstahl proposal, to match limits that have been established in other cities.  The current bill would give Pittsburgh politicians one of the highest limits in the country, and would do nothing to end pay-to-play politics.
2. It must end all no-bid contracts over 25,000 – not just for contributors, but end all no-bid contracts for everyone.  It must be an ordinance, it must be the law, and it must be written into the city code – not just an executive order from the Mayor.
3. The bill must also contain a law that requires the City Controller to post all campaign contributions and all contracts in a searchable database for the public. True transparency must be written into this bill.