Daniel Lavelle/tidbits

==Letter to the Editor==
: April 29, 2009 My candidacy
The April 20 article "City Council Primary Races Heat Up" tells why Tonya Payne has been completely ineffective as a member of Pittsburgh City Council.
To call my candidacy "an act of revenge" completely ignores the hardships facing the people of District 6. They're not interested in Ms. Payne's personal feuds, her paranoia or her fascination with "power." None of that puts people to work, makes a neighborhood safer or keeps a kid off the street at night. If Ms. Payne cared about these issues, she would have sponsored at least one piece of legislation that directly benefited the people of District 6 in some way. But she never did. Not one. You can look it up.
Instead, she has spent the past four years engaging in class warfare and dividing the people of our district, and that I cannot tolerate. I am running for Pittsburgh City Council to bring all people together regardless of their political, social or personal affiliations. We cannot afford to lock anyone out of the process, particularly if they might have an idea that could make a difference, something Tonya Payne should have learned after four years in government.
In his inaugural address, President Barack Obama called on all Americans to "set aside childish things," like Ms. Payne's personal attacks and political vendettas. We need leaders who can disagree without being disagreeable to move our district forward. That's why I got in this race, and I'm confident that the voters will clearly see the choice before them.
ROBERT DANIEL LAVELLE, Schenley Heights