Mayor Seeks to Reach Young People Through Defunct Commission

Last semester, I took in a Student Government Board meeting at the University of Pittsburgh to see what all the outgoing members were doing.

Not covered in The Pitt News, former SGB President Charlie Shull touched on his goings-on with the Pittsburgh Student Government Council, the year-old confederation of area college student governments that meet to discuss issues. He reported that the council talked about sponsoring a representative to join the Propel Pittsburgh Commission.

Shull said he was “hesitant to work with the mayor” after last year’s tuition tax debacle — and he made that known to the rest of the Council.

But in listening to his report, it got me thinking: I’ve been here for far too long to have never heard of this Propel Pittsburgh Commission. I talked with several lifelong Pittsburghers active in the community, and they, too, hadn’t heard of it.

So what is it?

Headed by the mayor, the organization meets monthly to discuss issues facing young people in the city. Serving two-year terms, members have to be sponsored by the mayor or a councilman.

Its goal is to act as a think-tank for the mayor to gain perspective from young Pittsburghers between 20 and 34 years old at the time they’re nominated. Including Ravenstahl, there are 35 seats on the council. [Note: A Pittsburgh resident as young as 18 years old can run for a city office, yet cannot serve on the Commission Board.]

One would think that concept would hold some promise for making the city government at least appear like it’s paying attention to us. Somehow, though, it doesn’t.

After a quick Google search of the members, I found myself impressed with their credentials. Many of them come from top-tier colleges. Many are lawyers, bankers, counselors and businesspeople — successful and well-respected in the community.

From what I had found in searching out MySpace, Facebook and various personal and business websites, none of them appeared to be college students. In fact, the youngest member I could find an age for is a 26-year-old businesswoman.

Shull further explained why there might be more disconnect between the college-age student in the area and the organization than what would be expected. The Commission’s website said its objective is to “encourage greater participation in government, identify or create programmatic or policy opportunities in issues affecting young adults and young professionals in Pittsburgh, and to inform various elected and appointed officials representing young people about issues specific to them.”

But Shull said that wasn’t how it worked. After pressing one of the mayor’s aids during the PSGC meeting, he said the meetings are structured so that the mayor proposes topics to be discussed without any room for discussion of outside topics. Very little is left to chance, and there’s no guarantee the mayor will use any suggestions made by the Commission.

I called three different city offices seeking comment on the Propel Commission, but two of the three weren’t even aware of the organization and had to call me back. The third had not returned my call at the time of this writing.

Finally, Sabrina Saunders, the youth director for the City of Pittsburgh responded to an email inquiry. Contrary to my findings, she reported that one of the Propel Commission delegates claimed to be a student. Perhaps in graduate studies, sure, but she ignored the disconnect between the establishment and youth in this city.

“I had immediately felt that the commission was a strategy for Mr. Ravenstahl to tuck us out of the forefront of the conversation because of the apparent limited scope and involvement of the commission and its members,” Shull said in a follow-up email.

And, indeed, it might be. Shull said a CMU student affiliated with the PSGC tried applying individually for the Commission. Those responsible for his application process never got back to him.

The only requirements for membership to the Commission are the age restriction and Pittsburgh residency. After that, it takes having your application to one of the nine councilpeople-nominated or 25 at-large mayor-nominated spots accepted.

That doesn’t leave a lot of room for spots that could be filled by Pittsburgh’s estimated 85,000 students and various other young urbanites. However, 14 spots remain open as of this writing with no representatives.

Saunders said that “The Mayor’s office received over 500 applicants for the Propel Commission alone and it was a very competitive process.” Further, “This positive Commission and the sprit [sic] behind it only reinforces the Mayor’s commitment to engage and involve young people in the government process.”

The execution of the group strikes me as puppet-esque with Lord Ravenstahl sitting at the head of the table, commanding answers to only the questions he wants to hear. That’s not what I would call “a major role in moving the City of Pittsburgh forward.” That’s not democracy.

Additionally — and not clearly posted anywhere at all — as of November, “The Propel Commission is not currently in session and is currently going through a structural transition,” Saunders said. Yet on the day when I received that email — Nov. 17 — city records show a meeting was to take place, same with Dec. 15.

That means either a powerless Commission called it quits with two meetings left on the schedule for the year, or Saunders has no idea of the operation of an organization she ought to be responsible for overseeing.

To reach students, we don’t need city-run bureaucracy to rubber stamp our sentiments and put a smiley face on student relations. Rather, we need leaders with strength to stand up for the future of this city with the wisdom to listen to the multitude of voices on campuses the Propel Commission could never begin to reach, nor comprehend.