In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Will the People Decide?

"Should the Pittsburgh Home Rule Charter be amended to add Section 104 ‘The City of Pittsburgh Bill of Rights,’ which enumerates the right to water, the rights of natural communities, the right to a sustainable energy future and the right to self-government, and which secures those rights by banning corporate gas extraction within the City and subordinating corporate rights to the rights of Pittsburgh residents?”

On the 1st of August, the Pittsburgh City Council, in a 6-3 vote, placed that question on the November ballot as a referendum, affirming the inalienable right of Pittsburgh residents to make the decisions affecting the health, safety and well-being of their community and their environment.

This step follows the City Council’s unanimous November 2010 decision to adopt Pittsburgh’s “Community Protection from Natural Gas Extraction Ordinance,” becoming the first municipality in the Marcellus Shale region to say an emphatic “NO” to the natural-gas extraction method known as fracking and its attendant catastrophic risks to communities and the environment.

Asked why he thought it wise to bring the matter to the voters, Councilman Douglas Shields replied, “On matters of such importance how can we not go to the people for their advice and consent? When corporate special interests outweigh people’s rights, well, then, where do we go from there? Throughout history, democracy has served us well. I hope we continue to embrace that concept and let the people govern themselves."

Unfortunately, on August 8th, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl slammed the door on that fresh breath of Democracy when, trampling the will of the council majority, he refused to sign the measure.

In a letter issued to the council that night, the mayor proudly stated that his refusal to sign “effectively eliminated” the possibility that the city charter referendum will appear on the November ballot.

However, a group of council members is considering sending the county elections division a letter urging elections officials to proceed with the referendum, and promising to override a presumed veto when they return from recess in late August.

Stay tuned.