O'Connor Gets Greedy, Handlers "Justify" Illegal Parking
Taking free parking without having a job with the city is just plain bush league. No ands, ifs or buts about it.
Bob O’Connor’s spokeshack Dick Skrinjar (who never refused to defend a PennDOT boondoggle) says that the former city councilman needs to park illegally because he has bad knees and had replacement surgery in June. Skrinjar offers no apologies: O’Connor should have the free parking just because he’s a great guy.
Why is there no integrity or responsibility anymore?
Presumptive Mayor Taking Premature Parking Perk
By the Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Free parking for the mayor is a perk Bob O'Connor has decided to take early -- even before he attempts to win the general election in November.
O'Connor's car has been seen several times this summer parked in permit-only spots on Fourth Avenue between Ross and Grant streets.
The free, city-owned parking spots are a few steps from the City-County Building, Downtown, and are reserved for delivery trucks, the nine Pittsburgh City Council members, Mayor Tom Murphy and a few top city officials such as City Controller Tom Flaherty.
Cars that park there must display a special permit issued by the Pittsburgh Parking Authority. The rented maroon Chevy Malibu O'Connor drives had only one of his blue-and-white campaign business cards sitting on the dash board visible through the front windshield while it was parked in one of the spots Tuesday
O'Connor, 60, a Democrat from Squirrel Hill, hasn't worked for the city since he left his seat on City Council in early 2003. But his spokesman, Dick Skrinjar, said the mayoral front-runner started to use the convenient parking spots after he underwent surgical knee replacement surgery June 6.
"It's too far for him to walk," Skrinjar said of O'Connor's need to park close to his frequent appointments Downtown.
Skrinjar said O'Connor typically drives to an appointment and arranges for a staff member to pick up his car and drive it back for him later. A campaign staff member was supposed to have picked up O'Connor's car yesterday afternoon within a few minutes.
That didn't happen, as the car sat in the restricted, special parking permit space for more than 30 minutes.
"It's like a relay race and somebody dropped the baton," Skrinjar said.
Even so, O'Connor's car was ticket-free yesterday. A parking enforcement officer who patrols the street on Tuesdays and Wednesdays said she regularly permits him to park on Fourth Avenue for short periods.
A car that didn't have a parking permit one space away had a ticket on its window.
Fines for parking in an illegal space are $42.50, according to the parking authority's fee schedule.
Pittsburgh Parking Authority Director David Onorato said the street parking on Fourth Avenue is by special permit only. If O'Connor isn't displaying a valid permit, he should be ticketed, Onorato said.
"I would have to say yes. It should be enforced," said Onorato, who promised to look into the matter further today.
Chester J. Malesky, assistant director of the city's Department of General Services, said he doesn't believe O'Connor has been issued a special permit to park on Fourth Avenue. The department issues special parking permits through the Pittsburgh Parking Authority.
Joe Weinroth, of Squirrel Hill, O'Connor's Republican opponent for mayor, visits the City-County Building almost every work day, but he doesn't park in one of the special permit spaces, nor does he park for free.
"I pay through the nose for parking. It's killing me," said Weinroth, who typically pays about $14 a day to park in a lot next to Kaufmann's department store.
Weinroth said he wasn't surprised O'Connor was using the special parking spot without a permit. "What city office does he hold again?" he said.
Political odds-makers give Weinroth little hope of an upset. The Pittsburgh mayor's race has been settled in the Democratic primary for seven decades, as registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 5-1 ratio in the city.
--30—
Bob O’Connor is a good guy but I’m glad that the Trib is trying to hold him responsible for these shenanigans.
Bob O’Connor’s spokeshack Dick Skrinjar (who never refused to defend a PennDOT boondoggle) says that the former city councilman needs to park illegally because he has bad knees and had replacement surgery in June. Skrinjar offers no apologies: O’Connor should have the free parking just because he’s a great guy.
Why is there no integrity or responsibility anymore?
Presumptive Mayor Taking Premature Parking Perk
By the Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Free parking for the mayor is a perk Bob O'Connor has decided to take early -- even before he attempts to win the general election in November.
O'Connor's car has been seen several times this summer parked in permit-only spots on Fourth Avenue between Ross and Grant streets.
The free, city-owned parking spots are a few steps from the City-County Building, Downtown, and are reserved for delivery trucks, the nine Pittsburgh City Council members, Mayor Tom Murphy and a few top city officials such as City Controller Tom Flaherty.
Cars that park there must display a special permit issued by the Pittsburgh Parking Authority. The rented maroon Chevy Malibu O'Connor drives had only one of his blue-and-white campaign business cards sitting on the dash board visible through the front windshield while it was parked in one of the spots Tuesday
O'Connor, 60, a Democrat from Squirrel Hill, hasn't worked for the city since he left his seat on City Council in early 2003. But his spokesman, Dick Skrinjar, said the mayoral front-runner started to use the convenient parking spots after he underwent surgical knee replacement surgery June 6.
"It's too far for him to walk," Skrinjar said of O'Connor's need to park close to his frequent appointments Downtown.
Skrinjar said O'Connor typically drives to an appointment and arranges for a staff member to pick up his car and drive it back for him later. A campaign staff member was supposed to have picked up O'Connor's car yesterday afternoon within a few minutes.
That didn't happen, as the car sat in the restricted, special parking permit space for more than 30 minutes.
"It's like a relay race and somebody dropped the baton," Skrinjar said.
Even so, O'Connor's car was ticket-free yesterday. A parking enforcement officer who patrols the street on Tuesdays and Wednesdays said she regularly permits him to park on Fourth Avenue for short periods.
A car that didn't have a parking permit one space away had a ticket on its window.
Fines for parking in an illegal space are $42.50, according to the parking authority's fee schedule.
Pittsburgh Parking Authority Director David Onorato said the street parking on Fourth Avenue is by special permit only. If O'Connor isn't displaying a valid permit, he should be ticketed, Onorato said.
"I would have to say yes. It should be enforced," said Onorato, who promised to look into the matter further today.
Chester J. Malesky, assistant director of the city's Department of General Services, said he doesn't believe O'Connor has been issued a special permit to park on Fourth Avenue. The department issues special parking permits through the Pittsburgh Parking Authority.
Joe Weinroth, of Squirrel Hill, O'Connor's Republican opponent for mayor, visits the City-County Building almost every work day, but he doesn't park in one of the special permit spaces, nor does he park for free.
"I pay through the nose for parking. It's killing me," said Weinroth, who typically pays about $14 a day to park in a lot next to Kaufmann's department store.
Weinroth said he wasn't surprised O'Connor was using the special parking spot without a permit. "What city office does he hold again?" he said.
Political odds-makers give Weinroth little hope of an upset. The Pittsburgh mayor's race has been settled in the Democratic primary for seven decades, as registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 5-1 ratio in the city.
--30—
Bob O’Connor is a good guy but I’m glad that the Trib is trying to hold him responsible for these shenanigans.
posted by Thomas Leturgey at 7:18 PM
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