Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is in hot water again, this time over his road trip to Detroit for games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup finals.
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl traveled to Detroit to watch [the] Penguins play Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup final with his friends and a bodyguard.
Before he left, Ravenstahl said, “I won’t use any city dollars whatsoever to make any trips to Detroit, but I want to make a determination of what’s appropriate and what’s not before I make a decision or not on whether to go.”
Ravenstahl paid for his own ticket, meals and lodging in Detroit, but was driven in a city vehicle by his police bodyguard.
The bodyguard got into the game free, but the city picked up the tab for gas, for the bodyguard’s food and lodging and for his overtime, WTAE Channel 4’s Jon Greiner reported.
Ravenstahl has invited scrutiny because of his previous ethical problems involving the Penguins and because of his promise not to spend “any city dollars whatsoever” on a trip to Detroit.
The usual ethical practice, as I understand it, is to reimburse the cost that would have been incurred by a private citizen. (For example, when the President goes on a personal trip, he reimburses first-class airfare, not the full cost of Air Force One.) That would mean that Ravenstahl should reimburse the city for the cost of the car, but not the bodyguard.
Beyond the ethical minimum, there’s the question of judgement. When the city is bankrupt, does it send the right signal for the mayor to spend the city’s money to go to a hockey game in Detroit?
Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a big deal, but it’s part of a larger problem. Ravenstahl won’t grow up for the sake of the office; rather, he behaves like a kid with a really awesome job. He like to hang out with his buddies and gets into a lot of trouble, like public drunkenness, absenteeism, flagrant lies, conflicts of interest, and misappropriation of funds.
Internet Scofflaw 