Jesse lands sweet deal for buddy Bill
BEST OF FRIENDS. Looks as though the Rev. Jesse Jackson has helped his good buddy, former President Bill Clinton, land a cushy job with a California investment firm.
The Associated Press reported last week that Clinton will serve as counsel to the Yucaipa American Fund and the Yucaipa Corporate Initiatives Fund, both headed by billionaire former supermarket magnate Ron Burkle. He's a good friend of Jackson's and a significant campaign contributor to the Democratic National Committee.
Burkle has helped out Jackson in the past. In 1995, Burkle, then CEO of Ralph's Food Stores, helped two of Jackson's sons land a lucrative Budweiser beer distributorship in Chicago.
In 1997, Clinton, Jackson and Burkle appeared in Pittsburgh for the AFL-CIO annual convention. A year later, Jackson and Burkle were part of a large entourage that accompanied Clinton on a trip to Africa.
The Yucaipa American Fund was formed in February by Burkle's company. It is funded primarily from investments by the California Public Employees' Retirement System.
Curiously enough, Burkle has been a significant campaign contributor to both California Gov. Gray Davis and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who just happens to be a trustee of the pension system. Probably just a coincidence.
Burkle, by the way, happens to be a part-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
FANTASY WORLD. Bill Clinton fared poorly in the latest Gallup poll of public perceptions of presidents past.
"Clinton tanked, and it bugged him a bit," one former aide to the president told the Americanprowler.com Web site last week.
Poll respondents were asked to indicate whether — in retrospect — they approve or disapprove of the way a president handled his job while in office. Gallup considers the ratings significant because they provide a window into the way in which the passage of time and the impact of revisionist history help shape the long-term reputations of past presidents.
At 51 percent, Clinton finished above Lyndon Johnson (39 percent). But he was well below Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford (both 60 percent), George H. Bush (69 percent) and Ronald Reagan (73 percent).
How upset did this make Clinton⢠Word out of Little Rock last week was that the Clinton Library is considering undertaking its own poll to buttress Clinton's belief that he remains one of America's most beloved and respected leaders.
DANCE WITH DEMS ENDS. Quite a pirouette Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy did last week in giving up the city's "bid" for the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
In February, after Pittsburgh was named one of 10 finalist cities to host the convention, Murphy fairly gushed about the city's chances to land the event. In discussing the bid, he glossed over two major stumbling blocks:
Murphy did not consider those roadblocks significant obstacles.
"We can work through these issues," he said. "By being creative, we can find a way to make it work."
Barely six weeks later, Murphy sent a letter to party Chairman Terence R. McAuliffe saying Pittsburgh was bowing out because the city could not afford to retrofit the David L. Lawrence Convention Center to host the event.
Pretty creative way to bow out, eh?
ON THE GREEN. Robert Murphy Jr. must think the governor's race is a makeable putt for state Attorney General Mike Fisher.
Murphy, owner of the Quicksilver Golf Club in Midway, Washington County, was the largest individual donor to Fisher's gubernatorial campaign over the past three months, according to the campaign finance reports filed last week. Murphy gave the Fisher camp $30,000.
Fisher has collected $1.3 million since January, and now has $3.3 million in the bank. That's considerably less than Democrat candidates Ed Rendell, who has $6.1 million available, and Robert Casey Jr., who has $5.5 million on hand. But then again, Fisher has no opposition and won't have to spend much to win the Republican primary.
The largest overall donation to Fisher's campaign was $50,000 from the PA Future Fund PAC, a political action committee controlled by former state Republican chairman Robert Asher.
SOLICITOR SEARCH. Terry McVerry hasn't ascended to the federal bench yet, but already there's talk of who might succeed him as Allegheny County solicitor.
One name that has surfaced is Scott Cessar of Pine Township. He's an attorney with the Downtown law firm Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott and the son of former Republican state Rep. Richard Cessar of Shaler.
Another candidate might be Robert Owsiany of Franklin Park, the solicitor for the county GOP committee. He's already performing some work for the county, having been hired by the elections board recently to probe allegations of voter fraud in Kennedy Township.
McVerry was appointed in January by President George W. Bush to fill one of the long-standing vacancies in the federal judiciary. He is awaiting confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED. Port Authority of Allegheny County spokesman Bob Grove raised eyebrows last week when asked why the authority's West Busway couldn't be used for high-occupancy-vehicle traffic during the Fort Pitt Bridge reconstruction.
"The West Busway was not designed to be used by vehicles," Grove said.
Uh, Bob⢠Isn't the West Busway a road?
And can't cars and buses comfortably coexist on most roads?
Just asking.
BOYS WILL BE BOYS . When the Rendell campaign bus rolled into Pittsburgh last week for a meeting with the Post-Gazette editorial board, it parked on the Boulevard of the Allies.
Big mistake.
It just so happens that the Post-Gazette building is next door to the former Westinghouse building that houses the national offices of the United Steelworkers of America. The union supports Casey, for the Democrat nomination for governor.
When the USWA folks saw the Rendell bus parked on the street, they came outside to taunt the bus occupants and wave Casey signs.
BIG SPENDERS. Eight years ago, the 10 candidates for the Republican and Democrat nominations for governor spent a total of $42 million.
This year, political scientists Michael Young of Penn State University and G. Terry Madonna of Millersville University say that just three candidates — Rendell, Casey and Fisher — together could easily spend more than $50 million before the year is over.
Rendell, so far, has raised $13.3 million, while Casey has pulled in $11.4 million. Fisher, who is unopposed in the primary, has raised $4.3 million.
CHANGE OF HEART. When Westmoreland County Controller Jeff Pavetti announced he was switching allegiances in the gubernatorial race to throw his support behind Rendell, some saw it as a lack of gratitude to a benefactor.
Pavetti, who had previously endorsed Casey, became controller because then-Gov. Robert Casey Sr. appointed him to the post after predecessor Tom Tangretti was elected to the state House of Representatives. Then-Commissioner Ted Simon, a close friend of the elder Casey, personally interceded with the governor to get Pavetti the job.
MOVING ON. A reorganization by the Service Employees International Union may dramatically change its Westmoreland County operations.
Local 585 of the SEIU has represented county and other workers in Westmoreland for decades, but its Greensburg office closed in February and the employees soon could be represented by different divisions and different locals based in Pittsburgh.
One plan being considered, we're told, would place all health care workers in their own local.
Anne Brumfield, a longtime SEIU representative in Greensburg, retired earlier this year. Her successor, Jackie Houser , is considering retiring, say some union members.
Meanwhile, Westmoreland County's deputy sheriffs want to leave the SEIU and affiliate with the Teamsters, which also represents the county park police. The deputies for years have been unhappy with SEIU representation and tried to leave the union once before.
