His honor

Mayor Murphy has decided not to seek re-election. But if you think that means the city can finally turn things around, think again. For Tom Murphy is but a symptom of Pittsburgh's problems, and not the cause. He's an example of a mindset that has dominated this region for decades, and which bears much responsibility for its demise. Part of that mindset is a belief that we can trust our civic and corporate leaders to always do what is best for us. That our unions will always take care of us. That the best decisions are those made by a handful of self-appointed men and women in corporate boardrooms and in the halls of the City-County Building. He's part of a long line of people here who claim to love cities, but who hate everything that makes them special. He thought of himself as a visionary, but he offered nothing that hadn't been done before, and failed. Here's hoping we don't try it again.