Welcome

Above:  Allegheny County's first Chief Executive Jim Roddey about David Tessitor

For over three and a half decades I have worked for the betterment of Pittsburgh.  It's been a long family tradition, starting with part of my family who were here in the days of Fort Pitt before the City was formed.  With another part, my great-grandfather came over from Scotland and moved in with the Carnegie family on the Northside in 1850 when Andy was a young teen.  My father was born in Italy and came to this country at the age of 5, then came to Pittsburgh after graduating Magna Cum Laudi in civil engineering; he was responsible for all of Allegheny County's bridges when I was born.

For over 4 decades I have spent most of my efforts exposing and fighting public corruption as well as working to advance public policies to benefit the people of both urban and suburban communities.  At times this has involved organizing local residents and filing court cases that have gone as high as the state and US Supreme Courts.  You can read more about my previous efforts here.

Campaign Issues

Implementing structural solutions (rather than blaming people):

  • Protecting District 2 neighborhoods from a speculative plan to build a new turnpike through them
  • Creating a Community Advisory Team as a proactive public participation process that is open to all
  • Consolidating of City Parks management that is now spread across 6 public agencies
  • Neighborhood Integrated Services Teams to coordinate public services
  • A holistic neighborhood revitalization program that provides local employment and affordable housing

Recent Content

Record of David Tessitor

Some of my experience over the years which is relevant for being the District 2 City Council representative.

A new West End turnpike?

The notion of a new turnpike through the West End of Pittsburgh may seem preposterous, and it is.  But so were the so-called "Airport Busway" and "Skybus" projects, the first having wasted its money on less than half the project and the latter being killed by my mentor in transit, PA Deputy Secretary of Transportation Ed Tennyson who was in charge of transit for the state.  Yet both moved forward even though they made no sense, because they stood to make dollars for the speculators involved.

Letter to Voters

This letter to voters covers several structural solutions needed to improve City government. These include: creation of a Community Advisory Team that is open to all as a proactive public participation process; Parks, which needs to have a single department responsible instead of the 6 current bodies; Neighborhood Integrated Services Teams which coordinate all public services; Connecting the City to the airport via rapid rail in order to reverse the out-migration to the airport. It also lists a number of things that I have done over the years.

Move the airport into the city

When Pittsburgh bid for Amazon‘s new headquarters, access to the airport was a major factor.  Other major cities are connected by rail to their airports. It’s the modern standard. Philadelphia even has two rail lines to its airport and three rail stations inside its air terminal.

Allegheny Conference explained

The Allegheny Conference – Operations; Leadership; Staff; The Agenda; Conference Players; and Elected Officials – all briefly explained. Who they are; what they do; and how it all works

At stake in this City Council race:

An out-migration from the city has led to its decline. An unelected "government" tells elected officials what to do and set the public policy of making the airport area become the new central business district. Their plans entail building a new turnpike through District 2 neighborhoods.