Joseph Sabino Mistick: Progressing backwards

Many of my friends and I used to call ourselves progressives. Our parents, labor union members and World War II veterans who had fought for social justice overseas, raised us to believe that it is a citizen’s duty to use the political process to improve the lives of all Americans.

That kind of progress is almost always incremental, and getting change right requires time, real political organizing and often compromise. But the word itself — progressive — is now claimed by the far left of the Democratic Party, which seems more interested in sloganeering and edicts rather than meaningful reform and compromise.

After the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, there were nationwide demands for justice and reform in the use of deadly force. And there was widespread revulsion. Layered on top of that was the sudden appearance of calls from the far left to “defund the police.”

It was the dumbest idea ever. In Pittsburgh, however, we seem to have slipped into that policy. By legislation, 6% of the 2021 police budget was diverted for social services, and that will increase to 10% by 2026.

Now, Mayor Ed Gainey’s proposed 2024 budget would eliminate 50 uniformed police positions from the 2024 police budget. Certainly, it is a good idea to have more social services, especially for the mentally ill, but it is ridiculous to take it out of the police budget.

The “we know what’s best for you” attitude is a hallmark of this small ideological group that calls itself progressive. They charge ahead with ideas, determined to make political statements, but they rarely put in the hard work to find real solutions.

If you are unlucky enough to live near a Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) street or intersection redesign, you may feel like you live on a miniature golf course. A once straightforward intersection is now a collection of bewildering plastic posts, green and white hieroglyphic symbols and arrows.

DOMI is responsible for roundabouts that delivery trucks cannot navigate. And while we all are committed to safer bike lanes, DOMI usually places them where they are the most disruptive to homeowners and businesses, even when safer options are just a block away.

Even though neighborhood businesses all over Pittsburgh made it clear that DOMI’s special for-pay purple loading zones are unnecessary and hurting business, the city installed them. Another solution in search of a problem.

Seeking to make a progressive statement on affordable housing, the Gainey administration has required all new housing developments in certain zones to include 10% affordable housing. They added a zone in Oakland that requires 100% affordable units.

This may work with certain adjustments, but it cannot work when the possibility of making a reasonable return on investment is removed. Such a policy might make the mayor look tough on developers, but it will not produce the housing units or the new revenue the city needs.

Jim Eichenlaub of the Builders Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh told KDKA-TV’s Andy Sheehan last week that the mayor’s rules “have shut down” development projects in Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Polish Hill and now Oakland. And the city is now facing a federal lawsuit challenging its zoning requirements.

It’s a lot, and if you live in Pittsburgh, all of this can make you feel like you are part of some graduate student’s final project. We need the energy and passion of these new progressives. But they need to get serious about governing.