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Honeymoon over for young Penn. mayor
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Candidate
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| Contributor | The Sunset Provision |
| Last Edited | The Sunset Provision Sep 05, 2007 10:20am |
| Category | News |
| News Date | Sep 05, 2007 10:00am |
| Description | In a year, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has gone from taking questions from David Letterman on "The Late Show" to being grilled at an ethics hearing over his participation in a charity golf tournament.
Yes, the honeymoon is over for the 27-year-old former city council president, who became the youngest mayor of a major U.S. city last Sept. 1.
Excitement and solemnity accompanied Ravenstahl's first weeks as mayor. He took office just hours after his predecessor, Bob O'Connor, 61, died eight months into office following a six-week fight with a rare cancer. It seemed that everyone — even Mark DeSantis, a Republican now challenging Ravenstahl in the November election — was eager to give the newcomer a chance.
Now, however, Ravenstahl's critics are more outspoken, his supporters more hesitant. Many say he hasn't produced enough change in this distressed city.
"There was this sense that with someone new, that was young, we might bring change," DeSantis said. "The problem is nothing changed, nothing changed in 12 months."
The city of 312,000 is $1.2 billion in debt, has been defined as financially distressed by the state, has a shrinking population, and will likely face shrinking tax revenues as expenditures rise over the next five years.
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