2007.03.09: March 9, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Paraguay: Politics: City Government: Negociations: KDKA: Tom Murphy says Mistakes Have Been Made In Arena Talks
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2007.03.09: March 9, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Paraguay: Politics: City Government: Negociations: KDKA: Tom Murphy says Mistakes Have Been Made In Arena Talks
Tom Murphy says Mistakes Have Been Made In Arena Talks
Murphy has a lot of experience negotiating with Pittsburgh's sports teams. "Of the three facilities, the baseball park, the football stadium, and the arena, the arena is the no-brainer because it can be used 250 times a year," said Murphy. "We've all gone to the arena for things other than the hockey." Murphy, who supports the arena, feels negotiations have dragged on because the parties lack a trusted mediator outside of government like he had when bargaining with the Steelers and Pirates. "The key to it all is to have somebody who is every day focused on mediating the numbers and the disagreements and the issues of personality that will inevitably be in this," said Murphy.He believes the lack of that point person is hurting Pittsburgh. "Seems to me, really in more recent days even more so, seems to be missing in these conversations that there's no one person that all the parties respect that is able to pull them back together and keep them moving forward and mediating their disagreements," Murphy added. Thomas Murphy, Jr., former Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh, PA , served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay in the 1970's.
Tom Murphy says Mistakes Have Been Made In Arena Talks
Murphy: Mistakes Have Been Made In Arena Talks
Jon Delano
Reporting
(KDKA) PITTSBURGH Much has been said and written about the tactics used by our government leaders.
KDKA Political Editor Jon Delano spoke with one person with experience in these types of negotiations.
Former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy says there is no doubt, mistakes have been made.
Murphy has a lot of experience negotiating with Pittsburgh's sports teams.
"Of the three facilities, the baseball park, the football stadium, and the arena, the arena is the no-brainer because it can be used 250 times a year," said Murphy. "We've all gone to the arena for things other than the hockey."
Murphy, who supports the arena, feels negotiations have dragged on because the parties lack a trusted mediator outside of government like he had when bargaining with the Steelers and Pirates.
"The key to it all is to have somebody who is every day focused on mediating the numbers and the disagreements and the issues of personality that will inevitably be in this," said Murphy.
He believes the lack of that point person is hurting Pittsburgh.
"Seems to me, really in more recent days even more so, seems to be missing in these conversations that there's no one person that all the parties respect that is able to pull them back together and keep them moving forward and mediating their disagreements," Murphy added.
Murphy says the Penguins are different from the teams he negotiated with.
"I have to say when we were negotiating with the Pirates and the Steelers, there were tense moments, but I think all recognized that we were partners in this together and we were trying to get to a common solution," said Murphy. "I don't see that camaraderie in these discussions."
So was it a mistake for Dan Onorato and Luke Ravenstahl to let Governor Rendell take the lead?
"I think it is," said Murphy. "Fundamentally, this is a local issue. I do believe that the local officials ought to be driving this. In some ways, they have a lot more at stake here."
So how would Murphy handle the situation differently?
"I don't want to second-guess Mayor Luke or Dan on this," he said. "I'd be working at it night and day. It's certainly not something that I would let linger, and this seems… It seems like every few weeks they're meeting. If you remember what we were doing, we were pretty much meeting every day. This is a deal that is very, very doable if someone would pay attention to it more than every couple weeks."
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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Headlines: March, 2007; RPCV Tom Murphy (Paraguay); Figures; Peace Corps Paraguay; Directory of Paraguay RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Paraguay RPCVs; Politics; City Government; Pennsylvania
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Story Source: KDKA
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Paraguay; Politics; City Government; Negociations
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