Mayor of Braddock on CNBC (Pittsburgh, Rankin: to buy, best, area)

[stburr91]

I believe that the Edgar Thomson plant has invested quite a bit of money into the mill, so I highly doubt that it's going to be shut down anytime soon.

Ironically, the mill has been what's keeping the borough afloat, but it's also what's keeping it from recovering.


ETA: I don't understand all the hate for Fetterman. He's doing as well as anyone can expect.

[Geeo]

The ET plant was a aource of great concern during the steel shutdowns of the 1980s. As other mills were closing and tossing out thousands of people, ET would have also closed if it did not install a continuous caster, which was the latest integrated technology. I remember that the county lobbied heavily and US Steel eventually announced that a continuous caster would be installed, thereby saving the mill from closure. I think that ET was the last mill to have the capability of making molten steel for use by the other mills. So if ET closed, so would the Irvin Works and the Clairton Coke Works would have had cutbacks. Clairton fed the coke to ET and Irvin finished the steel produced at ET - they were all kind of dependent on each other.

Perhaps others on this board remember the details about this, since it happend 25 years ago. The bottom line as I remember is that county officials did not want this domino effect that would have resulted inthe loss of three important mills.

As for the de-population of Braddock, it started many years ago, probably after WWII when new homes and shopping centes were built in the hills above the town. Steel wages were getting good and steelworkers were able to afford to move to greener pastures with a yard and garage.

[eccotecc]

They could always turn the mill into a theme park or a movie set. I envision filming the Iraqi War version of "The Deer Hunter" in Braddock.

[happywithbraddock]

They can gladly keep it running as a steel mill. I'd just like to see the county and state enforce some small portion of environmental protection. I'd like one article or news report to delve into this situation some. How's about we aim for only ten percent of the kids in Braddock having asthma? Instead, the Health Department writes standards that encourage US Steel to be as dirty as possible. The new air quality rules only apply to new businesses. If ET keeps their pollutant levels higher than the county standards, there's no consequences for them. But it makes sure that competing steel operators can't open a mill in this area. Protectionist and environmentally regressive! How does our Health Department come up with these policies?

[szug-bot]

i listened to the interview - i didnt see any rewriting of history, anything blaming the reagan administrations.
he stated theyve had population loss since the 1950s, at least.

i like the guy. i think he is not the usual talking head of a distressed community - blaming everyone else, like they do in DC, Detroit, et al. there is some investment there, at least.

stburr91 said: Ironically, the mill has been what's keeping the borough afloat, but it's also what's keeping it from recovering.

interesting...i never realized this.

(and, to vent my usual venom, i know she was tongue-in-cheek, but 'merge with Melbourne, thats a great town'. go back there, then, bimbo).

[Geeo]

Isn't it true that most of the mill is in North Braddock, so Braddock itself doesn't even receive the bulk of the taxes? Kind of like Homestead - most of the mill was in Munhall.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Geeo

Isn't it true that most of the mill is in North Braddock, so Braddock itself doesn't even receive the bulk of the taxes? Kind of like Homestead - most of the mill was in Munhall.

Most of the steel mill was in Homestead, only a small portion was in Munhall.

This dotted line shows the boundaries of Munhall (and North Braddock below).

munhall pa map - Google Maps

But the opposite applies to Braddock since most of the steel mill is located in North Braddock.

north braddock pa - Google Maps

[Q-tip motha]

Originally Posted by groar

another person who didn't actually watch the video? fetterman says why people left braddock, and calls it a "cautionary tale" for other cities. then he talks about a bunch of good stuff that is happening there and says "but we still have a long way to go before this is a fiscally healthy community" and then talks a bunch more about how braddock is messed up and the best thing would be to merge with another municipality (but no one will have them). he was certainly not going "rah rah rah braddock is perfect".

and now that i've seen the video, peterrabbit, "reagan era" is only used to denote a time period (and not by fetterman) so you can untwist your panties. no one is dissing st. ronnie here.

i don't get this kneejerk hostility towards fetterman - this thread illustrates very well that people will make a bunch of assumptions about what he's going to say and freak out without even listening to him. why does someone trying to make things better in a severely distressed town make people so *angry*? if you think braddock isn't fit to live in, don't live there, but why tear down the people who do live there and are working to improve the place?

I came away with a positive impression of Fetterman and Braddock's future. I don't understand the negativity towards him. Its pretty obvious that he didn't take the job to further his own political ambition, and that's extremely rare in any politician (as is a solid goatee). I know he's no flawless white knight, but who really is? His cause is just and you have to appreciate the underdog in this situation.

[Mayor John Fetterman]

A has-been at the age of 42? OUCH.

I'll always aspire to be "senior member" arm-chair pundit making anonymous posts on some message board. To Mr. Rabbit: You know who I am. Now, tell us all who you are and let's talk about this publicly. Come to Braddock and share your vision. I'll reach out to any media outlet "that will have me" and you can educate and regale us all. Just don't sit at your computer in the dark making snide, gutless comments.

Flaming is for cowards.

happyinbraddock- Please to be the first to invite you to chair the cleaner-air committee here in Braddock. Given your proximity to the steel mill in town, you are in a most unique position to serve in this capacity. USX is investing over a billion dollars to improve the air quality primarily in clairton, but also here in Braddock. This would have already been accomplished, save for the economic collapse of 2008 and USX put it off for several years. I'm not thrilled with the overall air quality either. However, a LOT of men and women rely on these two plants for their livelihood and it is a complex give-and-take, especially when they could pick up and move overseas tomorrow.

I've got my monthly mayoral pay check in the amount of $108.49. In return for this fiscal windfall, all you have to do is move here and spend 50-60 hours a week trying to make the community a better place. Perks include: no health insurance, phone calls at all hours of the day and night, and cheap shots from online tough guys. But, don't just consider Braddock. There's Duquesne, McKeesport, Clairton, and any number of others battered, struggling communities that need your singular genius to fix these intractable problems.

Jump on in, the water's great.

[BrianTH]

If that was really Fetterman, welcome!

I'd note there are a lot of us on this board who would like to see Braddock get on a steady upward trajectory, and who are interested in discussing steps we could take in that direction.