Lessons learned from Bob O'Connor

I do not live in the City of Pittsburgh nor do I often visit the down town area of the city choosing to avoid it when I can. I am however a life long Pittsburgh person who identifies with the city and calls it home. When I first heard that Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor had been diagnosed with brain cancer I felt compassion for the man and his family and I prayed daily that God would permit his body to fight off the disease and permit him to continue as the city's mayor. As I begin to write this it is the day after he lost his battle to the cancer in his brain I join the city in morning his loss. After several weeks of news coverage on television and in the news papers I have a profoundly different prospective of what the city and the Pittsburgh area has lost.

I have to admit that I was not a fan of Bob O'Connor and had I been a resident of the city and qualified to vote I would have voted against him in the election. I saw him as part of the old style of “politics as usual” that had brought the city to its financial knees with his predecessor, Tom Murphy, leading the down hill charge to depths not thought possible only a few decades ago. I am afraid that it will take many years to change the culture and policies that have brought the city to its current state along with some strong leadership from the mayors office and city council. What I read and heard about Bob O'Connor though indicated to me he was someone who was not willing to “bite the bullet” and take the strong measures that were needed, in my opinion, to put the city back on a path to a growing economy. The City of Pittsburgh, and it's suburbs, are already a great place to live despite some drawbacks not all of which are under the city's control. I hope that this situation will change both for my children and my grand children.

When Bob O'Connor was elected mayor one thing that I did notice was that there seemed to be a change in pulse and attitude of the city. People seemed to have a better outlook on where the city was headed and everyone that I heard comment on the election had positive things to say about Mr. O'Connor. There was no doubt in my mind that O'Connor had a “hard row to hoe” ahead of him especially with the city's financial woes. What impressed me was that every interview he gave to the press and the television people was filled with optimism that was almost palpable. It was not the same that I saw in Ronald Regan when he was elected President of the United States but in the same vein. So my attitude was lets give the man a chance and see what he can do for the city which would also translate into change for Allegheny County good or bad.

Mayor O'Connor's bout with cancer began in July and caught everyone off guard including the news media. He went into the hospital for what he thought was a case of the flu and was looking forward to only one or two days stay at most being back on his feet in time to attend the Major League All Star baseball series hosted here in Pittsburgh. He felt this was a real opportunity to showcase the city and PNC Park to the nation. Again his enthusiasm for the city was overwhelming and infectious something that I was to lean more about in the coming weeks. As we now know what he had was not the flu. From the very beginning however there was optimism from both the Mayor and his family and friends. All seemed to agree that if anyone could beat this rare form of cancer that it was Bob O'Connor because he was a fighter.

It was during the ensuing weeks that I learned much more about Bob O'Connor than I had know and this is where the lesson learned comes in. I do not know and have never met Bob O'Connor personally. I know him only through what I have learned through the news media and his actions on city counsel. I knew nothing of the father of three and grandfather of three. Of the shy boy who had grown up in Pittsburgh working in the steel mills after high school then going on to become a successful business man. One of those that is well liked by both management and employees. Or of the man who loved the city and its neighborhoods and its people. A man who was involved not only in politics but in serving his community in many other ways. Working with local charities he didn't just raise money as many men with his busy schedule would have done, rather he was hands on helping people on a one to one basis. A mayor of a major city yet still he found time to act as usher in his church.

My point in all of this is that I fell into the trap that many of us do in judging a “book by its cover” and a shallow judgment at that. It has made me stop and think how quick I am at times to render an opinion on the worth of another human being no matter what his or her station in life without learning more about the person. All my life I have tried not to stereotype people but rather to judge each person as an individual. Bob O'Connor has taught me that forgotten yet important principal of not making snap judgments about people. As I learned more about the man I experienced the same feeling that I had with the untimely death of Senator John Heinz. Another case of not really appreciating what we have until we loose it.

Bob O'Connor both the Mayor and the man will be missed by not only by the City of Pittsburgh but by the surrounding communities. His enthusiasm for our town and its future is something that I hope will be his legacy. I pray that God will grant his family comfort in their time of loss and also that he will help guide our new young mayor Luke Ravenstahl. With God's help he will carry on the work that Bob O'Connor had started and do his best to lead the city to a better future. I along with the rest of us will be learning more about our new mayor in the weeks ahead. Until then we can look back on what we have lost.