A NOTE TO HIS FELLOW PITTSBURGHERS


for the better. forever.

Here, because it deserves to be read and savored and appreciated, is the full text of Mark DeSantis' concession speech:

Thank you.

Thank you all for being here with me tonight, and for being with me every wonderful step of the way these last five months. It has been an honor and a privilege to be your candidate for mayor, to have earned your respect and support, and, I hope, to have rewarded at least a little of your tremendous -- and tremendously humbling -- faith in this campaign.

I want everyone in this room, and everyone out there watching at home, to know that you have changed Pittsburgh for the better. Forever.

You’ve helped to reinvigorate the political process in this great city. You’ve helped to inspire change and affect policy and remind us all that our government, and indeed our democracy, works best when we have an open and spirited and vigorous debate on the issues that matter. When we -- Democrats and Republicans and Independents, majorities and minorities alike -- set aside our differences and our prejudices and embrace the very real and powerful possibilities of joining together, and of working not just for our own selves, but for each other.

Since I was written in as a candidate a short five months ago, I’ve wanted to bring power and progress and opportunity to everyone in Pittsburgh. And I’ve kept my focus on a very simple goal: running a positive campaign for change.

I’m fiercely proud of the campaign we’ve run, because we’ve always -- always -- stayed focused on the issues. When everyone thought, and when conventional political wisdom dictated, that we should go low and negative, we went high and positive. We believed in ourselves and our policies. We believed in our principles. But most of all, we believed in you. We believed in your passion, your patience, and your perseverance. We believed that you wanted -- and that you deserved -- nothing less than plain truth and real substance.

We knew that you wanted to hear how we could make our streets cleaner and safer. How we could pay down our massive debt. How we could grow new jobs and new businesses. How we could create a thriving economy -- not just to keep our young people here in the city, but to attract them from all over the country and all over the world. We knew, in short, that you wanted the leaders of your city to stop ignoring -- or just endlessly talking about -- our problems, and finally get down to the business of solving them.

We did that. And you responded in ways we could never have imagined.

That’s how far we’ve come in these five long and crazy and amazing months: from thinking that I as a candidate, or that we as a city, didn’t have a chance, to knowing that all of us can -- and will -- now change for the better.

I can’t go any farther right now, however, without taking the time to thank a whole heck of a lot of people -- all the amazing and dedicated folks who’ve helped us get here.

I have to start, of course, with my wonderful family. My Mom. My Dad. My brothers. The people who’ve always stood behind me and walked beside me and, in the end, inspired me to reach every place in my life that’s ever been worth getting to.

I want to thank all of the voters of this great city who were willing to take a chance on some guy who lives downtown and works on the South Side and just wants to make a difference for the city he loves.

I want to thank the members of my own party for their belief, their commitment, and their incredible support. I’d especially like to thank former Lieutenant Governor Bill Scranton for his extraordinary commitment to this race, and to Pittsburgh’s future.

I want to thank all of the Democrats who’ve helped and supported and rallied around me these past few months. And I’d like to give special thanks to those of you who today stepped in front of those touch screens and across party lines and did something you’ve never before done in your lives. I know it wasn’t easy. And I want you to know how much I appreciate what you’ve done -- not for me, but for the city you love.

I want to thank the hundreds of volunteers who so selflessly gave their time and energy to this campaign. Everyone who was willing to take or deliver a yard sign. Everyone who made or received a phone call. Everyone who welcomed me on the street or at their doors or into their homes, and helped me take each next step on this incredible journey.

I want to thank the people who honored me with their endorsements, even when no one thought any of this was possible. The hard-working men and women of the Fraternal Order of Police. The Gertrude Stein Club. The editorial boards of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the New Pittsburgh Courier, and the Pitt News.

I’d like to thank all the members of the print and radio and television media for their always serious and tenacious coverage of this race. And all the bloggers of the Burghosphere, who’ve created a thriving and vital online community here in this city.

And, finally, I have to thank my inspired, dedicated, always adrenalized campaign staff. You lifted me up and carried me on your backs every step of the way. Without your tireless efforts and incredible talents, none of us would be standing here tonight. You all -- we all -- can be proud of ourselves, and of everything we did and said and accomplished these past five months. Our efforts in this campaign have made -- and will continue to make -- our city stronger.

This wasn’t about politics.

This was about policy. This was about progress. This was about people. And now, finally, it’s about the promise of a new and better Pittsburgh.

We love this city. And we’re going to continue to believe in it. Just as we’ll continue to believe in the power of taking a chance, in the possibilities of change, and in the always bold and noble purpose of public service. We’re going to continue this work. We’re going to redouble our efforts. And we’re not going to stop until Pittsburgh is once more the best and most prosperous city in America.

Thank you.

Posted: Wed - November 7, 2007 at 01:35 AM          

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