Ravenstahl was right and Shields worries me.

It isn't often that I have cause to praise the Mayor of our fair city, but you should give credit where it is due. Ravenstahl was right to prevent the gas drilling amendment to our City's Charter from appearing on the November ballot.

Still the reason the Mayor is right on this issue has very little to do with the major reason he cites in his letter. Ravenstahl argues that amending the City Charter in this way will effectively prevent the industry from investing in our city. This argument, however, is a red herring because there is currently no plans to drill for shale gas within the city limits and it is unlikely that there will ever be. Now it is true that there have been some purchases by the industry of gas rights within the city limits -notably Lawrencville- but I have heard many claim that these sales were more about showing company shareholders that rights were obtained, rather than reflecting any real desire to drill in the city.

On top of this, as Ravenstahl's letter makes clear, there is already an identical ordinance on the books. In other words, the city is already hostile to gas drilling so Ravenstahl's claim that this will prevent industry from investing couldn't be further from the truth. The industry is already prevented from 'investing' in the city - they can't drill here!

So what does the mayor get right? Its this...

"This bill was rushed through with little time for public discussion, legal analysis and consideration of its impacts"

He is right! This bill was rushed through at the behest of Doug Shields. Now I like Doug Shields. From the very limited encounters I have had with him, he seems very bright and very sincere in his concerns and his dedication to the city of Pittsburgh. However, Shields also seems to have a real penchant for the dramatic. He could be accused, at times, of grandstanding and of using the legislative process as a tool for sending a message rather than crafting good law.

The fact is that Shields just lost an election for Magisterial District Judge that he seemed certain that he would win. Indeed he didn't run for reelection on council precisely because he was aiming for the position of judge. His council seat was won by Corey O'Conner in the same election.  So it will be goodbye to Shields come January. Now Shields seems to be angling for a job with an environmental group and burnishing his reputation as champion of environmental causes by putting this issue on the ballot in November.

Further, after Council's August recess they will be dealing with budget issues until the new year. There will be little opportunity during that time for anything else and so this might have been Shields' last chance to showcase his causes before he loses his seat.

So, Ravenstahl is right to point out that this looks like a rushed piece of legislation that hasn't undergone the kind of scrutiny needed for the serious changes it aims to bring about. Indeed I wonder why the language is identical at all. This makes it look especially hasty.

But there is another aspect to this issue that seems to have gone largely unnoticed. Lets looks more carefully at the text of the law itself.

2.      Corporations in violation of the prohibition against natural gas extraction, or seeking to engage in natural gas extraction shall not have the rights of "persons" afforded by the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions, nor shall those corporations be afforded the protections of the commerce or contracts clauses within the United States Constitution or corresponding sections of the Pennsylvania Constitution.  

3.       Corporations engaged in the extraction of natural gas shall not possess the authority or power to enforce State or federal preemptive law against the people of the City of Pittsburgh, or to challenge or overturn municipal ordinances or Charter provisions adopted by the City Council of Pittsburgh.  

Obviously, the law Shields has written and which council passed contains some very disturbing language. I am no legal scholar but, it appears blatantly illegal for council to try and strip away the rights afforded to corporations by the constitutions of the United States and Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh is a part of the US and the State of Pennsylvania it cannot pick and choose which of the legal protections afforded by those documents it is going to allow to people. There is a word for this sort of thing! I do find it especially disturbing that that this bill passed unanimously!

OK so a city council crafts some overly broad legislation that probably won't hold up in a court challenge, what so bad about that? Doesn't this happen all the time?

The problem is that this language was written by a man who wanted to be a Judge. This is truly frightening! The language of this law shows contempt for the legal protections given by the constitution. Indeed, Shields ran on a platform which denied that legal expertise was needed for the position of Judge. But this shows just how essential that kind of training, and the respect for the law it aims to instill, actually is.

This matters because it seems that Shields is far too willing to put the law aside and do what he thinks is right. While this can be an admirable trait, its not something we should want in a Judge. If Shields is willing to play fast and loose with the law because of his strong dislike for the shale drilling industry, there is no reason to think that his passions over other issues won't result in a similar willingness to discard what is legal in preference for what he thinks is right. The result would be anything but dispassionate justice.