Pittsburgh Buisness Times
Readers remember Mayor O'Connor
September 7, 2006

"He was just a real down-to-earth people person, and he really wanted to focus on the neighborhoods, just really wanted to get people excited about how great a city we have. He accomplished that, he really recharged the whole region, and people started thinking more positively. I think that just spun development and spun excitement, and he wanted to work with people. He was a good partner, he was trying to make it easier to get things done for developers, the people that are putting their dollars in the city. He was making it easier for them with all the red tape. That was a big benefit. He was sensitive to the needs of the residents and the businesses and understood what it took to crate jobs, create more tax base."
Gregg Perelman
CEO
Walnut Capital Partners

Pittsburgh Business Times readers, and city, county and community leaders shared their memories of Mayor Bob O'Connor, who died Friday after a two-month battle with cancer.

To contribute your thoughts about the mayor's passing, please e-mail cdavis@bizjournals.com.
We will update this story with your rememberances.

"'Everybody's Mayor' is now looking down on us from heaven above telling us to never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them. Bob lived and practiced that principle, it was what made Bob the people person he was to so many."
State Rep. Jim Ferlo
Lawrenceville

"I think Bob raised the bar for politics in the city of Pittsburgh."
Doug Shields
Pittsburgh City Council president

"As a city councilman he was incredibly energetic and omnipresent and that showed a true commitment to a neighborhood, and he was able to translate that perfectly on a grander scale to mayor. He was an energetic mayor who cared deeply. He was able to give the city a sense of momentum with the All-Star Game and his 'Redd Up' campaign was an example of his folksy and neighborhood style that seemed to energize the community."
State Rep. Dan Frankel
Squirrel Hill

"Bob O'Connor had an enthusiasm for the city, he had it moving in the right direction. It was a continuation of things he'd started in city council. He was one of the first supporters of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, which led to a lot of changes. He was very supportive of the Cultural Trust project, and he was a great believer in building a connector to Oakland, which is essential. He was a big believer in city-county consolidation and was working on this with county executive Dan Onorato. If we can follow through on some of the projects he put in place, he'll be remembered as a person who rejuvenated Pittsburgh."
Thomas VanKirk
CEO
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC;
chairman, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's Eighth Street Development Project

"The biggest impact he had on this community was the change of attitude, kind of a can-do, working together that got people excited. I'd hope that as we move forward, that will be Bob's legacy."
George Miles
president and CEO
WQED Multimedia

"It's nothing short of remarkable, his accomplishments in just a few months. What Bob did was give all of us a new sense of optimism and pride. You couldn't be around this man without seeing the pride he felt for Pittsburgh. When he realized his dream to be mayor, well, a lot of people achieve their goals and become disillusioned, but Bob found a new purpose to do everything he possibly could to lift us all up. He became the face of Pittsburgh, whether it be redding up the city or tearing down buildings that were eyesores in blighted communities. What Bob gave to us and to the job isn't something he takes to his grave, he leaves us with that pride. And something else -- the higher Bob rose, the more he valued the people who worked for him, and if we could all do that with our own folks, our companies would be better places."
Ralph Papa
CEO
Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania

"Of all of Bob O'Connor's good qualities, I was particularly affected by his unwavering optimism for our city's future. This is part of his legacy, and something we need to remember as we build on his good work."
Jared Cohon
president
Carnegie Mellon University

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