Ravenstahl dodges questions about disappearance, future schedule

PITTSBURGH — Mayor Luke Ravenstahl made his first public appearance Thursday in more than a month, and Target 11 investigator Rick Earle asked him where he’s been.

Earle said he peppered Ravenstahl with questions about where he’s been and what he’s been doing -- but he didn’t get many answers.

“I’ve been working. If you have questions about city business, I’m not going to play the gotcha game,” Ravenstahl said. “I’ve been in town this entire time working on economic development projects and things we want to see get done before the end of my term.”

Earle then asked, “What are your goals and agenda for the next several months?”

“I’m not going to talk about those today,” Ravenstahl answered.

Ravenstahl has about eight months remaining on his term as mayor of Pittsburgh.

Earle also asked Ravenstahl if he had been in contact with the FBI.

“I’m not going to get into that,” Ravenstahl answered. “(I can’t tell you who I’ve met with) despite your repeated attempts.”

Despite a state appeals court ruling Tuesday requiring Gov. Tom Corbett to release his public calendar to the media, Ravenstahl said he has no plans to release his.

“I haven’t from the beginning and I don’t believe the decision is one,” Ravenstahl said.

Ravenstahl did, however, say he’s not endorsing any candidate vying for his seat. He also spoke publicly for the first time about the indictment of Nate Harper.

“It’s certainly disappointing. It was contrary to everything he told me. It was a sad day,” Ravenstahl said. “I’m not going to speculate on future indictments.”

WPXI