This is part of a series of Forum essays about the 2005 Pittsburgh mayoral campaign. The primary election will be held on May 17 and the general election on Nov. 8.

My grandfather came to Pittsburgh from a small farming village in the Abruzzi region of Italy. He believed that Pittsburgh was a place where you could build your dreams and provide a better life for your family. Unfortunately, young adults are leaving Pittsburgh in order to pursue their future. They are going to places like Portland, Minneapolis and Charlotte -- cities with policies that make them more competitive in a 21st century global economy, cities which we have fallen behind in almost every category.

		Bill Peduto, a member of Pittsburgh City Council, announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for mayor on Feb. 24. His campaign's Web site is www.billpeduto.com.

The 20th-century economy that built this city and brought my family here is gone. Moving forward means respecting our heritage while inventing our future. It requires strong, battle-tested leadership and a vision for a new Pittsburgh. Over the course of the past three years, I have made the tough decisions and taken the tough actions on City Council required to keep our city from bankruptcy. Although I did not create the financial problem, I knew that it was my responsibility to fix it -- regardless of the personal cost.

During this time I have also studied how other, growing cities with demographics similar to ours have shaped their public policy for a changing world. I have adopted several of their ideas and worked with people from throughout our region to assure that we begin to restore hope in Pittsburgh.

In the end, the race for mayor is not about Bob O'Connor, Michael Lamb or myself. It is about the policies we embrace to move Pittsburgh forward. The policies we create must be aimed at bringing city government in line with the 21st century. We can begin by implementing seven key principles:

Fiscal discipline -- I was the first elected official to call for Act 47 status. I understood that the only way to balance the budget for long-term health was through the complete restructuring of city government. As mayor, I will continue to pursue a path of fiscal discipline that focuses on cost reduction, not tax increases.

Streamline government -- I have spoken repeatedly about the need for regional government consolidation and I published the first public document on city-county consolidation through shared services. Many of these ideas are being implemented through Act 47. As mayor, I will lead the effort of 53 cities throughout Pennsylvania to create incentives for shared services and consolidation. I will create a new regional approach for true economic development that encompasses planning, zoning, land use, transportation and workforce development.

Innovate city services -- In response to the need to make government services such as road repairs and refuse collection more responsive and cost effective, I advocated for Pittsburgh to begin using a system of tracking and analyzing city services (CITISTAT). I launched a regionwide graffiti-tracking network for use by law enforcement agencies. With Carnegie Mellon University, I established a GIS mapping system of all public property in Pittsburgh to create more efficient use of space. As mayor, I will invest in technology by working with our universities and realize new opportunities to provide more efficient services for less money.

Citizen empowerment -- I created the Guyasuta Fellowship that gives young adults the opportunity to work on solutions to important challenges and created the first electronic town hall to communicate with residents about the city's fiscal crisis. As mayor, I will work with people to utilize public opinion in order to build consensus and work toward a transparent system of government.

Community-based development -- For two years, I have engaged the community in building a vision for the Baum-Centre corridor. The goal is to allow for the future growth of this new economy center while changing the paradigm of how development is done in Pittsburgh. By putting people at the beginning of the process we have created a new approach to development in my council district. As mayor, I will combine the efforts of the URA and the city Planning Department to create a community-based approach to neighborhood development throughout all 88 neighborhoods -- one that puts people first.

Preservation and conservation -- On City Council, I have empowered a committee to both study Pittsburgh's hillsides and explore ways to conserve our natural heritage. Their report will create a new zoning approach to protect our treasured limited green space while creating the criteria where it is permissible to build. As mayor, I will work to create local historic preservation incentives and encourage the redevelopment and adaptive reuse of our architectural heritage

Safe and clean neighborhoods -- I have worked with community-based organizations to attack the growing problem of litter, vandalism and unruly behavior. I have confronted offenders face-to-face and amended legislation to toughen enforcement. We will clean up our neighborhoods as we clean up government. As mayor, I will reinstate Community Oriented Policing and crack down on nuisance crimes which studies have shown lead to more serious crimes.

By enacting these policies we can begin to restore hope in Pittsburgh and start the process of building a 21st century city.