Mazefsky's New Policy: No Statement Too Stupid

The City of Pittsburgh's Gabe Mazefsky has a sweet gig -- Manager of Policy for a city whose policies appear to be limited to cronyism, ineptitude and insolvency, working for a mayor whose intellectual curiosity ranges from (a) whether Lamar Advertising or the Steelers has better Rascal Flatts tickets to (b) whether any of the golfers at that U.S. Women's Open will be hot enough to make chancing a return trip to Oakmont worthwhile.

In fact, until now, I sensed that Mr. Mazefsky's duties consisted primarily of sneaking political appointees with something to hide through back alleys to avoid reporters.

Today, however, we learned -- when the City Paper quoted Mazefsky in the wake of the recent hack-a-thon concerning city boards and commissions: "There is plenty of independent thinking" on city authority boards -- that there is now more to Mr. Mazefsky's public service. His portfolio has been expanded to include making statements so dumb no self-respecting 12-year-old would say them. And Gabe is taking his new responsibilities seriously: : "Lamar was not a factor, period, in appointments to the Zoning Board."

Congratulations, Gabe, on the promotion . . . and the strong start.

I won't clutter the Propositions Board with odds, but can anyone clear up whether Gabe got his job by being (a) Luke's Cub Scout leader, (b) the Student Judicial Board member whose vote allowed Luke to stay at W&J, or (c) the guy who found the guy who took the LSAT for Yarone Zober?