Motznik: We Don't Need No Stinkin' Interviews

Pittsburgh's council, in a brief respite from accelerating the city's fiscal tailspin, briefly (and, for some council members, surprisingly) devoted its attention this afternoon to approving a dozen mayoral appointments -- by acrimonious 5-4 vote, and without interviews or hearings -- to the Planning Commission, the Zoning Board of Review, and the Historic Review Commission.

Council member Jim Motznik, apparently in his element within the councilmanic labyrinth as much as he is at home in the sewers, reportedly pulled a set of nomination papers from his pocket to begin an unexpected maneuver toward the end of a council meeting.

The mayor, by dodging public scrutiny of the appointments, managed to evade a question or two (or maybe even three) concerning some of the anointed.

I can understand why Motznik carried the mayor's shabby pail, and Tonya Payne's bitterness seemingly precludes any good-government votes on her last lap toward irrelevance, but the conduct of Rev. Ricky Burgess, Darlene Harris and Theresa Smith in this regard warrants a reexamination of the Propositions Board with respect to the race to replace Motznik as Paris' the mayor's BFF.

UPDATE: Propositions Board (far right) adjusted appropriately.

UPPERDATE: Yes, that is a photograph of a sewerbootlicker.

UPPERERDATE: The Rubber Stamp Five poster alone makes Junkieville worth a trip.