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Duquesne City Manager Out, Deputy Mayor Added
By Tom Leturgey
The Tube City Almanac
March 10, 2023
Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne’s city manager has resigned after less than three months on the job.
At this week’s meeting, officials voted 4-0 to accept accept the resignation of Scott Crawford. Councilman Timothy Caldwell was absent.
Council approved the hiring of Mary Lou Bittner as the new Interim City Manager.
Crawford, 54, had started the job Dec. 19, after Kelly Robertson left the post. George Newsome served as interim city manager before changing jobs to administrative assistant. Since Crawford’s hiring, Newsome has left the city altogether.
Council also voted 4-0 to remove Crawford as co-signer on all city accounts, and voted to give those duties to Bittner. Later, council members also discussed who all in the government offices could make bank deposits and handle city finances. No vote was taken.
In an interview with the Tube City Almanac in January, Crawford hoped that he would stick around in Duquesne. While details of his abrupt departure were scarce, during Public Comments at the end of the evening, a resident asked what had happened. Mayor R. Scott Adams just noted, “It just didn’t work out for both parties.”
After the meeting, council members went into executive session and weren’t available for comment.
The unexpected overhaul of the office did force the tabling of a measure to dissolve the Duquesne Redevelopment Authority. Officials noted that action could possibly wait until there’s a new city manager. Bittner introduced the idea of opening a money market account for city finances. Adams said that would be discussed at another time.
In other developments, Adams appointed Councilwoman Elaine Washington as deputy mayor and council vice president. Adams said that he has a new job and that Washington “recently retired and is available 24/7.”
The comment received a huge laugh from Washington, Adams and others.
Tom Leturgey is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh and the editor of KSWA Digest, the online news and features home of the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance. His work also appears in The Valley Mirror and other publications.
Originally published March 10, 2023.
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