The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds - 556 - Mayor William McNair Live w/Bill Crawford

Episode Date: October 25, 2022

Comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds are joined by Bill Crawford in Pittsburgh to examine Mayor William McNair Sources Tour Dates Redbubble Merch   Next Evo

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chant I bet you feel a little shame now don't you Pittsburgh? I didn't know you guys yelled here. We have a guest this evening the guest tonight as a dude I've known forever we went to college together he's a great comedian he is on the WDVE morning show here in Pittsburgh truly one of the best dudes I know welcome Bill Crawford everybody my man yeah I already did all the local stuff and you don't get a mic tonight so Bill's just here to sort of sit and watch. Anyways thank you guys very much. Hey thanks for being here Bill. Thank you very much my baby. The dollop is brought to you by Next Evo Naturals look you ever try CBD

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night's rest and a better day tomorrow with products from Next Evo Naturals for up to 25% off subscription orders of $40 or more use promo code dollop at nextevo.com that's nevo.com promo code dollop. William Nisly McNair was born in Middletown Pennsylvania. Awesome. His parents were well off he went to Gettysburg College then Michigan. What was the address there? Michigan Law School he passed the bar exam in 1903 while at Michigan he got super into Henry George's single land tax theory. His single what? Land tax theory. Okay nice. You've talked about this before a couple times. Yeah yeah why don't you tell Bill

what it is? Yeah a very simple definition that'll probably make people mad. George said excessive land ownership can screw over anyone without land so the only tax that should exist is a land value tax. Okay so and that that would solve all problems. Right which is why we won't do that. Also it's a stupid idea but yeah. I told you it was dumb. So William moves to Pittsburgh in 1904. Wow more people in Middletown than Pittsburgh interesting. Well what's there's tension? What's happening right now? I don't know. Wow not so great is what I get. From the hometown crowd. He met Helen Seep and they quote kept

company for the next 10 years. They bang. They kept they didn't get married. They kept company. They had two kids. Right so yeah uh-huh. Yeah so they bang. Yeah he finished inside. No I'm talking about. No I'm not gonna fist bump you. I know where my bump sputtered. Politics ran in the family. His brother would become the mayor of Harrisburg. He had a... So there might be a few cities named tonight. They had an uncle that became governor of Missouri. Another brother became the Burgess of Middletown and then in 1909 William ran for is it Allegheny County District Attorney. Yeah and he lost. Nice. And then he ran for

both judge and district attorney at the same time in 1911. Yeah perfect and lost both. Nice. What if he won both? I don't know. What's the plan then? Well I'll tell you who I like is that new DA. He's awesome. And me. He ran for secretary of internal affairs in 1914. Nice. And this is when he finally married Helen. Their honeymoon was campaigning so she drove the campaign car while he gave speeches. Romantic. Yeah hot for sure. Yeah. Land monopoly was his whole issue. He lost. Nice. Right. So it's not going great. No. Right. And he ran for Pittsburgh mayor in 1921. I think yes. He lost. He lost. Yeah. Yeah. Is he trying to

win any of these? He ran for the U.S. Senate in 1928. I like how he's going to the Senate next. He's like I was just thinking small potatoes. Let's go for the whole enchilada. I want to be the president of the United States of America. Who's with me? Nobody. All right. He lost. He did get one million votes though. Okay. And in 1932 the state Democratic Party boss the reason they want they just figured that they I mean at this point Republicans are totally dominated for like decades so they just figured they would run this guy and he would lose. Right. And then you know he but he was a good speaker so he could push FDR's new deal. So that's all

idea. Just get him out there pushing new deal and he looks like the Pittsburgh press endorsed him. He was repeatedly mocked by opponents for a single land tax plan. Sure. But then Dems won huge massive landslide and William he's now 57 years old and he is mayor. He was described as slim as straight and energetic. Nice. The Pittsburgh press called him quote an unusual man. Not his way to the top. An unusual man. Thank you for that endorsement. I don't think you read what we wrote. Thank you so much. Now while he was campaigning he said that he would have an office in the lobby at City Hall. Sure. Like in the lobby lobby

or like yeah in the lobby. Hello. To make him sitting in a revolving door. Right. We're accessible to the people. Sure. So the first day sure enough he was in the lobby from 810 to 830. Just sitting at a plain white table. 20 minutes. An orchestra came and played. Also in the lobby while he held office hours. Sorry. He was in the lobby for 20 minutes. No. Hour hour and 20. Oh hour 20. Okay. I said from 810 to 820. No 810 to 930. Okay. And during that time an orchestra played. A destitute man came to him and asked for help getting coal to heat his house. Okay. And William said quote why come see me. Go out and dig some. There's a

ton of it. Yeah. Yeah. Just fine. Bite some holes in the earth like I did. Oh fuck. I love warm milk. Oh yeah. Yeah. We're big milk guys. Really. Flem that throat up. Someone came and gave him a cane as a gift. There you go. And he said quote I'm going to use that on Billy McGee's head. This is day one. Yeah. Okay. Seems like a pretty crazy start. Orchestra. He tells a guy to go dig some cold and he's going to hit Billy McGee on the head. Billy with a cane. McGee was on the city council. I mean if there's someone to beat with a cane though. So McGee's on the city council and he said he was going to vote for a Republican to

be council president. He had run as somehow I don't understand this but he ran as both a Democrat and a Republican. Sure. Right. Absolutely. But he was basically swinging the power to the Republicans. Right. That's what Democrats run on now. So they have the first city council meeting where they're gonna you know have them take the oath and all that. Sure. Hacked. People are so excited they tore a door off trying to get in. Insurrection. And then when William got to speak he told all the photographers to leave. All right you photographers get the fuck out. Let's do this. But that's not legal. So they just sat there and

stayed. Okay. And then he said he wanted all the spectators cleared out but they were there for his inauguration to see him and also he didn't have the power to clear them out. So I don't know what my power is. Yeah. I'm feeling it out. Everyone get out. I can't. All right. Let's start. Is your mic working. I was a little worried and I didn't want to say anything. Talk into it. Hello. It's low. It's low. We just got to hold it closer. Just put it in. It's something. There you go. Just do it like this. What. Why are you putting it on my lip. There you go. Now go like. What. Come on. There you go. Yeah. This is uncomfortable for me.

Get the mic off again. I'm sorry. There you go. Is that all right. I really got a ride. There you go. Oh. Whoa. Whoa. They turned my mic all the way on. Now it's. Don't spoil me. So. So the spectators wouldn't leave. So as he gave his speech he kept just stopping and glaring at anyone who made a noise. Wow. What a terrible start. It's like a teacher. Just like. I'm talking. We'll go from the top one more time. When McGee spoke the whole crowd booed. And then the council refused to approve four of his eight appointment picks. Okay. So William called the recess to regroup. Okay. Let's go. We'll play tetherball and figure this out. So then he went into his office again and reporters came in and again he said he was

going to whack Billy McGee in the head again. What's going on. It's only the beginning. What is he. So he's just. This is day one. I know. That's what I'm saying. So it's going horribly and then the reporters come in and they're like so what do you plan on doing fiscally. And he's like I'm going to whack that Billy one more time with a cane. I said fiscally not physically. What is assault is what you're planning. That's exactly right. Physically to be clear. Fiscally I have no plan but I'm going to beat that man within an inch of his life if I get a chance. Look at those stupid glasses. It's like a carnival game. Whack the glasses off without touching them. The council meeting resumed and William demanded that they pass all of his appointments

and he began to give his speech and he took his brown derby off to speak and the crowd yelled leave it on. Leave on the derby. What. So. All right. I don't know Bill. I don't know much about the history of hats but that is totally insane. Yep. And there is a lunatic obsession with hats and not taking them off. So he was just kind of taking it off like that's better and everyone was like what are you crazy. It's hot day. Put your head is naked. Please put your hat on. Put one on your teeth. So he puts his hat back on. Yeah and then gave his speech and yelled at the city council to pass his people but they didn't. A lot of more just shit pics. Right. The next. What is it 915 at this point. The next day the son telegraph said his first day was quote grotesque and

unprecedented. Accurate. Accurate account. Yeah. So he had been the Democratic Party boss had given him a list of people to appoint which he did not go by. So the next day he was asked about that and he said quote David Lawrence thought I was going to be a puppet. Poor Davey. He certainly was fooled. And then Lawrence said quote if I had known that he was going to be elected I'd never put him up in the first place. Interesting. So the next day 50 guys came to his lobby office hours and they were there and the public works director came by to introduce himself to William. And so William just said follow that guy. He can give you a job. So they all followed this guy up to his office. Who who is anybody. What is happening. It's a public works director.

Yeah. But there he's like follow him and they're like yeah. They follow him and he gets to his office. He's like I don't have any jobs. Oh well. And then they all just sat awkwardly. So he just like pawning them off on people. Right. These are office hours. Right. The next day he gave unemployed people pamphlets on the single tax theory and told them to return after return after reading because it would lead to three jobs for every man. And I mean the American dream still alive and well. You can have three jobs. That's not what I want. Oh look at that spirit inside you. Three jobs to get through this life. Whoa. Aren't you lucky. Four men came and said they needed work and he asked them if they could build a house and they said no. Well no

I don't know what to tell you then. William said quote why can't you get some boards and put them together. Because we don't know what to do after that. We had pretty much figures itself out. Why don't you put four birds together. You'll be fine. Now good luck. Let me know when you have it open. I'll cut the ribbon. Good luck boys. An Italian man said he wanted a job and he said he did restaurant work and William said quote how about you have a restaurant here. Put a little table in here and sell sandwiches. I'll tell you what to do. Go see the city council for permission. So he's just like fucking with people. 100% fucking with people. So the guy's like I want to open a restaurant and he's like no you can put a table in here. Sell sandwiches. I don't know how to make

sandwiches. Well I don't know what to tell you. Can you build a house. No. Well he pretty much fucked in my economy. Go up there. Talk to that public works guy. He might have something for you. Well who are you. I don't know. I'm going to beat the shit out of that guy if I see him again though. So about a week and a half went by and the son telegraph said the lobby was where William quote delighted in playing practical jokes on serious minded job seekers. So he's just a cruel man. Right. And then William immediately ended lobby office hours permanently. So he did two weeks of this. Pranks. Just telling people to go fuck themselves. Yeah. And then he's done. Yeah. Well my work here is done. Well I told some guys to build a house. There you go. So he names Harrison

McCready to the home making department as the chief which is something he just made up. That's not an actual department. What is happening. He's just made a put department. No I understand that but the whole thrust of his existence is to just like politically as he's just like it's supposed to be fun. I'm goofing around. People like that's not what he's been. Come on. Let's have some fun. We're in the lobby. There's no rules in the lobby. We're goofing. So that's McCready. Oh yeah. For sure. I'd hire that guy for anything. The media said McCready was Pittsburgh's playboy. For sure what I was thinking. As you can see. Absolutely. Ladies man. Yeah. That's right. The day he was picked he drove to a shantytown and told them all they would all have homes.

And then he and then he went over and grabbed an axe out of a guy's hand. It was chopping wood and chopped wood for him even though the guy was like I can fucking chop it. And then he drove back into the city and got shit faced. And then they took a picture. Well they did because then William fired him the next day. William ordered all city employees to go out and collect taxes from people that weren't paying them. Any city employee but all the unions were like no. OK. He said the city should give property to the homeless and they also the city should cut skilled city worker pay. So these are his agenda items. Right. So right. Well the housing the homeless great cutting skill not housing them just giving them property. Right. Just giving them land. Yeah.

Right. That's going to go over well politically. OK. There you go. Now you've got land. OK. All right. Take care. Wait what. Look at that. Four acres. Where will I sleep in the house you build. Get four planks of wood. Put them together. The rest does itself. Take care now. Well he picked his buddy as lawyer buddy Ted Moritz to be a judge and the council rejected him and said no. OK. He then had a ex ex numbers runner or current numbers runner named Hunky Joe Lewandowski. So Hunky Joe Lewandowski was picked to be city transit director. Is there any experience with the people he's picking or he's just kind of. So now he's mad that they didn't pass. So now so he's trumping a bit where he's just like picking the worst people he can find. Right. Right. He's

like the guy who doesn't believe in the EPA. He's in charge of it. Like oh fuck. He fired the fire chief. Oh that's a fun one. And you like fires huh. Well sure I do. I mean I like putting them out if that's what you're saying. Well here's a fire you're not going to put out. You're fired. Get the fuck out. He also fired the safety director who is I believe above the fire and please. Sure. He gave no reason. Now the press says that all employees in the city are terrified of getting fired. Right. Now they hold the traditional banquet for every new mayor. Yeah I mean I can't believe they even had the banquet yet. They're like we're still setting up your banquet. He's like the city is fucking ruined. Hopefully there's no fire.

Don't worry. Hunky Joe will figure everything out. He's got this. It was his brain was eaten yesterday. Oh oh dear. The banquet was put on by the Pennsylvania Dutch housewives. Were they desperate. That is a Bravo show. It featured schnitz and knep, knep, schnitz and knep. He's looking at you for a correction if you got it. You're from Pittsburgh. What schnitz and knep? schnitz and knep. Schnitz and knep. Schnitz on kneps. schnitz and knep. Shit nippies. Snip snip. Snips. Stop. Ring the bell. It's a Dutch dish of dried apples, dumplings, and ham.

Oh, because whenever I eat apples, I think. Hey, I'm a little ham would go great. Before the meal, William went into the kitchen to thank the cooks. You're all fired. What a job. And he never came back. Who made these shitsu nips? They're unbelievable.

All right, have a good banquet. McNair's schnitz knip chair was vacant. So this is like when someone doesn't show up for the debate. They're like, film the empty podium. At least they didn't stop them from eating the schnitz knip. Really good schnitz knip. The apple was really good with the ham. What's going on in the kitchen?

It's called fusion. I'm a foodie. The next day, he was asked why he bailed. Hunky's losing his mind. The next day, he was asked why he bailed. And he said, quote, why I wouldn't think of eating schnitz nip that didn't have ham cooked in it. They cooked the ham separate.

Can you imagine that? Scandal. Have you ever heard of this? Never. So he left on principle of how the ham was prepared with the apple. Well, they deconstructed the schnitz knip. It's more like a nip schnitz. I'm kidding. Of course, it's not like that.

I'm being dramatic. Anyway, I fired all the caterers and everyone worked on it. So prohibition has just ended. And they don't have enough judges, so William fills in as a magistrate. Sure. That's probably going to be great. And he just keeps dismissing liquor cases against people. Okay, that's great. He didn't like that the governor was now selling all of the confiscated whiskey

to make money. Uh-huh. And when 60 people were facing liquor charges at once, William asked them how they felt, and they said in unison, quote, Rotten. So two, three. Wait for the key. Rotten.

So he calls the governor's house, talks to the governor's wife briefly, and then hands the phone to one of the guys who was in court. What is going on? And the man told the governor's wife, quote, She's like, do you want to talk? Okay. Sure. Put him on. Why are you putting him on? Hello, sir. I have no, okay.

I tell you, this is pretty bad stuff. I just took three drinks and woke up in the police station. Okay. Can you put William back on? No. Is he there anymore? My guess is he's not, right? Well, you got a tub there.

You got a tub or you got a shower. What kind of situation? In our house. Can you, can I, I need a cool, I need a cool water. Uh, Ooh, situation. I tell you, I might have had four drinks, nine. I'm not sure.

What do you, what do you drive? We drive in Mrs. Mrs. Goves. Hey, hey, please stop. Start self-starting with every, yeah. Do you ever go to schnitz parties? Depends on the hams cooked. Ham's in the whiskey.

We're going through a tunnel. Oh, I'm losing you. She said, let me go. Can you hang up? Cause I want to make another call. I'm sorry. Not in the tunnel yet. Okay.

Burn the phone. Hello, governor. I don't, well, how can I still hear you if I've hung it up? I'm not even picking it up anymore. Okay. Goodbye. We're, we're going underwater forever. We live underwater. We're Merpeople.

She's great. I still hear him. And he hung up. She said round on everybody. What am I supposed to do? Oh, no. Call the phone company? I can't.

He's on the fucking phone. I can hear you. Oh shit. You're sitting next to me. Hi. What's going on? His space work is crazy. So William just let all 60 guys go.

Wow. A couple of months later he had two guys who were arrested for being drunk. And he told them to go to Washington DC and demand jobs from FDR. And he gave them notes that said quote, Dear Frank, please, please give this fellow a job, McNair. What a weird sentence. They'd be like, can we just go to jail instead? No.

You'll go talk to the president. Get there. We don't have the means. Well, good luck. You know how to make a car? You put four boards together. No, we can't. Okay.

Now the press, I'm just calling the Pittsburgh press the press from now on, the press said his conduct had gone from strange and ridiculous to dangerous quote, The time may not be far ahead when it will be tragic. So they're calling like, They're saying, Meltdown nightmare is coming. Yeah, this guy's a problem. The press said he was constantly clowning incessantly talking,

wandering and wisecracking at the expense of citizens. What's he? I just don't understand. Like, normally they pretend to like do something, you know, like they're like, they have like an angle, but he's just like, come on, let's goof. Who wants to get roasted? Come on.

Let's have some fun. This ugly son of a bitch. All right. You're probably poor too, aren't you? I am, incredibly. What the fuck? You're fired. I don't work for you.

Well, I don't have a job. You're hired then. For what? Now you're fired. Why? I think he thinks he's really funny, but he's just a total dick.

Right. Right. Yeah. He was also, he's also, I just can't, I don't like him, but I'm also like, I mean, you know,

if you were like, What's he going to do next? Yeah, if you were, I mean, not to bring up Rob Ford, we were just talking, but it's like, you're just kind of like, this is crazy. I can't look away.

Yeah. Yeah. We haven't had that in reason memory. No, not at all. Can he do a Jamaican accent? Let's hear it. No. So he's also constantly fighting with the city council.

Sure. He's also constantly fighting with his friends and his supporters. What the crazy angle? You're wrong. I suck. Fuck you. And yet in the 12th ward,

Democrats start circulating petitions to put his name on the ballot for governor. Wow. It's just how it works. You're so shitty, you're going to go up. Yeah. Yeah.

It is. He's trending. Let's ride him. In March, he fired the mayor's office accountant because he wanted to give the job to his chauffeur because he didn't want a chauffeur. So the chauffeur is like,

what? Am I fired? No. No. You're a judge of budgets. What? Yeah. I'm going to walk everywhere.

You fired the original person. Damn it. Can he drive? What? I don't know. But then he found out he couldn't fire the account because he was protected as a civil servant. So William suspended him for 30 days,

quote, without reason. Who said, what's the reason? There's not one. Then the safety director fired the, his new safety director fired the police chief. The police chief came and complained to William and William rehired him.

But I'm sure he didn't mean that. Yeah. The press quote, the oldest observers cannot recall a time when confusion was greater and morale lower than it is today at city hall. You don't know what's going on. You're fired.

You're back. You're my job now. What? I don't know. I drive myself. I'm a chauffeur. What are you doing? Look at all this land.

What? I don't know. William tried to save a court's stenographer's job, who he had hired, but she was fired because she did not know how to type. Now,

I refuse to believe that that's a problem for this position. Well, she's remembering it all for God's sake. You know what they were saying, right? No. Well, look. You want an acre?

What are you talking about? I don't know. Can you make shit snap? Yeah, you put him and you cook it separately. Wrong. You're fired. Oh, no.

But he fought to have her keep her job, but finally, he gave up and said, quote, I guess it can't be done. I guess. I guess she needs to type.

Job you need to be able to type. How important is typing to this job? Crucial, hugely crucial. It is? Yes. All right. It's everything. Good stuff.

Good stuff. We're in an impasse. Yeah, we are for sure. Seems like we're at a lot of those, Mr. Mayor. Did you get any of that down, dear? No. Okay. Excellent.

She also doesn't understand English. Is that a problem? Shit snap. Shit snap. All she speaks is shit snap. Shit snap. She doesn't know any other language. She'll carve it into ham.

We'll figure it out. It's happening. So William found a company that would build houses for $500 each for the homeless. Four boards? That'll do it. No roof.

Wow. You need the fifth board. You figure it out. Look at that. Now the problem is that he just wants to put it on city property. Right. And the city council won't have anything to do with it.

So he has a sample house built for everyone to see. And he wanted it put downtown on what is essentially a street triangle. Three streets. And the building of Bureau Inspector's director said that couldn't be done because it violated a fire zone

and also blocked driver's views. No, I fired the fire guy. We can do whatever we want. He's a puppy now. So he fired him and picked a friend as the director who immediately approved it. Can we put a house there? For sure.

All right, great. Look at that. That's how you zone. The papers called it McNair Manor. The press called it, quote, the little frame cottage that nestles in the shade of the country jail and in defiance of city fire regulations.

What's the problem? I think it makes total sense. It's under two different street lights. That's normal. That's where houses go. Right there on the sidewalk. We don't allow people to cycle there. Well, they won't be able to.

Now there's a house. Aren't you understanding? Who wouldn't want to live there? All those pedestrians walking by looking in. Seems perfect. So people saw the house and you could let go into it and look inside and walk around.

And then people started ordering houses from the company and they were getting so many orders, now they said they were just going to sell the private citizens and not have anything to do with the city. So they just, as soon as the business model is successful, they're like, we're privatizing it. Yes.

Right. Imagine. The city council finally officially killed the tiny home idea. Tiny home. The original. Oh, yeah. William was put on the ballot

for governor and he came in second in the primary. Okay. That's good, right? That is pretty good. I mean, it's good for the people that he didn't win. His buddy, Moretz, who was

in the cabinet and he tried to get in a job, won the Democratic primary for Congress. Okay. So they, both of these two guys got really oddly high vote totals in wards controlled by Senator James

Coyne. At the time, he was already being investigated for election fraud. Hmm. So William was furious that he had lost the governor's primary.

Good. I was wondering what he would like, he'd look like a little erratic. That was... And then he fired city assessor James Bailey on election day, which made the people investigating the senator intrigued.

And they talked to him and he said William and Moretz had told them to change his grand jury testimony about Coyne. And then the city council had this guy testify and he's like, I can't tell you what it is, but you should look at the election results.

So William loses his fucking shit. Oh boy. He yelled, quote, I'll show him I can fire people and immediately fired two city assessors, both who are close to city councilman. So he's, just because they're asking

questions, he starts firing their friend. You're fired too! Reporters ask why you fired them, William, quote, there isn't any reason. What, how does he, like, I guess the difference is people now have lies prepared. He just never had the lie ready.

He was like, I don't know, fuck it! I'm riffing! I'm having fun, it's called yes and dummy. Good lord! You're fired for basking questions! You can't speak English anymore, you're fired! You still

got this. He's in the mirror, you got this. You will fire these people today. You will keep firing them. You will fire these people. You're fired. I can't fire me. You're firing me? You're firing me? How long are you going to be in the bathroom,

William? Just washing my hands! You can't be firing me. I'm the only one here. He told reporters he had never spoken to the city assessor and then he also said that the city assessor, quote, was going to beat Moritz up.

He was quite obnoxious in my office. He left me with a threat. So he's like, I never talked to him. Also, he tried to beat me up and threaten me. I never spoke to that man, but he tried to kill me and threaten me. So, read back what we said, would you please?

I have a... Oh, right, sorry. I guess we'll never know. There's a cane with his name on it. She didn't write it because she can't write. But I did. K? Awesome. You're fired.

Fire the door, too. A couple of days later, William announced he was going to sue the county commissioner. What? People are like, are you going to do anything? I am doing things. They're fired. They're fired. He was going to sue him because

he had the county courthouse building cleaned reflecting bright sunlight into his office. What? This can't be... He's getting cocky now. I don't like the way he built those windows.

What? Also, how dirty were the fucking windows? Yeah. Now, he'd been trying to fire the traction conference board for a while. How long has he been on the job?

A year. A year? Six months. He's been trying to get rid of them since day one. That was three weeks ago. Yeah. He learns he can't fire the head of the board.

His plan was like, when the city council is about to go on a little break, I'll fire this guy and do a recess appointment. But then he finds out he can't do that. He can't fire him. So, he had the police remove

the board head and put his buddy Moritz in the position. But what is that? Nothing. It does nothing. As soon as the city council comes back, they'll just say, you're out.

But everybody knew that was going to happen. But Moritz said, look, I better get paid for the two weeks. And this is Moritz's fourth job he's given him now. Right. It's like six months in. We're going to find something for you.

Remember, he's running for Congress as a candidate. So, now, despite how he ran on the New Deal, it turns out he hates the New Deal. Sure. Not enough firing.

He called it pork barrel spending. That pork cooked separate from the barrel. Now, all cities had to do for the New Deal money was kick in, like, it was 20% of supplies for whatever was going to be built. And then the government does all the rest.

They pay for the labor, they pay for the rest of the cost. It's like you have to pitch in a little bit. Sure. So, he vetoes a $500,000 bill that's going to do this. And it's going to create total chaos because now all these unemployed people can't get work or...

Right, so he was just like, we want to stick with the depression. Yes. I think we'll hang in there with the depression if that's fine. So, the city council rushes back from vacation because it's going to cause immediate chaos and they reverse his decisions. And now the

Democratic party boss Lawrence is like, we got to get rid of this guy. We got to fucking go. And they start working on in the state house. I love that they're like, we got to fire him. Like, the scientist who's like, there's only one thing we can do.

Fire the firing guy. So, they started working on what was called the Ripper Bill. Sure. And it was just to completely eliminate the position of mayor. That is fucking great.

Like, even he would be like, Bravo. He's like when he gets to the first time he bleeds in the kung fu scene. You know how to fire too, huh? Let's go.

You're fired. She's fired. He's fired. You're fired. No, I'm not. You're fired. Oh. The master is now the student. Yeah. So, they're going to get rid of mayor and just come up and just

replace it with city manager. A city manager. That would just get rid of him. Floor manager. Just somebody that roams the streets. Charge of the city, but not a mayor. William said, quote, I don't care. But I can always practice law.

If they get me out, I'll run in the fall. I might run for president. Please do. Go. And then William said all city employees should leave their union. And then he had to have a big sit down with all the union heads, which did not go well.

What are you guys mad about? Oh. Did I say that? I've been saying a lot of stuff. The afterwards, the central labor council passed a resolution calling the mayor, quote, either mentally unbalanced,

mentally underdeveloped, or a tool. Either of them. Or he's a tool. Either wittingly or unwittingly, or the vicious reactionary industrial forces of the city and state.

Yeah. Fair. We don't know what's going on, but he's out of his mind. Yeah. That same day, he ordered a city attorney to resign, which caused five assistant attorneys to quit.

Oh, that's like, he's like, yes, yes, yes, yes. A domino firing. Oh, yeah. So now the legal department of the city is totally gutted. And William said that it was a strike. Okay. What does that mean for him?

He's like, no. It's just a way to say it's bullshit. Yeah, okay. So he named to be city attorney. Here we go. Father James Cox. All right. By the way, Father Cox, not a great name

that age as well. Right? James Young Cox. Ha, ha, ha. Laugh it up. So Cox had just come back from Europe. So the Henry George Club meets once a week and they all give speeches. He's part of the Henry George Club.

So he, when he gets back, he speaks to Henry George Club. This is right after he gets picked. And he said, quote, I believe Hitler is a greater man than Napoleon. Wow. What a... A phrase no one has ever said. Of an opening line.

I've learned a lot on my trips about hats, Hitler, everything. You know who's better than Napoleon? Hitler. Hitler. Oh my God. I believe Hitler is a greater man than Napoleon. Dictatorship is the only way

to get things done. Mayor McNair is the best thing that ever happened to Pittsburgh. I... Like, no, no. Let me finish. Hold on. Let me finish. I've got other things. I've got great thoughts too. I brought the mayor a shalely from Ireland

because I thought he'd need it. Oh my God. It's just... Is there a worse speech ever given? Let me start from the top. First of all, he has got a new hat made from bird. Now, the second thing...

Boy, Hitler. What a stud. Am I right? William's also my man. All right. Everyone's saying sit down and shut up. And I will. But let me tell you, I went to the cockpit and they told me I'm an official pilot. So...

They let me hold the steering thing. So people were... 50 years old, yep. People were now calling William a dictator. Cox lasted 10 days in the job. Hitler never would

have let this happen. Oh, sir. They let me have one phone call and I called Hitler and I think he sent me right to voicemail. Mo. Look at this for 10 days.

He said it was impossible to fulfill his duties as a priest and the city attorney at the same time. Yes. One can only be full of so much shit. So... Well, William refused

his resignation. You're too good at this. You're the Hitler endorser. We need guys like you. I fired your hat. Quote, I'm going to take this matter up

with the legal department of the Vatican while I'm in Rome. What is going on? Like, what is he... Did he know what he was talking about? He's going on vacation to Rome and he's going to go to the Vatican. I'd like to talk to the Pope's lawyers.

What? The Pope's lawyers, please, as soon as you possibly can. You've heard of our little situation in Pittsburgh. Bishop Cardinal, great to meet with you. So I'm the mayor of Pittsburgh, kind of. Listen.

First of all, gentlemen, I'd like to start out by saying you're fired. And bring the Pope in here. He's canned, too. Let the new smoke out. I'm the new Pope. Hello! Give me that hat. I'm going back to Pittsburgh.

You there. Give me your big old stupid hat there. So William actually was going on a month-long European vacation on September 1st. I can't believe he's like, I need some time off. This is exhausting. I'm firing myself for two weeks.

Cancun, here we come. A reporter asked him about European dictators and William said, No, I'm not against Mussolini and Hitler. I'm not against anything. The least government is the best government. The government should stay out of the way of the people.

Yes, that's what they all said about Hitler. Well, yeah. Hitler was like a weekend. He's like, hey, it's fine. What are you worried about? He's got a cute little mustache. He yells a lot, NBD. What's he going to do? He's a little guy.

Are you mad because I ranked him over Stalin and Mussolini? Fine. In my draft? In my dictator draft? I think this is way past. Yeah, what? I mean, really, when is it? Let me look up. Oh, good Lord, relax. He's a fine guy.

He likes dogs. He did like dogs. So the night of the long knives, it's around. Yeah, the night of the long knives has just happened. So he's just killed a bunch of people. Oh, God.

No, he didn't kill them. He fired them from living. All right, everybody. You just don't get it. So William did end up meeting with the Pope. The Pope was like, sorry, what are you saying?

I'm firing you. You're fired. Get out of here. Why are your teeth so small? What is with you? I fired my big teeth. And I hired my babies. You see?

You don't understand. Here's my thing. You can't even chew a communion wafer. I fire every... I'm firing Jesus. Get down from there. You look ridiculous. You're fired. He's doing up there.

There. Lord. So he does meet with the Pope and asks for benediction for Pittsburgh and he gave him a Pittsburgh made cigar. Smoke it now. Come on. We're famous for these.

Puff, puff, pass your holiness. Thou hath bow guarded. Now, while he was gone, the police chief is the guy who got fired and then he rehired. He had taken a paid... He had taken a paid sick leave in June

and then after the mayor went to Europe, he just stopped returning messages and just... So he's like, I'm also on vacation. Yeah, basically. We're all on vacation. And when the mayor returned,

the chief immediately came back to work and said, quote, I am capable of resuming my job immediately. I want quit. They'll have to fire me. Yes, sir, absolutely. That's exactly how he said it. That is exactly...

Yes, sir, absolutely. He's like a silent film cop. Yes, sir, absolutely. Yeah. So he just stopped working for two weeks. No, a month. And then he's just like, well, they'll have to fire me.

I'm ready to keep going. Yes. And everyone's like, the city is falling into crime. He's like, man, what are you going to do? Well, if cops aren't there, that doesn't make a difference on crime. David. It just means...

Unbelievable. It's like he reads. Now, the guy above the police chief, the city... God. Well, unfortunately, I'm not in charge of anything anymore.

I've been fired. William fired me from being the lord last week. Um, the... So, William had replaced him, but the council had not approved him, but he just kept coming into work.

So... The old Costanza. Yeah. So he wasn't being paid, and no one was listening to him. Other than that, my job is, you know, normal. It's a great job.

What do you do? Don't know. What's the pay? Nothing. Who hired you? No. Were you hired? Not really. You sure it's a job? Nope. Anyway, I should go. I have a 430.

I don't know. I have no idea. I don't know who it's with. An investigation revealed there were more city employees who were members of the Henry George Club than any other political organization. Now, William starts firing Republicans

because he wants to stop the Democrats from passing the river bill. So he's firing Republicans to open up jobs to give to Democrats to try to stop the bill where they're trying to replace him as mayor.

I mean, if you're like, if you're living, you're just like, wait, what? What about stuff for us? I've got to get to that. First of all, I've got to preserve my job. I'm firing everyone from government who's trying to fuck me. He was also very worried

because if the Democratic governor won, the river bill would pass. So he publicly supports the Republican governor. Right. Wow. And Democrats win in a landslide. Moritz is now a congressman. It's just a shit show.

He's constantly fighting with city hall. He's never stopped yelling at the city council. He goes in and they scream at each other. That's every meeting. And they've been fighting a lot over traffic court. He has now fired so many traffic cops

that he says in a meeting that they should start using school janitors as cops. I don't hate it. It literally has not bounced back from this. I'm dead serious. The traffic here is fucking terrible. We didn't see that today at all.

It was a dream to drive in today. Two lanes is plenty for a major metropolitan city. Don't worry about it. It's fine. So when 1935 begins, his cabinet has been gutted. So Moritz is gone. The city council slashed his

salaries. So he couldn't bring people back. So he brings his wife and kids in to help. I mean, what is going on? Child labor was not a thing yet. William announces he's going to furlough

500, 5,500 employees to save money. Quote, council took away my office staff and until they restore them, I'm going to keep on suspending other city employees for 30 day periods and amongst

the first will be relatives of the councilman. It's like, it's so out in the open. It is almost refreshingly out in the open. And again, it's very Trumpy.

Just to be like, fuck you, I'm doing what I like. I don't like the way she's fired. That's your daughter. I don't care. I don't like the way she looked at me. Quite frankly, she's done. We're talking about Tiffany, right?

Tiffany's fired, Ivanka gets spanked. Thank you. Speaking of Ivanka, you seen her boobs? Dad, no. What? Dad, yes. All right, anyway. My tax policy. He said he might not do

the furloughs if the taxpayers showed they backed him. What? He might not do the furloughs of what? If the taxpayers showed that they backed him. Right. He tells nine workers

so he's not going to do it all once, he's going to do it. The three workers in the city showed that they backed him. Four were councilman's relatives. And then he named two men to the city transit commission. Russian orthodox priest

Father Peter Catch. And that is Hunky Joe Lewandowski. I'm back, bitches. Hunky Joe said William never asked him if he wanted and then said he would fight for nickel beer

and nickel street car fares. Yeah. I'm running on a nickel platform. Everything's a nickel. I'm like the Don General, but cheaper. Now the transit commission is what they've been appointed to, but it had been created years before to study if Pittsburgh could have a subway

and then they decided no. So the commission is totally pointless. You guys will figure that out eventually though. No, we never did. We have a subway and it goes not far. Under the river though. Perfect, that's what you want. Yeah, not dangerous at all.

Yeah, when driving in today we thought this place definitely has mass transit for sure. You can just tell. Yeah, yeah. When it takes an hour and a half to go four miles, you're like, oh yeah. It's great. This is humming.

Hunky Joe told the city council he did not need a salary and would do it quote for the glory. What's Hunky Joe's deal? I pay my mortgage with glory. How do you pay yours? And we're foreclosing. What? Damn it.

Your glory is no good here. Damn. So neither he or the priest catch knew what the job was when they were questioned by city council and then the city council said William had not even submitted their names for nominations. So they just got hired. Not even doing the paperwork now.

Not even doing the little thing. Well he's mildly embarrassing then. And then William announced that he was gonna furlough himself in March. It's a self furlough. What? I don't know anymore. Go furlough yourself.

I'm furloughin' me. Furlough me, furlough you. The whole city's furloughed. What's furloughing? He did this because he had a lecture tour of the country set up for March. Man, the self furlough is unbelievable for a vacation. He's like, I'm furloughing myself for 10 days.

I'll be going to Fire Island. Fire Island. William then picked a third transit commission nominee, Bozo Lavery. Oh. Stop. X bad cop, X numbers runner, and a now bodyguard. And I mean, is there, I mean, his name's Bozo?

Yeah, well, that's his nickname. William furloughed the public safety director and then appointed himself director and started firing people, like the police chief. Fire chief. He fired one guy by leaving a message with his wife at home. Tell him he's fired when he gets back. How are the kids?

They get so big. I see that with my daughters all the time. All right, well, he's camped. I guess we won't be seeing you later. In March, the Ripper bill passed the legislature and moved to the Senate. Jesus Christ. William said he might retire first.

Then a huge crowd of supporters came down to City Hall to tell him not to. Who's support? Everyone's like, you can't. What would we do? Things would be boring. This story was so crazy that I literally went through every paper from the day he was elected

until the day he was out of office. And every single letter to the editor section had people loving him. Loving it, just because he's an agent of chaos. And he would just say lies and they would just buy it. Right, imagine. He'd eat it up. Well, there was just for context.

There was nothing going on here at the time. The weather's shit. The Steelers weren't doing good. Imagine. What would you do then? Watch a mayor fire everybody. Oh, man, it's time to come back. People would go crazy if that happened today.

So this giant crowd comes out and they're all in the street in front of City Hall. And so he dips out the back door. But they're supporters. Yeah. And he's like, Jesus, I got to get out of here. He doesn't like anyone. Fire them.

Fire me. They're fans. I'm going to fire myself for 30 minutes and get a sandwich. What? So father catch. They caught me. Waded into the crowd of supporters in front of City Hall, openly sobbing.

Quote, they have ruined a good man. The mayor has resigned. Everybody believed it because it was what of his right hand men, father catch. And they all start freaking out. And they march through the city to his house and start chanting at him to come out. But he wasn't there because he had gone to a Baptist church

where he gave a speech about how the single tax related to the Bible. There's just no, it's like a mayor mad lib. There's like, he seems shrewd enough to use some of these things to his advantage. And yet, nothing makes any sense. He's like, he's fired. And he's like, no, he's at the church giving us.

There's no point to anything that's being done, really. It's just all chaos. It is all chaos. For the sake of just sort of preserving his run, which is useless. He's just like a, he's just a spite mayor. All he wants is for them to implement the land value that they're never going to do it.

And that's it. And then it's all, yeah, then it's all spite. Yeah, all rules are off. Yeah, right. What about the tiny houses? Well, four boards away. What about nails? I got to go.

So the next day, William comes into the office and says he's actually not going anywhere. And he has the police on his side. Quote, they won't put me out. I'll sit right there if they try to put me out. And points, he's like, I'm not leaving this office. Right. A city councilman said William had actually

offered to change his cabinet to whoever the city council wanted to keep his job. But the councilman told him it was too late for that. Now, William goes on furlough right after firing friends and relatives of those who supported the river bill. Sure. Then self furlough. Then Republicans offered a new version of the bill, which

would slow it down and draw it out. So they see the Democrats are fighting with each other. Right. And they're like, beautiful. So they slow down the bill and just make them go out each other. Right. A Republican councilman died. And Democrat Cornelia Scully was picked to replace him.

So the vote was like 6 to 3 for this guy. And then William says he's going to take it to court to rule the vote null because one councilman wasn't eligible to vote. But the vote's 6 to 3, so it wouldn't have mattered. Right. So the council and mayor are shouting each other in this meeting, and then William leaves the meeting

and says he's not going to sign their paychecks anymore. So Father Catch, who's been rejected by the council three times for the commission now, announces he's developing an important program for transit problems and offered $50 to any student who had the best suggestions for solving the traffic situation. So he's like, I've solved the traffic problems, and also, whoever can solve it gets $50.

That's correct. And also, there's no commission to be on. It's for a subway that doesn't exist. So he's right. So he's. Sounds like a good plan. I've solved the traffic. What are you going to do?

Anyone who can solve it gets $50. Are you allowed to do this? No. No, I'm not. So William signs the paychecks of four councilmen who he said were, quote, good boys. You're a good boy. There you are.

Good boy. There you are. Good boy. There you are. Bad boy. No, you don't. So five are not getting paid. So Democrats offer Republicans jobs.

They're like, we will give you jobs if you vote for the Riverville. Jesus Christ. And so he's getting nervous. So William has a bed moved into his office. And he says he is preparing for a siege. A poll now revealed that actually a large majority wanted William to remain in office.

Of course they did. It's amazing. It's amazing. So now a Republican senator asked for a probe into lobbying going on with the Riverville, and that killed the bill. Because no one wanted that to get out. OK.

So William held the Riverville wake at a cafe in Middletown. He's kind of genius. Put the bill in a casket, carried it into the cafe. So remember, he's still blocking the money that the city needs to pay to get the new deal funding going. Right. He's sticking with the old deal, which was the Depression. Yeah.

And when William learned that the welfare department had spent $7,000 for dentures for people who needed them, he blocked the payment to the makers, and the dentures never came. Oh my god. Sheer jealousy. Honestly. Totally.

What are you trying to chew? Well, that's ambitious. Live within the means of your mouth. Take a bite. You send it around the horn. It's an all-skate. Builds character. All-skate.

Father Catch now ran for city council. Jesus. This guy doesn't take a hint either. His campaign was essentially him driving around town in a car with a big trailer on the back, and Attach was a huge picture of the mayor. That's his campaign. It's a confusing campaign.

Vote for me. They're not the one pictured. He somehow lost the election. Wow. And then the next day, a warrant was issued for his arrest for a hit and run. What did the car look like? It was a huge trailer with a picture of the mayor.

Did you get the plates? Pretty sure it was you. Everyone's driving that model of vehicle. Yeah, I'm not the only one who has a Dodge Mayor. Lots of people drive that. What are you talking about? So the works project was shut down in the county because William had stopped funding.

Man. The chairman of the finance committee, now we're talking about Congress, called it, quote, the worst exhibition of crass ignorance that we have ever witnessed. Bring him here now. Now, Father Catch wrote a book about the history of William McNair.

All right, what is going on? Honest to God, he's like, Jesus was pretty good. But if you met William McNair, boy, oh, boy. They broke the mold with that one. He sold 1,800 copies and gave a free book to the guy he re-rendered in the hit and run. You killed my son, please. We're square, right?

No. What are you talking about? Four lives were ruined that day. Who should I make it out to? Damn, is that rude? Is that crazy? Come on, guy, relax. William, now named Catch, to be chairman of the Traction

Conference Board, which the city council would never, ever do. So William now went to inspect the poor houses, which were overpacked because he was stopping funding and no one had work. And he said, he looked, he walked around the poor house and he said, I can fit 1,700 more people in here. Excuse me? What?

And they were all like, what in the fuck are you talking about? Well, what he was talking about was a tent. A poor tent. Oh, my god. You'll learn to juggle fire. And we'll sell tickets. Well, you could just be poor and we'll sell tickets to that.

And people could come in and look at your poorness. Oh, my god. You share a bed with the world's biggest horse and the bearded lady. He bought the tent for $268. We're going to get rid of the fleas. He said it was going to house 500 people. Jesus Christ.

I mean, it's 100 by 40 feet. So bunk beds. Oh, my god. And drawers. We'll have the children sleep in drawers. A smaller person will sleep in the bigger person's pocket. And on and on and on it'll go. It's Russian doll theory.

Come on, everybody. It's not about you. It's about me. Investigations into the Ripper bill started as well as police corruption and Williams blocking of relief. How long has he, how long has this been going on? He has been in office for about a year and a half, maybe.

Wow. It's just quite, I mean, he's really packing it in. He's on a run. He's on a run. This. And how did, how did catch age so much in a year and a half? Yeah, it's been 50 years for me. What happened?

I would never blame sweet William, but I'm 91 somehow. I drank from the wrong cup. Thought this one was the grail. And also, usually, don't they take somebody to like a poor house or like a politician to show them how bad it is that they can be like, oh, my god, this is inspired by empathy. You told me this is cramped.

Nobody's ever gone into that scenario and be like, more people. We could fit more in here. We're not doing enough. With the American spirit never caps the amount of people we could fit in a poor house. Let's push, push, push. Too nice. I'm furloughing the building and hiring a tent.

I've got it. If you can fit a person inside of a person, we'll be able to fit so many more in here. Like a poor turduckin. They're too fucking from having money. All right, now you go inside of him. Good. Now lay on your front.

Well, look at that. Eight men in the space you had won. I think big people, I'm going to win. So a senator testified William had offered jobs to vote against the Ripper Bill, and immediately the mayor fired a friend of his. You're fired for being his friend. Get out.

It's like I want a child pretends to be in charge of something like they would handle it. He's like, you're fine. Get out. No. Time out. Speaking of children. Oh, god.

Oh, no. A city fund to buy shoes was out of money. Children's shoes had run out of money, so William blocked more funding. Jesus. It went on for weeks. So the children without shoes thing went on for six weeks.

They would come to his office. How'd you walk here if they hurt so much? Well, well, well. So he finally gave in after six weeks and paid for 4,000 pairs of shoes. Pussy. Have a backbone. Don't you believe in anything?

What did it for you, the tiny little bleeding feet? I'm from the party of go fuck yourself, child. I can't help it. I'm just too good. You're getting soft on me. Come on. Build those calluses up, weaklings. You hit on his shoulders.

Solution. 40,000 people were now unemployed because of William. Federal money was. It was like comes into office. It's like, I'm going to eliminate all your jobs. Well, they just need to pass the value limit. Yeah, I know. Yeah, it's leverage.

Yeah. But still, it's like. So the White House is now publicly blaming William. Just flat out going after him. As they should. Yeah. The tent was removed because they realized it wouldn't work.

OK. Never been used. That tent was cut up and made into shoes. Yeah. Now, the city council approved Father Catch for the board of assessors, even though he had absolutely no qualifications. And everybody laughed as they approved him.

So they're just like, fuck it, man. The clown show is a clown show. So the deadline for people being cut off welfare is now coming close. It's two days away. Jesus, all right. Not sure the angle, but sure. Oh, I think it's for the beer, I hope.

Because it was welfare, you're at the wrong show. Woo. The federal commission denounced a federal commission. They put together a federal commission just to talk about him, and then they denounced him when they were done with the commission. Two days later, he gave in. He gave his quote, conditional surrender. I have yielded on every point.

He said he'd sign any relief bill. Two weeks later, he blocked more money for children's shoes. What is going on? Well, how big are these feet getting? You ever heard of a hand-me-down? Good Lord, these kids. The public welfare director quit because he blocked the funding for the shoes, and the next day,

William said he was not going to pick a new public welfare director because it would save the city money. I mean, can't they walk on their hands? Learn from the monkeys. Would it kill to roll a little bit? Now it sounds like a Bill Marbet. Figure it out. But for real?

Yeah, yeah. Can't you roll? Can't you just roll? And one guy's like, yeah. Roll, you poor fuckers. I smoke weed. I'm on your side. Two city councilmen retired because they just took.

No, you're fired. I fired them. They didn't retire. Because they just took other jobs. They're like, I can't deal. So the Democrats picked two dams and took over the council. And Scully becomes the council president. William claimed only the mayor of the city

could call a replacement meeting. And he wouldn't sign paychecks for the new councilmen. And then he called for a replacement meeting to fill the seat that had already been filled. And nobody came to that. And he declared the eight seats vacant. I just never thought a mayor was so powerful. He's not.

He can't do that. But he keeps doing it. Yes. But that's what I mean. But the city council kept just meeting and doing their job. Right. And when reporters asked William about the council, he said, quote, it does not exist.

All right. It's a figment of your imagination. Enough. The who? Never heard of him. You must have dreamt it. He went to a meeting of townspeople. They were talking about lowering fees for the trains.

And he rapped on a table and said, these three men should be here at three councilmen over there. He at another meeting, he went to a city council meeting finally and nominated two men for the city council, even though there's a full city council. And then he voted for both and turned to the clerk and said, they've been elected to the council. All right.

There we go. Go take a spot, boys. Get right up there. You're good to go. Come on. Now move the other two off. That's how it worked. Like a conveyor belt.

You're there now. Awesome. OK. You got this, buddy. Hang in there. You got this. This is going good. He did.

He did take it to court about saying that the guy shouldn't be allowed to be picked. Read that back. Oh, never mind. The court, and then the council passed a $500,000 dollar loan for work relief, which they were doing all the time. Right. And William said he wouldn't sign it saying there was no city

council. I mean, it's a stress test for all of government. How it functions, how it works. Really? So now they're talking about impeaching him. And what grounds? Father Catch was found guilty of the hit and run, and he had to pay damages.

I signed a book. At the end of the trial, he gave the judge a signed copy of his book. It's an honor. It was a pleasure working with you. I don't think you know how anything works. There you are. Out in the hallway, he showed reporters a new newspaper

he was printing, quote, with byline stories about the mayor. But I mean, what is going on? I want to live in his skin. On truth press. I just need one man to worship. It is weird that someone who has devoted his life to a fake thing would become obsessed with it. At the end, he's just going to be like,

I was trying to make God jealous. It feels one-sided. He's distant lately. I don't know. I don't know what I want. More hats. He shows up with a hat made of shoes. Oh, relax.

Have you been to Paris lately? Good Lord. God. A judge threw out his attempt to have the guide not allowed on the city council. So William finally signs all their paychecks. And the council sets up a peace meeting to clear the air. I'm not saying yet a toothache.

I have a toothache. The next day, William files to run for Congress against his buddy Moritz. What? Father Katch was now arrested in City Hall for writing a bad check to buy $14 worth of beer. We have our hero. We had him the whole time, really.

$14 for beer and it bounces. Can I write a check? I mean, I don't know. This is as good as cash. This is an IOU, $14. Aren't you a priest? Are you anymore? Not anymore.

What are you now? I'm the mayor of the transit. I'm the mayor of the transit. That was a long pause. It was. This check says it's from Ernest Perry Winkle. It's my father. Great man.

Passed away, sadly. From what? I hit him with my car, ran him over. You just wrote the number four and then teen after it. Yep. So you spell it. I'm a phonetic guy. Well, kind of.

Kind of. I don't know what that word is. All right. You're fired. You can't. No, this is my story. You can't fire me. Look, all right.

All right. Just relax. Can I quit? You're not hot. You want to quit from getting the $14 worth of beer? Hmm? Look, I'm going to. I already drank the beer.

What are you talking about? I drank all the beer already. How are these empty all of a sudden? I drink fast. Well, then I'll take the check. All right. Get out of here. I'll leave.

OK. I'm going to catch the subway. With my new shoes. OK, all right. Super small. So people around this time realized that William kept firing people, but he was not hiring anybody to replace them.

They noticed. In March, the legal department, the police department, and the welfare department had no heads. There was nobody running any of them. And then on St. Patrick's Day. Oh, boy. A massive flood hit the city and caused $250 million in damage and killed 47.

Was it just piss? I fired the draining system. Well, I bet people aren't going to have sore feet when they're swimming to school, are they? I prayed for this to happen for you, sir. I prayed all night. All right. So lights and elevators were out at City Hall.

And with all the damage, that night William still managed to hold a meeting of the Henry George Club at City Hall. The press quote, sandwiches and coffee were served all around while the mayor's single tax intimates took turns relating how the flood could have been avoided if the world at large had accepted the Henry George theories of economics.

What? How? Well, a bunch of land would have soaked that up. Think about it. Don't be stupid. Come on now. Everybody enjoy those finger cookies. Come on now.

William then vetoed $100,000 grant to the Red Cross for flood aid. Jesus Christ. I mean, hit the softball. Do one of the things. One. We don't need it. No.

The city council overrode his veto. William wrote letters for city workers stating they were starving and told them to cash the letters at grocery stores. Is that cash or charge? Letter from the mayor. Thank you. That's no currency, sir.

I just want my $14 worth of beer. What? Just give me the $14 worth of beer. I have a letter from the mayor. If you don't, I'll drive my truck through the building. All right. Instead of money, I've got a mayor letter and a book for you.

Here you go. And a hat made of raven. Let's make a deal. In October, William fired the city treasurer. Now there was no one to sign any checks. Perfect. Nothing was being paid. The city council refused to vote on his new treasurer pick,

and he said he would resign if they did not vote. And they didn't vote. So William went to the city clerk and gave him a note that read, quote, I hereby resign from the office of mayor of the city of Pittsburgh, effective immediately. What? I can't believe after all this he might have just fired himself. A couple hours later, he decided he did not want to resign

and went to the city clerk to take it back. But in those two hours, the city council had met, quickly accepted it, and warned it. Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry. Move, move, move. Well, go. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, ah, ah, ah, oh, oh, my fucking god. I take it back.

Fuck you. It's like a NASCAR pit crew. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's out. And they had already sworn in a new mayor to replace him. Who's the new mayor? Tate Bozo, please, Tate Bozo. I want to catch.

Give me catch. Oh, it's this guy. Oh. It's Cornelius Scully, who was a huge single land tax advocate. Whack-a-mo, bitches. I'm back. I was just, yeah, yeah, yeah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.

Oh, boy. Excuse me? William went back to law, and then he ran for Congress. While campaigning, he rode a steer in front of city hall while swinging a lasso. I mean, and this makes no fucking sense. They love him. They thought that he was fighting corruption.

Right, right. But he was really just fighting for him. And it was the whole, well, we spent too much money. That's the problem. Right, but you take away. That's not the problem. Yeah, right. He didn't win the election, but he did hold up a lot of traffic.

Yeah. I've never produced bullshit faster. But he kept running for office, and somehow in 1944, he was elected to the state legislature by 26 votes. He only lasted one term and then was voted out. In 1948, he ran for the Pennsylvania House, but lost. And that year, he was in St. Louis, and he put his wife on a train.

She was going to Texas to visit family. And right then, after the train pulled out, he suffered a massive heart attack and fell over debt. Yeah. Not fans. I don't know what everyone's problem. Ear, live, not fans. They hate freedom.

I can only imagine what Catch did. Yeah, take my heart. Mm, mm, mm, ah, please. If he goes, I'll go too. Go meet that rude god. Sources, Wicked Pitsburg by Richard Gazerick, The Pitsburg Press, The Pitsburg Son Telegraph, the Baltimore Son Chicago Tribune, Pitsburg Press,

Pitsburg Post-Cosette, completely insane. Completely insane. Have you ever heard of this guy? No. Yeah, no. That is totally fucking nuts. It really is like we have so many of those now kind of, but never on that level of success.

Like we have like a lot of those in Congress who like are, you know what I mean, but he in this. He's very, he's very Trumpian. Yes, but he got, I mean, he was able to do some of the sir run. He was able to do so much. I mean, by doing so little, it really is just like, it again, it's like the absence of him. It's like the absence of government,

which is appealing in some ways, but not when it's put on the back of citizens. So you're like, instead of promising to do stuff, I'm going to remove all these things that you think are superfluous and unnecessary. But in reality, then you're like, but I'll give a tax cut to the richest people in the country. But he just did that part.

I mean, he was fueled purely by spite. Yeah, well, he did have the weird ideology. Sure, but it was never coming to pass. No, it's completely just batshit crazy. It was never going to happen. And there were more Georgians then than there will ever be. And it just was something that never was going to happen. Right.

It's almost like, you know how people play fantasy football, and they're like, you should fire the coach, fire the jit, and then that guy became mayor. Right. Or the coach of the team. It was like, I'll fire everyone. All the coordinators, fuck them. Get them out of here.

What do they actually do? A lot, like a lot of stuff. Kind of everything. They make it all work. We don't need cleats. I'm cutting our budget in half. We don't need shoes. Fuck it.

But yeah, I mean, you get it. I mean, again, it's like you get hating government. But the people we put in the positions to solve it are all, I mean, they're like this. Like when you have no fucks left to give, you're like, fuck it. Let's throw the Hail Mary. You're like, it's first in 10. Let's go.

It's the first quarter. We're going to win this shit. Am I still ready? I'm going to lasso a woman. What's with all the flags? I fire the refs. Fuck it. We use a soccer ball.

I mean, the fact that a poll came out that said he was still super popular, he probably would have won the next election. The resignation move is just, yeah, I mean, really, how long could this have gone on? That was a plot twist, though. I did not see that coming. But how else would it end?

You'd have to kill him, or you'd all know who he was. No, of course, at the end, he fired himself. I mean, it just makes total sense that he was like, I'm fired. And they were like, OK. He's like, yeah. That'll teach me them to be quick shit. Her load of heaven. I've over fired.

Will you have a new hero? I don't. I don't think I'll tell anybody about this man. I think it's buried, and it should stay buried. I can't believe that happened here. Like. Kind of a hometown hero in a way, though. No.

You've learned some stuff about how to be. I want. I haven't. I want you to start on your radio show, pushing for the idea for that to be a statue. At the airport, with Franco and George Washington, and that guy. At the airport.

On the bull with the lasso. When people get here and want to know what we're all about, we don't fuck around. We show them. You ain't going home. What? Your fur load. I'm sorry.

You live here now. Welcome to Pittsburgh. You're fucking fired. What do you mean? You're fired. Ladies and gentlemen, I just want to let you all know we land at no problem. Everyone on the plane has been fired from their jobs.

And your luggage has been thrown in the water. What? When you take your shoes off, they just never give them back to you. On the plane? Where are my shoes? They were given to some children. So isn't that cool?

Who's the pilot? A priest. We let him up there. He had a metal FAA allows it. Would you like a book? Oh, what? I just gave you a book. Never mind.

OK, shut up, Dave. Give it up for Bill Crawford, I guess, everybody. We appreciate it. Thank you so much for coming out. Bless you. Thank you, Pittsburgh. Thank you.