Forging America: My Campaign Manager is Roosevelt-Chapter 37 - 32: The 2.5 Million US Dollar "Trouble

Chapter 37: Chapter 32: The 2.5 Million US Dollar "Trouble

The first day of the new fiscal quarter.

A huge sum of money was deposited right on time into the bank account of the Pittsburgh City Revitalization Committee.

Two and a half million US dollars.

Leo, Sarah, Frank, and Gloria, the old secretary who had always been indifferent to everything, all four of them gathered around the ancient computer, staring at the long string of numbers on the screen.

"Two and a half million..." Frank’s voice trembled. "I’ve never seen this much money in my entire life."

Sarah excitedly took out her phone and snapped a picture of the screen.

Gloria adjusted her reading glasses, making sure she wasn’t seeing things.

"My heavens," she said. "The last time our committee received funding with more than five digits was during the Reagan administration."

Leo was also incredibly excited.

This wasn’t just money; it was the power to command resources and change reality.

He didn’t let the excitement last for long.

He immediately went on the "Pittsburgh Heart" YouTube channel to flamboyantly announce the first phase of their urban renewal plan to the entire city of Pittsburgh.

The "Pittsburgh Revival Plan 1."

The core of the plan was very simple.

It was to hire unemployed local workers from Pittsburgh to carry out a comprehensive infrastructure overhaul in the three most dilapidated blue-collar communities in the southern part of the city.

The specific projects of the plan included:

Repairing the pothole-ridden community roads that had been neglected for decades.

Renovating the abandoned, weed-choked community parks with their broken facilities to re-establish safe play areas for children.

Performing comprehensive exterior wall insulation and water supply pipe maintenance for dozens of old workers’ apartment buildings, solving the chronic problems of drafty winters and leaky summers.

But the true highlight of the entire plan was its method of execution.

In the video, Leo laid out a clear stipulation.

All engineering contractors participating in this plan must prioritize hiring registered unemployed local workers from Pittsburgh and must pay them an hourly wage no less than the Union standard.

Furthermore, the committee would establish a "Project Oversight Team" composed of representatives from the community, the Union, and the committee itself.

This team would have the final right of review over all project bidding, material procurement, and use of funds.

This would ensure that every single cent of the two and a half million US dollars was spent where it was needed most.

As soon as the plan was announced, it immediately triggered a tsunami of support from Pittsburgh’s working class.

The workers who had been unemployed for years, surviving on odd jobs and relief funds, saw a real opportunity for employment.

The residents living in dilapidated communities saw hope for the improvement of their living environment. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The comments section of "Pittsburgh Heart" was flooded with excited remarks.

"Oh my God! Someone is finally willing to fix the damned road in front of our house!"

"I’m a plumber with fifteen years of experience! I’m going to the committee to sign up tomorrow!"

"Leo Wallace is a hero for us workers!"

"This is the kind of government we really want! A government that gets things done for us!"

The community center also became a sea of joy.

Margaret, Frank, and the others were surrounded by excited residents.

Everyone felt that a beautiful future for Pittsburgh was just around the corner.

Amidst the jubilant atmosphere, Roosevelt’s voice echoed in Leo’s mind, as cold as ice.

’Kid, don’t celebrate too early.’

’Do you think that two and a half million US dollars is your own money?’

’In the American political system, any government budget exceeding ten thousand dollars is dinner for a pack of hungry wolves already lying in wait in the tall grass.’

’And that video you just made is the equivalent of ringing the dinner bell on the savanna.’

Immersed in his joy, Leo couldn’t yet fully grasp the meaning of Roosevelt’s words.

But he understood the very next morning.

When he arrived at his office in the basement of City Hall, he was stunned by the sight before him.

The once-empty hallway outside his office door was now home to a long line.

But the people lining up weren’t the unemployed workers coming to apply for jobs.

They were a group of men in expensive suits, their hair slicked back and gleaming, with professional smiles plastered on their faces.

Every one of them was holding an exquisite briefcase.

The secretary, Gloria, was flusteredly trying to register them.

Seeing Leo walk in, Gloria spoke to him with an expression that was both excited and helpless.

"Mr. Commissioner, these people are all here to see you."

"They’re project managers from Pittsburgh’s major construction companies, material suppliers for cement and asphalt, partners from engineering design consulting firms, and there are even a few lawyers who specialize in government contracts."

"They’re all here to talk business with you."

It was then that Leo finally realized: the wolves had arrived, drawn by the scent of blood.

Leo spent the entire day receiving these uninvited guests.

For the first time, his small office was bustling with activity.

Every company representative who walked in was polite and courteous.

First, they expressed their most ardent praise and support for Leo’s "Pittsburgh Revival Plan 1."

Then, they presented their exquisitely prepared project proposals and price quotes.

"Commissioner Wallace, we are Pittsburgh’s largest road construction company, with the most advanced equipment and the most experienced team of engineers. We guarantee we can complete the road repair project for those three communities at the lowest price in the city and with the highest efficiency."

"Mr. Commissioner, our company is the best provider of exterior wall maintenance services in all of Pennsylvania. Here are some of our past projects, including the bank building downtown. We are willing to offer you a twenty percent discount for your revival plan."

Besides these normal business proposals, some people also made various private insinuations.

A sales manager from a cement supplier "accidentally" forgot a membership card to a top-tier golf club on Leo’s desk as he was leaving.

A partner from an engineering consulting firm enthusiastically invited Leo to a "small party" on his private yacht over the weekend.

Leo politely refused them all.

He reiterated his core plan to every visitor.

"Thank you very much for your support, gentlemen. But our ’Pittsburgh Revival Plan 1’ was never a commercial project to begin with."

"Our core objective is to provide dignified jobs for local unemployed workers through a work-for-relief model. Therefore, we will not be outsourcing the project to any single company. We will form our own construction teams, hire workers directly, procure our own materials, and manage the construction ourselves."

Upon hearing this answer, the smiles on the company representatives’ faces froze.

They looked at Leo as if he were a fool who didn’t understand the rules of the game.

"Commissioner Wallace, you may not be fully aware of the complexities of construction projects," a manager from a construction company said, trying to kindly persuade him. "It requires professional management, expensive equipment, and a complex supply chain. It’s not something a group of unemployed workers can just pull off."

"We will hire the most professional engineers for project management," Leo replied. "As for the equipment, we can rent it. And for the supply chain, I believe that as long as we have the money, it won’t be a problem."

"Well, good luck to you, Mr. Commissioner."

The company representatives left one by one, their faces a mixture of disappointment and contempt.

After they left, Leo’s office returned to its usual tranquility.

But Leo knew things would never be that simple.

He had refused the dinner invitations offered by these hungry wolves. Now, they would bare their fangs.

Two days later, the Pittsburgh City Council convened an emergency meeting.

The topic of the meeting was "Regarding the Strengthening of Supervision and Management over the Use of Special Federal Appropriations."

The meeting lasted only an hour.

An interim amendment to the "Municipal Engineering Project Management Regulations" was passed with an overwhelming majority.

The amendment stipulated: "All municipal engineering projects with an individual budget exceeding one hundred thousand US dollars, executed by subsidiary agencies of the city government, must be contracted out to ’appropriately qualified’ professional construction companies through a public bidding process."

The sponsor of this amendment was the Speaker of the City Council, a man named Daniel Murphy.

He was a staunch ally of Mayor Carter Wright.

And the list of "appropriately qualified" local construction companies, drafted by the City Council, included nearly every company that had visited Leo a few days prior.

They were all local construction oligarchs with innumerable ties to the City Council members.

’See that, kid?’ Roosevelt’s voice sounded. ’A textbook case of collusion between government and business. A perfectly legal robbery.’

’They’re using professionalism and qualifications as an excuse to gut the very core of your plan—the work-for-relief program.’

’If you accept their bidding proposal, at least one million of your two and a half million US dollars will flow into their pockets through all sorts of inflated project quotes, substandard construction materials, and political kickbacks.’

’And in the end, all that will be left for those unemployed workers are the lowest wages, the most dangerous working conditions, and a shoddy, jerry-built project constructed with the worst materials.’

Leo was caught in a dilemma.

If he abided by the new regulation passed by the City Council, his "Pittsburgh Revival Plan 1" would be completely warped from a public welfare project serving the people into a tool for funneling benefits to construction oligarchs.

He would completely lose the trust and reputation he had built among the working class.

But if he didn’t comply, the City Council had the authority to freeze all the funds in his committee’s account under the pretext of "violating municipal management regulations."

His money had been blocked by them in a completely "legal" manner.

He had won public opinion and secured federal money.

But in the face of the local power structure, he was still unable to move a single inch.

Just as Leo was at his wit’s end, unsure how to break the impasse, his secretary, Gloria, knocked on his office door.

She handed Leo an exquisitely crafted invitation.

On the cover of the invitation was an ancient family crest.

Leo opened the invitation.

Inviter: Douglas Morganfield, Chairman of the Morganfield Industrial Group.

Location: The Allegany Mountain Summit Club, Pittsburgh’s most exclusive private club.

Time: This Friday evening.

Roosevelt’s voice echoed in Leo’s mind, tinged with a hint of amusement.

’Oh?’

’It seems the biggest crocodile, the one lurking in the deepest part of the swamp, can’t resist surfacing in person at last.’