The Next Mayor

Remember the scene in Minority Report where Tom Cruise's Chief John Anderton stands in front of a large screen with dozens of images playing out simultaneously? By moving the images around and looking at them in different ways and in different orders, Anderton is able to make sense of it all and figure out who's about to commit a heinous crime that hasn't yet occurred.

Over the last couple days, I've been having that same feeling as I group together news articles and commentaries from various sources and begin to see a disturbing pattern emerging that portends ill for the city. Let's start with yesterday's Daily News. In the opinion section of the paper are two very compelling commentaries on behalf of better city planning in general and planning for the Delaware riverfront in particular.

Details after the jump.

Yesterday in this interesting piece by Catherine Lucey, she described a recent summit between State Senator Vince "The Emperor" Fumo and three local bloggers.

For now, Fumo says he's willing to host however many bloggers want to come on board.
"I don't mind getting them all along and getting a bigger room, as long as they're legitimate bloggers and not Johnny Doc's guys," he said.

Here's how I envision that larger meeting.

So Tony Payton's in as the Democratic nominee for state representative in the 179th District in North Philadelphia, but for how long? I've been following this story since primary election night and will continue to just to see what it can teach us about the electoral process here in Philadelphia.

Apparently, the next step in the process, when an election is close, is to go to court. The lawyer for Payton's opponent, Emilio "Stampy" Vazquez pointed out that this one is far from over:

A total of 212 Vazquez stamp marks were found in other spaces, but it is clear that the voters' intent was to vote for him for state representative, lawyer Ralph Teti argued.

If the stray stamp marks had been counted, Vazquez would have won "in a walk," Teti said.

So it appears my previous question about what grounds Vazquez has for a court battle has been answered. So the question remains, what is more important, the spirit of a person's vote and their intentions or the letter of the vote and their execution of the process?

Ways to piss off your Philadelphian neighbors:

1. Park in the spot they cleared of snow.


2. Allow over a hundred cats to live in your house.


3. Throw your garbage in their backyard.


4. Demand that he please put a shirt on when the local news camera crew comes around to cover the latest fire.

Add to that list, "Plant a tree."

Aside from being an interesting story about the attitudes of longtime South Philly, West Philly and Fairmount residents towards street trees, it also serves as a symbol of all of the things that divide longtime neighborhood residents from the new people who are moving in as both the cause and result of the hot housing market. New residents bring cars, kids, pets, friends, demands for services, increasing property values and therefore taxes, all of which can rub some of the old timers the wrong way.

I bring this up because we need to remember that in spite of the high profile stream of new people who are moving into condos in Center City and rehabbed rowhomes in Fairmount, South Philly, Spruce Hill, Northern Liberties, Fishtown, Kensington, etc. the vast majority of people who actually vote for mayor are the ones who think trees are bad. Candidates for mayor in this city are uniquely challenged to communicate both with new people who always seem to want to go 'achangin' things and the old timers who like things just the way they are.

Anyway, the other reason I brought it up is because I wanted to know if anyone else immediately pictured this guy when they read about the angry neighbor in the story "who wears his gray hair slicked straight back and parks his white car in front of a fire hydrant."

So, click here and learn how you too can piss off the neighbors.

Anyone who's a fan of the television show 24 knows what the Counter Terrorism Unit is. It's the fictional agency of the United States government charged with preventing and responding to acts of terrorism on United States soil. Led by hot tempered Jack Bauer, whose favorite interrogation techniques are yelling really loud and inflicting pain, this elite unit has, in the space of 5 seasons, allowed several people to get murdered, a large explosion to happen, and a poison gas attack - all in their own headquarters! Clearly, this is taxpayer money well spent.

Here at The Next Mayor Project, we've established the Counter Intelligence Unit. Our elite squad, producer Wendy Daughenbaugh, assistant producer me, camera operators Eric Sennhenn and Don Francisco and sound technician Joe Wilson, is traveling the region, looking for "intelligent" conversation on issues in politics in the most likely place, the lunch "counter" (barber shop, beauty parlor, diner, or shopping mall). We're essentially ambushing people while they eat or get their hair cut. Our mission is to find out from the people themselves the issues that should be at the forefront of the campaign for mayor of Philadelphia and get an idea of what they expect out of this region's elected leadership. Unlike the fictional Counter Terrorism Unit, we give you a choice whether you want to answer our questions or not - and I'm way cooler than Jack Bauer, pictured above.

We're quick. We travel light. We get in and out in under an hour and before you know it, your great ideas and comments are on TV12, DTV-12.1, whyy.org and, naturally, thenextmayor.com. So if you see us coming, clean that raisin bagel out of your teeth and get ready to take advantage of the opportunity to communicate directly with the eventual candidates for mayor and let them know what you care about.

Check out Mission 1 here, our trip to the Oak Lane Diner.

In a semi-regular weekend feature here on The Next Mayor blog, I'll be pointing out films, tv shows, novels and other works that may help give readers some insight into the political process on the municipal level. Not all will be non-fiction because, as the saying goes, art imitates life.

I've already mentioned the definitive (and as far as I know only) film following the ups and downs, ins and outs of a Philadelphia mayoral election. That would be Tigre Hill's The Shame of A City. I'll talk about that one at greater length a little further down the line as we get closer to the thick of things in the 2007 mayor's race.

For now, I direct your attention to a well-documented mayor's race in another Northeastern city with its share of difficulties.

In a post on 13th Floor, the blog of Governing.com, Alan Greenblatt gives a good review of Street Fight. This Oscar-nominated film takes you into the depths of the 2002 race for mayor in Newark, NJ between challenger Corey Booker and incumbent Sharpe James.

Give the post a read, give the movie a look. You won't be disappointed. If you've seen it, we can discuss in the comments.

Forgive me as I indulge myself in the old Johnny Carson routine. On goes the ridiculous hat, out comes the syncophantic sidekick and here we go...

Answer: Ward Cleaver

(tear open envelope, remove contents)

Question: The election that occurs on the third Monday after the primary each year before the mayor's race.

In a story from yesterday's Inquirer that you're not going to see on the local television news, staff writer Tom Fitzgerald, gave a preview of tonight's ward leader elections.

Fitzgerald also reminds everyone that we may not necessarily be dealing with the most mature, thoughtful, and inspirational group of "adults" as he passes on some of the classic stories from ward elections past.

It's hard to unseat a wily ward leader, and veterans tell legends of trickery. One of the most infamous: In 1974, Herbert J. McGlinchey escaped a coup attempt in the 42nd Ward by convening the election on a rented bus. He ushered supporters aboard and took off, most of his rivals stewing on the sidewalk.

Stewing on the sidewalk... shaking their fists with rage and shouting, "McGlinchey, you cur! you madcap! you... you... You gotta admit, that was a pretty clever move."

However, it is these same adults that collectively make many of the major decisions affecting who gets to run for mayor, who has a shot at winning the job, what kind of City Council he or she will have to work with and how I can get a plow to come down the alley where I park my car.

The elections will take place in various locations throughout the city, including, it seems, the homes of the incumbent ward leaders themselves.

It will be up to 34 committee members, meeting at Farrell's home on East Montgomery Avenue. The incumbent says she has 22 votes locked up, but anything can happen. Ramos considers the race too close to call.

I guess her older brother wouldn't let her and her friends use the treehouse out back.

Ok, I'm having a little too much fun at the expense of the system. For some balance, I should also say that most ward leaders and committeepeople truly do get into it in order to serve their neighbors and ensure the vitality of the election day operation.

Like I said, I don't expect too much coverage of these elections on tonight's 11 o'clock news so stay tuned for results in tomorrow's paper and non-pithy commentary about those results in this blog.

I'm a huge fan of Dan Gross's gossip column in the Daily News. In fact, when the future of the Daily News was in jeopardy, I wondered where I would turn to scan quickly a block of news print to see which of my favorite bold face people were seen at Buddakan with Cecil Martin or Gervase Peterson.

In today's column, I and my fellow readers got an invitation to a Sam Katz fundraiser. What?!? Sam Katz is running for mayor?

Also, Katz says, there's no way in hell he'll run again next year.

Ok, that would seem to make it unlikely. So what is he raising money for?

Katz, 56, says part of his campaign debt is to himself, and he's not paying himself, but he says he owes a bank nearly $500,000.

Oooooh. I get it. It's an after-the-fact fundraiser where people give $100 to $500 to pay off the campaign debts from almost 3 years ago for a campaign that ended in a 17 point loss - tantamount to betting on Barbaro in the Preakness... today.

Folks who attend the fundraiser get to see Tigre Hill's The Shame of A City, a fantastic look at the 2003 mayoral election from the perspective of the Katz campaign, for about 91 to 491 dollars more than I paid to see it at the Philadelphia Film Festival in April.

I've already disclosed that I worked on the Katz campaign in 2003 as the Deputy Director of Policy and Research, which in the hierarchy of things meant that I could occasionally ask an intern to help me with a web search. I started working there as a naive, former teacher and lifelong suburban resident who hadn't yet really figured out his own political leanings. The person who helped me get the job convinced me that the Republican-Democrat distinction didn't really matter in this case since this election would be a referendum on how the current mayor was performing his duties and a choice between two competing plans for the future of Philadelphia. For a while it was. Early on, the two candidates offered the voters a choice between one who thought that the tax structure in Philadelphia required a radical and admittedly risky overhaul and one who had demonstrated a knowledge of city budgeting and a careful stewardship of the budget while continuing gradual - to the point of nearly invisible - reductions in taxes. By the end, however, those who participated in Election Day could choose between - as portrayed by each other's campaigns - a corrupt, borderline federal lawbreaker and a crooked, Enron-lite, embezzler.

Of course, both images are overspun, campaign-generated caricatures of two guys who, for all of their flaws, are essentially hard working, decent human beings who really want what's best for the city. So while, I'll poke a little fun at Sam's predicament, knowing that it partially results from a few bad management decisions by the folks stewarding his campaign (including, they'll probably say, retaining my services), this City would be well served by having someone like Sam in every election provide at least a viable alternative, another set of choices and a voice for issues that may otherwise get little consideration. It's a thankless job, which at best lets someone get to be famous and give speeches in front of raucous supporters for several weeks before bowing in defeat by nine or ten points and at worst results in a million dollars in debt. But it's precisely the job someone has to do in order for November 2007 to be an election instead of a coronation.

With unrepentant equivocality, Congressman Chaka Fattah said that without a doubt, he may or may not still run for mayor even if the Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives - maybe.

In today's Daily News, Catherince Lucey tried to pin down the super smooth Fattah and get him to say whether or not he'd run even if he has a shot at being the chair of the House Appropriations Committee (down the line, of course). Fattah denied that this November would affect his decision about next November.

Fattah - who does not have to relinquish his seat to run but would if he won - says changes in the House will not sway him.

"Could I be elected mayor," is the first, he said. "Much more importantly, what are the 10 things, 2,000 things I can do as mayor."

So, Congressman, if the Democrats retake the House in the fall, do you still think you could be elected mayor and would one of the 10 or 2000 things you could do as mayor be serve as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee?

A fun story to read, but one we won't know the end of until November (which is still less time than we have to wait to find out how the Sopranos raps up).

The Daily News's Dave Davies seems to have had a busy night covering a number of different ward leader elections.

As I promised, I have no comment, even about the apparent participation by Philly's finest in the process up in the 43rd Ward along the east side of North Broad Street. The story ends with incumbent ward leader Tom Logan defeating challenger (and recent unsuccessful write-in candidate for state rep.) Emilio Vazquez.

So here are some of the highlights from the Daily News story:

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any fun stories about elections being held on moving buses or trash barges or abandoned subway stops.

It's nice to get to work and find that someone has made part of my job a whole lot easier. In the opinion section in today's Daily News, Chuck Williams, former co-chairman of Philadelphia Against Drugs, Guns and Violence, one of Philly's many anti-violence community groups, has a plan, complete with details, to decrease gun violence.

Within the first 100 days in office, the next mayor should draft and sign these executive orders:

Fourth Executive Order: Anti-violence and community-safety programs that cannot demonstrate that they have met measurable outcomes by the end of 2009 will lose all city funding for the following year.

Whether you agree or disagree with how effective these executive orders would be, it's important that we start hearing ideas from everyone in the community, especially now before the Could-Be mayors get their campaigns into full swing and suck all the air out of the room. This is your time to provide ideas on any one of a number of issues and to comment on/disagree with/improve upon the ideas of others.

Williams has more suggestions that I'll reproduce here without comment:

1. A nationwide search for the next police commissioner will begin during the first 100 days. To ensure that Philadelphia is able to recruit a top law-enforcement expert, the salary for the commissioner will be raised to $200,000. As part of the new commissioner's contract, he will be expected to take SEPTA to and from work at least twice a week. This will keep the commissioner in touch with realities of the average working Philadelphia citizen. Starting in the second year (2009), the commissioner's salary will be cut by 2.5 percent for every 100 murders in the city.
2. The police commissioner's office will be moved to the second floor of City Hall. For far too long, the commissioner has been somewhat isolated from the crime and public-safety policy discussions conducted at City Hall by members of City Council, senior staff and the mayor. Given that policy is the driving force behind any major changes, the police commissioner needs to be involved in these discussions regularly.
3. One of the existing deputy commissioner slots will be changed to Deputy Commissioner for Community Outreach and Prevention (COP). It will focus on connecting with community groups such as Mothers Against Drugs, Men United, Safe Schools Safer Communities, Mothers in Charge, Stolen Dreams, Mothers United, Philadelphia Anti-Drug Anti-Violence Network, Town Watch, Police Clergy and Youth Against Violence.
4. Create a Deputy Mayor's Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention (DCCP).
   It will work closely with the White House Executive Office of Drug Control Policy.
   It will compete for state and federal grant/research monies.
   Half of the budget for this office will be focused on community crime-prevention strategies.
5. Create a regional county alliance to fight drugs, guns and violence. This effort will be supported by a newly created Inter-County Office of Prevention (I-COP).
   It would include all county mayors, DAs and police chiefs.
   It will compete for local, state and federal grant/research funds.
   It will meet monthly to discuss high-crime priorities and strategies to deal with issues like inter-county gun- and drug-trafficking.
   The work will be coordinated by the DCCP to free the police commissioner to spend considerable amounts of time dealing with important law-enforcement issues.

Ok, folks. What's next?

This whole episode among Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, Mayor John Street, the Housing Trust Fund Administrative Board, the rest of City Council and, ultimately, the homeless and those in jeopardy of being homeless, can also be an example in what we need out of our elected leadership, especially the next mayor.

For background on the issue, check out these stories in the Daily News, Inquirer and Philadelphia Weekly. For a little more detail about the Housing Trust Fund, Mark McDonald from the Daily News has this. Now that you've gotten the serious side of it, Tom Ferrick gives us Mayor Street's perspective as taken from his diary.

In Philadelphia, we have what is known as a strong mayor/weak council type of government. In theory, this way of organizing municipal government gives the mayor a lot of power to set the city's agenda through the budgeting process and by being able to suggest legislation which can then be proposed by council members.

In practice, council members wield great power especially over development projects in their home districts. The mayor can outline a vision for the entire city but then has to sell that vision and its implications for different council districts to each of the 10 district council members. If any of them disagree with the mayor for whatever reason - principle, personality, opinions of constituents - he or she can effectively halt progress. Proponents of this arrangement says it keeps City Hall from steamrolling over the interests of the locals in their own neighborhoods while critics claim that it concentrates too much power in council members that may not have the most pure of motivations when using that power.

In this case, Councilwoman Blackwell is using the Housing Trust Fund, which she herself was instrumental in creating, to affect the mayor's decision making in reorganizing the alphabet soup of housing agencies known as OHCD, RDA and PHDC. Blackwell offers her reasons for her actions and people can feel free to agree or disagree with those reasons or speculate about her true motivations (in fact, feel free to comment about that). The point is that the next mayor will be required to work with the next 17 most powerful people in city government, each with different personalities and elected by very different constituencies.

While the Charter provides for a strong mayor, our next mayor will be well served to remember that "Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength."

For our second mission, the Counter Intelligence Unit went to the Kingsessing neighborhood in Southwest Philadelphia. Most people only get to see this area on television when "that news van" or its competitors are out there to cover a fire or shooting. Our mission was simple: find out from a random group of people what they expect from the next mayor and what are their major issues.

First some information about Kingsessing. According to the Philadelphia Neighborhood Information System (a fantastic resource), Kingsessing had a population of 34,106 in 2000. That includes 32,497 blacks, 617 whites, 383 hispanics and 229 asians. It's a fairly young group with an under-18 population of 11,070 or about 32 percent.

The educational attainment numbers show that in 2000, there were 7,239 people age 25 or older with a high school diploma and 860 people age 25 or older with a bachelor's degree. Finally, 18,617 or more than 50% of the people in Kingessing live in a household with an income level that's below 200% of the poverty line, while 10,322 people are in households with an income level below the poverty line itself.

While the piece is edited to fit down into the 90 second to 2 minute range, it includes at least one mention of all of the major issues brought up by the folks in the Platinum Image Barbershop on that bright April morning. All of the shots used were taken that day, either just before or just after the interviews and all were taken in that neighborhood.

While we shot the piece, I was not particularly surprised to hear that crime is the dominant issue and that the people in that neighborhood are aching for some kind of economic development that brings jobs and more household wealth into the area. It's easy to write about these issues in the abstract or for politicians to talk about them without really getting to see how the people who live these issues every day are affected by them. Anyone who wants to be mayor can't forget that.

Anyway, check out the video here.

Here's an unedited comment from a reader named john:

what about the republicans are they not electing ward leader also its about time you cover both not just one i heard that here were like 10 or so new republican ward leaders or so.

john has a valid point. I did some digging and found this mention of the elections for Republican ward leaders in Gar Joseph's Clout Column from Friday's Daily News:

On the Republican side, Eva Caraballo claims she knocked off incumbent Ellen Maenner, 6-4 in the 7th ward. Maenner charges there were many improprieties and is contesting the outcome.

Whoa, 6-4, a real barn burner.

If anyone out there has any more news about Republican ward leader elections you can comment to this entry or email it here.

john, I have a feeling there'd be more coverage of those elections if the Philly GOP would start seriously talking about a candidate for mayor and not depending on Philadelphia Magazine to pick one for them.

UPDATE: Ok, a little more digging (and a fortuitous trip past one of those ubiquitous blue honor boxes) uncovered more comprehensive results for the ward leader elections on both the Democratic and Republican sides. The following comes from The Philadelphia Public Record:

Republicans saw some ward leader changes as their ward committees came together on Monday night as well. Local activist Eva Carabello has taken over the 7th Ward from veteran leader Ellen Maenner, while the 51st welcomed former 46th Ward Leader Andrew Gentsch. He replaced Albert Myers. Mark Supple has taken over the reins of the 46th.

William Mulgrew, 21-year-old Drexel student, is now the leader of the 24th Ward.

Who knows? Maybe one of them will run for the Republican nomination for mayor.

PoliticsPA has officially declared Congressman Chaka Fattah... the front runner?

This from their ever popular UP&DOWN list:

Congressman Chaka Fattah goes up as PoliticsPA is the first to announce he will formally hire consultant David Axelrod, who helped Philadelphia Mayor John Street win his 1999 and 2003 campaigns. The bottom line: Fattah is serious, and he is the frontrunner.

He's been called liberal, Kennedy-esque, Mayor McDreamy (ok, I made that last one up). He's San Francisco's Gavin Newsom.

Newsom was elected in 2003 and took office in January 2004. Since then, he's pledged to end homelessness and bring municipal wireless internet to San Fran (sound familiar?). He also made it possible for same sex couples to marry, gotten divorced from his celebrity wife, and started dating CSI:Miami star Sofia Milos - all actions we're not likely to see from the next mayor of Philadelphia.

Here's another thing you might not see one of our likely candidates do:

Thomas Wilson rounded a table, arms full of free shoes and pants and books, and then stopped short, shock filling his face. There, sitting on a small stool while hordes of people walked obliviously by him, was San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom -- massaging and washing a homeless woman's feet.

No, Newsom later said with a laugh, he doesn't get tired washing the feet of homeless people, which he has done so many times now at his bimonthly Project Homeless Connect gatherings that hardly anybody really notices it any more.

Click here for the whole story.

In a time when we've become so cynical that we'd likely see an action like this as a meticulously engineered photo opportunity done only for political gain, it would still be nice to see this kind of leadership by example and humility from our next mayor.

You'll probably get sick of me talking about "best practices" or comparing how Philadelphia's city government does certain tasks compared to the gold standards in other cities, but this one especially seems like something the next mayor should fix.

Every one of the nation's 10 largest cities inspects restaurants for health violations at least once a year and usually more often - except Philadelphia.

Almost all have laws requiring a minimum number of inspections, some as often as four times per year. Philadelphia does not.

So you might think, what's the big deal? We've all heard the horror stories about mouse poop on the floor. Look a little further down in the article and you'll see this:

When inspectors find a problem, they cite the owner, who gets time to correct the shortcoming. Immediate dangers, such as sewage dripping into food, must be fixed while the inspector is there.

Are you kidding me? SEWAGE DRIPPING INTO FOOD?!?!?! Restaurants need inspectors to tell them that THIS SHOULDN'T HAPPEN?!?!?

Dear next mayor,

Please fix this.

Yours,
Philadelphians

In addition to steps being taken by the current administration to deal with the rapid upswing in gun violence, ideas have appeared in the local papers and in other cities. If you do decide to "continue reading," I promise that you'll get an actual debate with two sides represented on two separate policy ideas with all of the work done by people much smarter than I.

You want some ideas on how to grow the city's population and bring high wage jobs while raising the profile of the city internationally? Attend this conference.

Here's a preview from today's Inquirer:

City deputy commerce director Duane Bumb calls that "learning from best practices" and it's one of his goals in attending the conference.

"If you have an attractive environment for these workers, that's where the employer will go."

C'mon, gentlemen, there's still two more days left. Apparently if you call up to volunteer you can go for free! Mmmm mmm, that's good fiscal responsibility.

UPDATE: Neil Kleinman, one of the movers and shakers of this conference, gives this impassioned argument for linking the city's creativity with its potential greatness.

So Dan, who knows a lot more about this than me, started talking the other day about styles of mayors. There are several, but one way to tell 'em all apart would be "cheerleaders" -- yes, Rendell, but also Giuliani -- vs. "managers." That would be Bloomberg and, I firmly believe, master-of-detail John Street. Dan's theory was that cheerleading is out and managers are in.

Setting aside the obvious -- that simple divisions are the crutch of journalists blogging on a beautiful Friday late morning -- let's talk about this a little.

If you watch the newest of WHYY's outstanding "Counter Intelligence" videos, you'll hear a bunch of bloggers say that the Next Mayor they want needs to be a little bit of a cheerleader. That's simplifying their points, of course -- you really should watch the video -- but what do we mean by "leadership" if we don't mean cheerleading? Do we really want the Next Mayor to have a grasp of the finer points of running a city but be unable to move us to action? And anyway, isn't the best leader someone with an eye on the big picture, who is skilled at getting others to do her/his bidding?

Thoughts? Anyone still inside today?

For anyone who's interested, Councilman Michael Nutter is scheduled to be in the Radio Times studio tomorrow at 10am. You can listen live at 10am by clicking here and choosing one of the three options for getting the show over your computer. Otherwise, tune in to 90.9 FM.

The topic of the show is the recently passed smoking ban but maybe Marty will ask him if he's running for mayor. Or feel free to call in and ask him yourself, just let us know by commenting here that you did!

I'll try to get highlights of the show up on the main page shortly after it airs.

Pee Wee: "You all remember what to do whenever anybody says the secret word right?"

Scream!

"That's right. For the rest of the day, whenever anybody says the secret word, scream real loud. Ready? Let's try it."

From yesterday's Inquirer, George Burrell, recently retired from his post as John Street's Secretary for External Affairs got a little boost in pay to be CEO of Innovation Philadelphia. You may remember Burrell from his chat with Dave Davies on Radio Times.

While the article includes what Burrell's new salary will be ($225,000) and the salary of departing CEO Richard Bendis ($410,721) it doesn't mention how many jobs "Street's first major jobs-creation program" has actually created... well... aside from Burrell's and Bendis's.

I'm only curious because of the amount of funding the organization has received from the city and because Burrell made an early pitch to keep that money coming:

Innovation Philadelphia draws about 70 percent of its budget from city taxpayers. Specifically, since its founding, the nonprofit has received $11 million from the city, including $2.5 million approved by City Council last month.

Innovation Philadelphia is, Burrell said, "an important part of the mayor's legacy that I would like to see the next mayor pursue when he gets here."

Did he say next mayor?

AAAAAAAHHHHHH!

Philadelphia Safe and Sound issued its Report Card on the Well-Being of Children and Youth in Philadelphia today.

Remeber these numbers for when it comes time to grill that eventual candidates for mayor on what they can do to protect the city's youngest and most vulnerable citizens.

24 - number of children under 18 whose lives were cut short by another in 2005.

920 - number of children and young adults between 7 and 24 years old who were victims of a gunshot in 2005... 134 of whom lost their lives as a result.

1,168 - number of cases of child abuse or neglect reported to child protective services in 2005. The number has decreased significantly since 1996 but remains a serious problem nonetheless.

The good news:

The number of youth development opportunities delivered through the City’s Children’s Investment Strategy – including after-school programs, Beacons, Teen Centers, and youth employment opportunities – increased to 42,401 in 2005-06.

Will the next mayor be able to continue this trend and increase the number of pre-kindergarten early childhood educational opportunities?

The percentage of children entering Philadelphia’s public school kindergartens having had a formal early childhood care and education experience fell from 70% in 2004 to 66% in 2005, after a two-year increase.

Inquirer coverage from today's paper is here. Read the report card yourself here. WHYY's coverage of this story with comments from Mayor Street will be is here. (requires Real Player)

I said on Sunday that Marty might ask Michael Nutter whether or not he wants to run for mayor and she didn't disappoint. But let me set this clip up for you because I love how Marty does this.

After 40 minutes of talking exclusively about the smoking ban, Marty comes out of the second commercial break by saying something like this:

Marty: This is Radio Times, I'm Marty Moss-Coane and we're talking with Councilman Michael Nutter about the smoking ban for bars and restaurants that was recently passed by City Council and now awaits the mayor's signature.

Marty then proceeds to give out the phone number and ask for callers who work in bars or go to bars to call in with their own experiences. She's using her normal, soft voice with a tone that drips with NPR-esque thoughtfulness and reason. She's practically got Nutter mesmerized and just when she suspects he's dropped his guard she springs this on him:

"You want to run for mayor, don't you? ...Michael Nutter?"

Ahh, but on this day, Councilman Nutter was too quick to fall for Marty's guile. Apparently, Nutter also believes that the "cheerleading" function of a mayor is pretty important, considering how much he talks about how he wants to get his "personality" out there for everyone to see.

Except for this 2 minutes, the rest of the show really was about the smoking ban. You can listen to it here.

You can tell from listening to him interact with Marty and the callers that Nutter is a smart guy but I also get the impression that he knows he's a smart guy and that he knows when he's smarter than the person he's talking to. Now, I'm just as big a fan and user of sarcasm as the anyone but that's just one of the many reasons why I could never be mayor. But as the old proverb says, "sarcasm is the lowest form of wit" and one offhand comment, taken the wrong way, could easily sink one's mayoral ambitions.

Oh, and thank you, Marty, for not asking Nutter if he inhaled when he admitted to having smoked three cigarettes when he was 14.

The Counter Intelligence Unit has hit the road, traveling to suburban towns and other cities in the tri-state, Greater Philadelphia region. On Monday we were in beautiful Kennett Square, PA and chatted with some really interesting folks to get their perceptions of the city, its elected leadership and the relationship between their part of the world and Philadelphia. From there we went to Wilmington, DE and actually had a good long talk with a gentleman who spent a good deal of time in the 1970s volunteering for Charlie Bowser's 1975 campaign for mayor as the Philadelphia Party candidate.

Today we're heading to world famous Ponzio's in Cherry Hill where I'm sure we'll find folks with opinions about Philadelphia and the issues facing the city and the region. Afterall, I'm told that the migration rate of people from South Philly to South Jersey almost rivals the migration rate from Mexio to the US. (Insert Joey Vento reference here). We'll then pop back over the bridge and head down 95 to Essington, PA and talk with the people who live and work in that blue collar suburb of Philadelphia.

If you're out there today, stop by and see us.

UPDATE: After trekking from diner to diner in southern Delaware County, we finally ended up at the Gateway Diner in Holmes, PA. So if you happened to see the Channel 12 MiniNewsVan (actually, News Minivan since there's no such thing as small news), that was us!

When we ask people which issues they care most about in the race for the Next Mayor, there is one issue that generates more passion than any other. And that's violent crime in the city.

There's no question this is THE issue for the Mayor's race in Philadelphia. There were 380 homicides in the city last year -- while far-larger New York had only 540 -- and we are on pace for another record year.

Yes, the homicides do group themselves geographically, clustering in neighborhoods suffering from a scourage of drugs. And yes, there are drug dealers in our city who shoot each other sometimes. But anyone who lives or works in Philadelphia and believes that violent crime only happens to "other people" needs to wake up. I suggest reading the story of William Palmer, an 18-year-old Cheney University student -- and the son of two cops -- shot while manning the parking lot at Hahnemann Hospital.

That, folks, is the heart of Center City.

What to do about this, however, is not an easy question to answer. Any criminologist can tell you that homicide follows socio-economic trends. When more people in your city have jobs, for example, violent crime falls. But city leaders do have a role to play. In New York, the most famous example, the "broken windows" approach is still paying off -- cops pay attention to little crimes, and the improved atmosphere actually helps prevent bigger ones. In Philly, Police Commisisoner Sylvester Johnson is trying to crack down on people wanted on warrants or engaged in drug or gun crimes.

One thing that's certain is that we will need a detailed crime plan from each of the men who Would Be Mayor. What would they do? What do they think the role of the Police Commissioner should be? Do we have enough cops? What is their informed opinion of crime-fighting strategies such as the "broken windows" approach?

One other thing that's certain is that simple signs -- which have NO crime plan behind them -- are just electioneering, and a cynical use of a problem both serious and deadly.

Your thoughts?

Getting back into the swing of things this week... Here's something from last week that I didn't get to post:

Phila.'s status as fifth-largest city now in jeopardy
By Larry Eichel
Inquirer Staff Writer

Only a year earlier, according to the estimates, the margin between the two cities was more than 54,000.

The city's population loss was a big theme in the last election. My question is... should we care about this? Why or why not?

There's been a lot of debate over the validity of Richard Florida's theory of economic development in cities. To sum it up, he says that cities which are open and accepting of "creative types" and have the quality of being hip and cool do well because they attract people who are more likely to be innovators, entrepreneurs, educated and the type of people sought after by employers. Florida's seminal work, The Rise of the Creative Class, explains how cities can benefit, while his recent work The Flight of the Creative Class warns that America's intensifying negativity towards immigrants and the GLBT community could stifle the openness that fosters innovation.

Anyway, here's what Florida had to say about Philadelphia and its leadership in an interview in the last week's Inquirer:

The struggle in Philadelphia - like in Pittsburgh, but less so in Philadelphia because it's a coastal town and it's part of the big megalopolis - is that they are implanted with this industrial mind-set that the way to the top is to conform. The way to succeed was to exclude outsiders and become part of an insider community.

Florida: The real role of leadership can't be to do "my next project," or "my next stadium" from the top down. The real role of leadership has to be activate, not squelch, that grassroots energy.

Regardless about what you think about Florida's main theory, what do you think of his assessment of the city? If you think he's correct, what can we do to change it? Can any of the potential candidates make these kinds of changes or are they themselves too much a part of the "insider community?"

OK, here we go! In the next few weeks, Michael Nutter will step down from his post in City Council -- clearing the way for his run for mayor in 2007. When he officially declares, he could be the first official candidate for mayor in the race (many candidates have campaign videos and posters already, but that's a side point).

This is a little earlier than some had expected, but it does put to rest any issue about his role as a candidate while serving in Council.

It's a good time to be Michael Nutter. He just managed to push the smoking ban and the beginnings of ethics legislation through City Council - either of which could be seen as miraculous. Plus, his role on the front lines of city issues may mean we can divine what his platforms will be -- expect the number of cops in the city to be an issue for him.

So, voters, what do you think? Anything you'd like us to ask at his press conference today?

This is pretty much an open thread to get your reactions to the news that Councilman Nutter will be delivering a letter of resignation to Council President Verna later today. Assuming that he's resigning so that he can officially declare his candidacy for mayor and not just so he can take a year to bike through Europe, that would make him the second candidate after Tom Knox. Well, third if you count Queena Bass.

Just so you can catch up, the Daily News coverage is here, Inquirer covers it here, KYW here.

Dan U-A over at Young Philly Politics says Nutter doesn't have his vote. Tom Knox's official website is here and Michael Nutter's recently launched site is here.

I'll try to update this entry later after Nutter makes his statement this afternoon and include WHYY's coverage of the story. For now, have at it!

I just got back from Michael Nutter's press conference at City Hall. His speech was... well... a nice speech. It was full of platitudes and gratitudes.

Thank you to my constituents, thanks to my staff, thanks to Council President Verna, the ward leaders in his district, thanks to Bob Brady and I'll miss you most of all, Scarecrow!

He opened his speech with "I love this place" and said many times, "It's time for me to leave." The closest he came to saying that he would be running for mayor during the speech was when he said he "wants to pursue a different leadership role," very similar to his answer on Radio Times when Marty Moss-Coane asked him if he wanted to run for mayor. He also referred to his next move as "the next step in my career."

Fielding questions from a reporter, he sounded a little more definitive with "Today is the first step in preparation to run for mayor."

Find out what raised my ire by clicking on "continue reading."

One of Councilman Nutter's answers that I did like came when he responed to a question about why he chose to resign so early. He was asked why he chose not to stay on City Council for another 6 months, collect his salary and use that position as a high profile platform. Afterall, even convicted felons are allowed to do that.

Nutter's answer was good. He said, "If you decide that you want to do something else... it's time to go."

Just because my mind tends to make instant connections to movie quotes, I was immediately reminded of this one from Harry Burns:

...when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

Hey folks, click on the following links to hear soundbites from today's press conference (requires Real Player):

"Today is the first step in the preparation to run for mayor of this city."

"To better serve the citizens of this city, I want to pursue a different leadership role that will enable me to move Philadelphia in the right direction. In accordance with the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, I must resign from City Council before I seek any new office. I love this place, but it is time for me to leave."

More to come.

UPDATE: Here's some more Nutter in his own words. Special thanks to WHYY's Brad Linder for getting this sound.

"We can make our city one of the truly great cities of the world. We can make our neighborhoods safe. We can better educate our children. We can create jobs in our communities. And we can attract and retain young people throughout this city."

"I've made this decision because of my passion to serve, because of my commitment to our city's future, because I care about people. This is a hard, serious, and emotional decision for me, my family, and especially my staff. The time has come for me to take the next step in my career. And I ask for your prayers and your continued support."

"I think what I bring is integrity to the public service. A long record. And a commitment to Philadelphia. You'll hear about many other ideas and positions that will come in the weeks ahead. I have a record of service. I'm prepared to stand on that record. I think I can lead this city, I've been paying attention to what the needs are, and I have a different vision and view of where Philadelphia should go."

Not that the political rhetoric in Philly has quite sunk to the level seen in D.C. (I can't believe I just wrote that), but there's still the fear that this campaign could get ugly. I've written before about how all of us would be better served by a high-minded campaign that emphasizes ideas and issues. But we all know how easy it is for candidates to fall into "message" and "sound bites" and "jabs" at their opponents.

Penn President Amy Gutmann has written about the problems with the public discourse and has this possible solution:

Gutmann suggested that divisive rhetoric that surfaces during political debates could be curtailed with a "B.S. buzzer" that sounded when candidates went beyond the pale.

With that awesome plan that Penn unveiled for the Schuylkill's western front and now this idea, I'm really impressed by Dr. Gutmann. Any chance she may want a shot at City Hall?

Continuing our swing through region, the Counter Intelligence Unit traveled to Newtown, Bucks County and Princeton, NJ today to see how folks view regional issues and their relation to the city of Philadelphia and its next mayor. We originally intended to go to Yardley but by the time we got there, some guy had herded everyone in pairs onto a large ark and took off. Plus, putting someone in front of a camera just after they lost their home or their car or nearly their lives seemed a little callous. Besides, that's what Channel 6 was there for anyway.

Our conversations in Newtown and Princeton were great. We talked to a lot of people who travel into Philadelphia frequently to take advantage of the cultural offerings, the sports teams and the historic district. To them, the city is moving in a positive direction but still has some improvements to make. Most of them also sensed a connection between what happens in Philadelphia and what happens in their own lives - proving yet again that the people are sometimes way ahead of their elected officials.

Anyway, we'll be editing these over the next month and presenting them as Counter Intelligence missions. If you haven't seen the results of our first three missions, you can check them out here.

Next week, we're back in Philly to talk to folks who will actually be able to vote for the next mayor.

Oh and by the way, this is the 100th post on the Next Mayor blog! Who knew I knew so many words... or so few that I can use over and over again. Cue the balloons! Where the h*ll? Nothing is falling!

Ok. No balloons. So for fun, let's all watch Fonzi Jump The Shark!

Sometimes we here in the City of Brotherly Love can forget that there's a whole big world outside of this city where people are accomplishing good things and setting great examples for governance and leadership. As a feature of The Next Mayor Project, our Meet the Mayors series is attempting to introduce the readers, listeners and viewers to other mayors who can be described as progressive, creative, and innovative. Our goal is to expand this from a blog feature to a video feature and possibly talk to some of these mayors face to face.

So far, we've introduced people to Chicago and Phoenix, brought attention to the work of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on illegal guns, and did a quick profile of San Francisco Mayor Gavin "McDreamy" Newsom.

Today, we introduce Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. Aside from her history making as the first female mayor of Atlanta and the first African American woman to serve as the mayor of a major southern city, Franklin has won over the entire city and greater Atlanta region with her ability to bring people together to accomplish things that were once considered impossible.

Click "Continue Reading" to learn more about Franklin, including a suprising twist!