Chris Satullo made a very important point in his column in Sunday's Inquirer - patience, people!
But Nutter, a very smart guy who worked for a long time inside that ornate pile of stone called City Hall, knows something that eludes some of his giddy fans.
No one could achieve in short order all the things folks now blithely expect him to do. The challenges are too big and varied, the money too short, habits at City Hall too entrenched. He plans to do big things, but he knows that will entail another long, hard climb. The worry is: Will his supporters' patience fray long before he even spies the top of the hill?
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But remember this, too: The new mayor will not, upon taking the oath, be handed a wizard's wand. He will be handed a Byzantine, encumbered, undernourished city budget. He will face a sullen workforce, spoiling for a fight in contract talks that will begin as soon as the photo of daughter Olivia goes up on his new desk. If he doesn't get the contracts right, he has no prayer of delivering on his core promises about improved services and lower taxes.
He will inherit national scorn and local panic over a frightening homicide rate. No man could reverse this statistic in a year, but he must appear to be mastering it or his other initiatives will pale. He'll have to deal, somehow, with the leadership meltdown in a school system that is vital to all of his long-term plans.
Readers of this blog, you're more likely than anyone to have been following this race very closely from the very beginning. You're also more likely to have a deep understanding of the difficulty and complexity of the issues facing the next mayor. That said, what are your expectations? What signals would satisfy you that the next mayor is moving the city in "the right direction?" How soon would those events have to take place before you get impatient?
Comments (3)
This is a tough question. Obviously like Satullo said, everyone wants immediate action on their pet issue. However, I think that several issues could be confronted at the same time. Mr. Nutter will have had more than half a year of researching solutions to some of the major problems in Philadelphia before he gets sworn in. As such, there is no reason that for example, a crime fighting plan and a "Greener Philadelphia" plan can't be implemented at about the same time. Different city agencies are involved and different mayoral deputies could handle the nitty-gritty involved in implementing his plans and getting them pushed through council. I agree that everything can't be done at once, and Philadelphians need to show patience.
The easiest way to show that a new way of doing business is starting could take place before Nutter is sworn in however. Non-politically connected selections for his closest advisors and experienced well qualified individuals for high visibility positions like police commissioner could start him off on the right foot.
Posted by Kevin F. | September 4, 2007 3:21 PM
I give nutter his full 8 years to get something done. After that we need someone else, maybe his daughter!
Posted by the B man | September 5, 2007 1:09 PM
Each candidate would love to be the vessel reference for the City. So the ongoing challenges of City Hall shouldn't be a tying feeling for the candidate with the attractive purpose and a response for reason.
Posted by Jasper Zeigler Jr | September 6, 2007 9:21 AM