Michael Nutter skipped the traditional lunch at the Famous Deli today to be with his supporters in the Northwest. The Daily News' Elmer Smith was there too, and brings this report:
Virtually every officeholder, ward leader and candidate in Northwest Philadelphia awaited Nutter’s arrival at a sumptuous buffet at Sadicki’s, a restaurant on Ogontz Ave. in the middle of the Northwest coalition’s political stronghold. The coalition, led by City Council member Marion Tasco, State Reps Leanna Washington and Dwight Evans, has had an often contentious relationship with John Street.
“But we’re looking to the future now,” Tasco said. “Eight years of this bickering is enough.”
Almost on cue, Nutter sounded a similar sentiment when he and his wife and daughter showed up. “I’ve been saying at every stop today,” Nutter said, “that this is a new day. There’s going to be a new way of doing business.”
The gathering at Sadicki’s symbolized that new day, according to Bill Miller, a businessman and off-stage political operator who hosted the luncheon for the coalition.
“This is the start,” Miller said. “No longer do we have to go downtown on election day. We’re starting a new tradition right here.”