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January 2, 2008

A Nutter announcement for later today

Just heard a live report on WHYY 90.9 FM that Michael Nutter will be making another announcement about his cabinet later today.

Nutter gave that info out this morning to WHYY's Shai Ben-Yaacov when Shai went to cover the mayor-elect's appearance at the Philadelphia Stock Exchange:

Philadelphia Mayor-Elect Michael Nutter will kick off trading for the New Year on the floor of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX) on Wednesday, January 2 when he rings the opening bell. Remarks will begin promptly at 9:15 a.m.

For the eighth year in a row, the Mayor of Philadelphia will be at the Exchange to usher in the start of the new trading year. His appearance marks the first in a year long series of prominent people invited to ring the opening bell at the nation's first stock exchange.

Check back here later today for more.

(edited to add) According to the media advisory about the event, the announcement will be made at 3:30pm about "SEVERAL KEY SENIOR APPOINTMENTS."

Another Countdown begins - 5 days Michael Nutter becomes THE Next Mayor

As I mentioned on the main page, we'll be counting down the days until the official swearing-in of the next mayor with a different feature each day.

Today, we offer a podcast of Monday's Radio Times. Guest host Alan Tu welcomed John Baer and Gar Joseph of the Daily News to recap the major local news stories of 2007 - political and non-political.

You can download the entire episode by right clicking this link and choosing "Save Link As" (for Mac users, that's Ctrl-Click).

Feel free to share your own thoughts about the top stories of 2007 in the comments. Best comment will be excerpted and attributed on the front page later this afternoon.

New city solicitor, city rep, deputy mayors

Wendy updated with full info...

Dan was kind enough to text in the news from today's press conference of Nutter announcements: Shelly R. Smith will be Nutter's city solicitor. Everett Gillson is deputy mayor of public safety. Rina Cutler is deputy mayor for transportation and utilities.

Douglas Oliver as director of communications. Israel "Izzy" Colon as director of multicultural affairs.

Hard-working campaign spokeswoman Melanie Johnson is city rep.

And who are these people? Read their brief bios -- from Nutter's press release -- after the jump...

Continue reading "New city solicitor, city rep, deputy mayors" »

The Next Mayor TV: 7 appointments for the price of one trip to City Hall

As Wendy posted earlier (and thank goodness she could read the cryptic text messages I was sending over my old Nokia cell phone - I'm surprised she was able to get Deputy Mayor of Transportation and Public Utilities from my "DMTPU"), Nutter unloaded a bunch of appointments on us today.

Here's the video:

January 3, 2008

What will Philadelphia Mayor John Street's legacy be? Tune in to Radio Times to find out!

With 4 full days left in his term as mayor, what will we remember most about the John Street era? Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane takes on this question today at 10 am on WHYY 90.9 FM.

Here's the promo:

What will Philadelphia Mayor John Street's legacy be? His last day in office is Monday, Jan 7th when Michael Nutter will be sworn in as Mayor. Will he only be remembered for the FBI bug found in his office? Will history remember how he launched a major neighborhood scale restoration program known as NTI? We'll talk with two journalists who have followed Street's career both as a City Councilman and his eight years as Mayor. DAVE DAVIES is a Senior Writer for The Philadelphia Daily News, and MARK McDONALD covers City Hall for the Daily News.

If you can't be near a radio, you can click here for options to listen live on your computer. Check back to this post later today for a podcast of the show that you can download and listen to at your leisure.

(Edited to add) And the link for the podcast is below. As usual, right click and save as to download the .mp3 otherwise, just click and listen!

What will Philadelphia Mayor John Street's legacy be?
Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane

Word of the Day: "Botch"

Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote a blog post about how much good news there seemed to be in the paper? Yeah, that was nice. Wasn't it?

Not so much today. Both the Inquirer and Daily News used a variation of the word "botch" in a headline today and both stories were about public safety services of the City of Philadelphia:

Inquirer: Police admit botched arrest (includes plenty of quotes from people about the cops firing at a gun wielding New Year's reveler and hitting the fully occupied house behind him).

Daily News: Woman dies while city botches EMS call. Admittedly, there's a lot of blame to go around here including on all of the drunken idiots who took up valuable rescue services because they couldn't control their partying on New Year's Eve:

Ayers said for this New Year's Eve he added extra communications personnel and five ambulances to the 28 that would normally be on duty in the wee hours, but it was clear that the system was stretched beyond its limit.

"We get so many calls then, a lot of them for people who've fallen down or passed out drunk," Ayers said. "That makes it harder for us to get to more serious situations like this one."

Sigh.

Continuing our Countdown to the Next Mayor with John Street memory day

Well, you heard Dave Davies and Mark McDonald from the Daily News talk a little about the Street legacy on Radio Times this morning, but there's plenty more.

The City Paper reprinted the transcript of their exit interview with the mayor. In it, Street explains that his biggest accomplishment is the end of the term "abandoned property."

There is no neighborhood in this city today that is worthless. By that, I mean there is no such thing as abandoned property anymore. When I became the mayor eight years ago, there was a lot of talk about abandoned property.

Speaking of abandoned property, Mark McDonald of the Daily News gives us part 1 of a two-part piece that evaluates the NTI program. It's an extremely thoughtful and balanced piece that admits, in some places, that we just can't tell whether NTI did some of the things it set out to do. In fact, that's exactly the conclusion he reached after asking a number of people, inside the Street administration and other experts, "Did NTI lead to thousands of new homes in Philly - or were other forces at work?"

I, however, am most fascinated by the reader comments section, which you should be able to get here. I'm still scrolling through them. I'd say they're about 80% racist garbage, 5% defense of Street and 10% thoughtful criticism. It's the 10% I'm trying to focus on.

Back to those comments.

(edited to add) I'm also picking my way through the City Paper article. Admittedly, Street makes a lot of good points about why his 8 years in office were actually not that bad, but in the context of his overall communication style, his points often come across as grousing and bellyaching:

In 2002, homicides in this city were at a 17-year low. Nine out of the 11 years before I became mayor, we had [more than] 400 homicides every single year. I became the mayor, we have had [more than] 400 homicides one out of seven years. We got homicides down so low that when they starting coming back up people said, "Oh boy, look at this." And it is bad, it's bad, but I think modern means of communication like the Internet really gives people a whole lot more [information] and they talk about it a lot more.
...
I really do think people out of the heat of the moment are going to look back and say a lot of good stuff happened. I think I'm young enough to live to that time; there are huge numbers of people out there in the neighborhoods who have a mighty appreciation for the improvements in their lives today, but they aren't always spoken for. Most of them aren't bloggers, the people who overwhelmingly voted for me in all of my elections are probably not of the blogging class.

I am the blogging class, but as I was still registered in Delaware County in 2003 and 1999, I didn't have the chance not to vote for Mayor Street.

(edited to add) And this is why blogs are great, because we can check people's math. Continuing with my interpretation of City Paper's John Street interview, it appears the mayor bristled a little when the interviewer mentioned Michael Nutter's electoral victory:

CP: You have three weeks to go [at the time of the interview] and Michael Nutter, who is coming in, and who won a large majority of the vote ...

JS: Well, actually he didn't win a large majority. Actually, he had a very small majority. Thirteen percent of the total registered Democratic voters of the city of Philadelphia voted for him in the primary, so if the primary turnout was 27 percent, hypothetically, and he got 34 percent of the vote of the people who voted, that percen tthat he got is much smaller of the total number of people who are registered voters in the Democratic primary. See, he didn't get a whole lot of votes, but it goes to show you the perception.

In the general election, the Republicans didn't even campaign. I think Al Taubenberger spent less than $150,000, if that. My general election, the opponents probably spent $10 million. I say all that to say I don't know what you can refer from the voting in general, the primary, the voting in the general election.There was no competitive general election and in the primary, the turnout was very low, and the vote was split up in so many pieces, that the eventual winner of the Mayor's office did it with almost no votes.

Can Nutter be faulted that the GOP considered him such a strong candidate that they didn't even try to field a better candidate? Let's compare the 1999 with the 2007 Democratic primaries:

In 1999, John Street received 103,479 votes in a 6 candidate field (5 "viable candidates"). This equaled about 36% of the votes cast (289,005). There were a total of 737,063 registered Democrats which means that turnout was 39% and Street's total votes represents 14.0% of registered Democrats.

Eight years later, population dropped by at least 70,000 people (according to U.S. Census estimates) but the number of registered Democrats increased to 752,097. Many experts attribute that to laws which made it more difficult to purge non-voters from the voter rolls. It's possible that there were less than 700,000 registered Democrats in the city. However, setting that aside, what are the numbers:

In 2007, Michael Nutter received 106,805 votes in a 7-way (5 "viable candidate") race out of 291,492 votes cast. That's a turn out of about 39% assuming there really are 752,097 registered Democrats. Actual turnout could have been anywhere from 41% to 45% (very rough estimates). Regardless, more total voters showed up at the polls to vote despite the fact that there was much less money spent on television ads than in the 1999 primary. Nutter's 106,805 votes represent about 37% of the vote and 14% of the total number of "official" registered Democrats.

And with that, I've spent just as much time picking on John Street's seemingly inane point about Nutter's vote total as he spent downplaying the City Paper interviewer's reference to Nutter's "large majority."

Nutter opening up City Hall to the masses. Dibs on the Tower!

Just got a press release from the Nutter transition team about the festivities that are planned for the first full day of the new mayor's term. Apparently, there will be cookies!

Mayor-elect Michael Nutter invites Philadelphians to join him at City Hall on Tuesday January 8th from 4-8pm for an open house reception on his first full day in office.

“City Hall belongs to all Philadelphians. Making real progress will take all of us working together,” said Mayor-elect Michael Nutter. City Hall’s four portals will be filled with light and entertainment as the sounds of more than a hundred youth performers welcome visitors. “I hope that, under my administration, this is a place where the public feels welcome and visits often.”

Guests will enter through the building’s North Entrance, where they will ascend the grand stairway into the elegant Conversation Hall, where Mayor Nutter will shake hands. As guests leave Conversation Hall, they will have the opportunity to visit the Mayor’s Reception Room. Guides from City Hall Tours will be available to answer questions about the unique history of the building and its occupants. William Penn and Ben Franklin will also be on hand to help commemorate the day.

“Learn a little about our city’s history while you help us mark an exciting step into the future,” said the Mayor-elect.

In the courtyard, hot chocolate, cookies and other refreshments donated by area businesses will be served by Culinary Arts students from the Philadelphia School District.

Finally. The courtyard is being used for more than just a shortcut from East Market to West Market. How long will it be until a nice little catering set-up takes up shop there and the first group of seniors holds their prom under the stars and the City Hall clock?

January 4, 2008

Some very sad news

Just got a statement from the Nutter folks.

“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the sudden passing of James M. Barnett, husband of Camille Barnett who is the incoming Managing Director in the Administration. Mr. Barnett was killed early this morning in a car accident during his commute from Washington D.C. to Philadelphia. During the process of bringing Camille to Philadelphia and announcing her appointment, I, as well as many of the staff members and volunteers on the Nutter Transition Team had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know James. We found him to be a warm and a gentle man. All of our hopes and prayers are with the Barnett Family in their time of loss.”

Very sad news indeed.

Our deepest sympathies also go out to Mrs. Barnett.

(edited to add) Inquirer has just a few more details including that the couple's daughter and granddaughter were also in the car and survived the accident but their condition is not yet known. We'll keep you up to date on this very tragic incident.

You be the judge: How did Nutter fare with a potential misstep?

I've been kind of wrapped up with the unfortunate news from this morning about the husband of Managing Director-designate Camille Barnett so I haven't yet gotten to weigh in on the front-page, "above the fold" story in today's Inquirer:

FOP rips Nutter's pick for safety job

Apparently, Nutter failed to run his choice of Everett A. Gillison as Deputy Mayor of Public Safety by the FOP. It's not that he necessarily needs their approval, but it would have been the "political" thing to do.

Gillison, while in the public defender's office, represented convicted cop killer Solomon Montgomery who had shot Officer Gary Skerski during a bar hold up back in 2006. The Inquirer story from this morning includes several quotes from Nutter's new spokesperson, Doug Oliver, who gives all of the "right answers" about the fact that Ellison defended Montgomery:

"Regardless of his individual caseload, Everett Gillison is good at what he does"

"He was a senior lawyer assigned high-profile, high-publicity cases and [as a public defender] did not have the ability to pick and choose the cases he takes."

"Every man is entitled to a defense, and we don't think [Gillison] should be penalized for doing his job and doing it well."

and so forth.

And all of that is true. Our system of law depends on the adversarial system in which everyone, no matter what crime they committed, gets the best defense possible. That way, when they are convicted, we all are as confident as possible that it was because they actually committed the crime and not because they couldn't defend themselves. In fact, the FOP should probably push for cop killers to get the best defense possible so that we're not stuck with another Mumia case that drags on for over 25 years.

However, it's also understandable why the FOP would be a little sensitive to this, considering that the man in question did defend someone who took the life of one of their own. At the very least Nutter should have had some kind of informal consultation with them. And the Mayor-elect admits as much.

Nutter quickly owned up to the mistake in procedure while also standing by his choice of Ellison. The following are quotes from Fox 29's coverage this morning:

The one mistake I made here was not at least giving him [FOP head John McNesby] a call ahead of time, because I do consider him a friend, both personally and professionally, and he deserved a heads up. I made a mistake in that regard.
...
[McNesby] is my friend. He's a true professional, and certainly deserved the heads up. I ended up talking to him after and apologize at that time, and I reiterated that I had made a mistake in that particular matter, and when you make a mistake, you just have to own up to it.

Standing by his choice of Gillison he said:

I understand the concern [by the FOP], but quite frankly, because Everett [Gillison] is so good, I know that he can actually help us in the government better coordinate all of our public safety services - the police, the courts, the DA, the public defenders, probation and parole - because he's seen the system from the insider and understands what works and what doesn't.

So, you be the judge. How do you think Nutter handled this first potential misstep? Is the story done now and do you think they move on or will it linger and leave a lasting impression on the new administration?

January 7, 2008

Counting down is over. Now we start counting up! Details of today's swearing-in coverage

Last Thursday, I went to a meeting at the Academy of Music, site of today's ceremony, to go over details of the media coverage of the event. This is my first mayoral swearing-in as a member of the media and, on top of that, the first one that I'm really paying attention to. When Street was first sworn in back in 2000, I was safely tucked away as an academic in Chester County.

However, even having never fully experienced what's about to happen today, I still got a sense from the questions that were being asked on Thursday morning and from the sheer amount of people who were at the meeting, that this one is special. The media is paying extra special attention to this one.

Who knows why? Perhaps, we, like everyone else, are being swept up into the stratospherically high expectations that are being heaped onto mayor-elect Nutter and want to give our readers, listeners and viewers the kind of coverage that we think they want. Maybe, after 8 years of a mayor that has had somewhat of a bunker mentality when it comes to the press, we're all looking forward to dealing with an administration that, at least so far, values free and open communication. Or possibly, we are all just a bunch of Philadelphians (city and suburban) who want the city to do well and are pinning our own hopes on this new administration. As such, we all just want to be there and, in our own very small way, be a part of history.

The end result is, yes, we are going to cover that crap out of this event. Here's the whole schedule in today's Daily News.

Starting at 10am, a whole slew of Daily News reporters, Susan Phillips from WHYY and I will be at the Academy of Music for the pomp and circumstance for an event that is basically a very well-attended City Council meeting. About an hour into that meeting, Michael Nutter will be sworn in and then deliver his inaugural address.

You can see the entire thing, starting at 10, on WHYY's Digitial Channel 12.3 which can be found on Comcast Digital Cable Channel 242 or Verizon FiOS 873. If you can't get to a TV or don't have digital cable or FiOS, we'll be rebroadcasting the swearing-in and inaugural address part, tonight at 11 PM on Channel 12, which you can still get with a good set of rabbit ears until 2009.

Shortly after that, I (and I'm sure a whole bunch of the press corps) will head over to City Hall for the public swearing-in of the mayor's new cabinet. That event is scheduled for 12:30pm. I'll most likely get a little video and share that later today on the blog. This is being touted as a first. The first time, the cabinet is being sworn in as part of a public ceremony.

Nutter then heads to the Bellevue for a "Mentorship Luncheon" for city students and their mentors. As of now, I'll probably head over and see if I can get some of his remarks on video to share later today as well.

Finally, after a nice long day for everyone, I'll be among the numerous press at the "Philadelphia Realized" inaugural festivities down at the Cruise Ship Terminal in the Navy Yard. Nutter is expected to deliver a speech at around 10pm (just in time to go live on the 10pm newscasts and get taped and edited for the 11pm). Video (very unedited) of that will also be available much later tonight.

All of this coverage is subject to change (ie, if my battery goes dead, there may some video I don't get). Check back here throughout the day for updates.

What a day!

I got back about 90 minutes ago from the various events on the mayor's schedule. In a few minutes I'll have video footage posted from my spot in the balcony of the Academy of Music for the swearing-in, from the scrum at the cabinet swearing-in (where were all those cameras for the budget director announcement?!?!), and from the mentor luncheon that the mayor attended shortly after the cabinet event.

Nutter becomes art -- we mean it

Whew - long day of inaugural stuff completed, long night ahead.

We're preparing several posts, but this small item, from a unnamed correspondent who was there, is so funny we will stick it up now:


Immediately following the inauguration, Mark Gaines was outside the Academy of Music selling Michael Nutter.

That is, the artist was selling his 11.x17 portraits of the new Mayor – rendered in ball point pen, photo-copied and slipped behind a black mat – for $5.
Sales were brisk. Brisker than the sales last inauguration, anyway. Gaines said not many people were buying John Street portraits in 2004.
But by 12:30 Monday, Gaines had sold all but about 12 of the 100 copies he brought with him.
Then again, we noticed that most of Gaines’ sales were being made to women, who were not shy about expressing their, er, admiration for the portraits. (“Mmmm, mmm” was the most common reaction.)
But then, our feeling about this new Cult of Nutter was compounded when one of the few male art lovers showed up with his $5: It was Al Taubenberger, the Republican candidate Nutter defeated in the election.
He mumbled something about buying it for someone and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Read Nutter's speech for yourself

The saga of this post continues. Turns out the Nutter folks sent an early draft of his speech. Below the jump is the correct one -- though, again, those who were there say Nutter departed from this script a lot.

Continue reading "Read Nutter's speech for yourself" »

Can't get enough Nutter? CN8's got 'im ON DEMAND

This from Comcast...

Nutter’s Inauguration Available ON DEMAND
For your readers who were unable to view Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter’s inauguration and inaugural address, CN8, The Comcast Network and Comcast Cable have teamed up to provide the complete address ON DEMAND. From Wednesday, January 9 through Sunday, January 13, Comcast Digital Cable customers in the Philadelphia-area can view the ceremony at their leisure for no additional cost by selecting “Get Local” then “CN8 Originals” and “Specials” from their ON DEMAND menu.

Video Highlights of the Swearing In

If, like me, you're not a cable subscriber, you may not be able to see the CN8 OnDemand offering that Wendy posted about a little while ago.

Tonight at 11 PM, WHYY TV-12 will be re-airing the part of the proceedings that include the blessing, the Ave Maria, the swearing-in, the Inaugural Address and the performance afterward.

For now, here are some highlights (Quicktime required) that I shot myself (trust me, the 11 PM show is much high quality!) from my perch in Lincoln's balcony:

Highlights from the swearing in of Mayor Nutter's new cabinet

Again, where were all these cameras for the announcement of the new budget director? (;v))

Following the swearing in ceremony, Mayor Nutter signed three Executive Orders. The first declared a "crime emergency" and charged the new Commissioner with submitting a plan within 30 days to fight violent crime. The second established the role of Chief Integrity Officer, sending the Chief Information Officer scurrying for a new abbreviation. The third established the several deputy mayors and sought to clarify the organization of the executive branch and codify the cooperation and coordination of the various departments, agencies, board, and quasi-governmental agencies.

The video is available as a Quicktime or via Youtube below:

Nutter's first public appearance as mayor outside of City Hall - Mentorship Luncheon (video highlights)

This one was a pretty quick edit but it captures the essence of what his remarks were about:

January 8, 2008

Podcast of Mayor Nutter's speech at the "Philadelphia Realized" Party

I'll get some video up tomorrow but for now you can use the following link to hear his entire speech from last night. Sorry, I ended it before he started singing. If there are enough requests for that, maybe I'll try to get those few seconds up here too!

CLICK HERE FOR PODCAST OF NUTTER SPEECH

You can right click on that link and "Save As" to download the .mp3. It's about 6 minutes long. The woman's voice you here clearly is Mrs. Lisa Nutter who, along with their daughter Olivia, was up at the podium with the Mayor.

Oh... and that video that'll be up tomorrow... I got a particularly good shot of surprise guest at the party.

City Hall under siege by well wishers and really optimistic people

Turn on a TV right now. News helicopters, which I usually think are the biggest waste of resources in commercial news, are the only pieces of equipment that can accurately capture the scene at City Hall.

As I arrived and followed the signs guiding me to the entrance at the North Portal of City Hall, I thought there was just an unusual amount of rush hour commuters making their way to Suburban Station. It soon became clear that this was not the ordinary homebound rabble. The line, 4 or 5 people wide in parts, wound its way from the North Portal through Dilworth Plaza, around the western face of City Hall, right along the edge, squeezed past the southwestern corner and finally ended, or began, just past the South Portal.

I talked to a few folks at the end of the line and got their reactions which I'll share on video tomorrow. As I tried to get reactions specifically from the person at the very end of this line, 10 or 12 people instantly filed in behind. A security guard marking the start of the line with an intermittent and hearty "This is the Michael Nutter LINE!" told me that he'd put the crowd at 3000 people easily. Clearly this was the largest crowd ever gather at City Hall when there wasn't some kind of giant hoagie or baseball cap involved.

With my video camera and WHYY mic flag in hand and my flimsy "temporary media credentials" I was able to get no less than 5 different cops and security guards to let me through to the where the mayor was receiving people. Nutter was taking his time with each person who spoke to him. In the 10 minutes I observed this process, I saw the whole range of Philadelphians - as young as 2 and as old as 82, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, men and women. Some wanted autographs. Some, usually older ladies, had gifts for the mayor.

After shaking hands with Nutter, folks could move on to Commissioner Ramsey and Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers who were dressed in their Class A's.

I'll have more video from this event tomorrow but for now, here's some of Mayor Nutter with a certain Philadelphian who was also known for his convincing victories:

January 9, 2008

Some cynics remain

The Metro was able to find one of the few folks who were willing to go on the record with less than glowing praise for yesterday's City Hall open house:

Political watchers said yesterday that Nutter’s open house may set the tone for the kind of administration he hopes to have, but was little more than a well-executed public relations stunt.

“What the hell else can be behind it other than a good public relations move?” ask­ed Larry Ceisler, a political consultant. “Michael’s about transparency and accessibility in government, and this is a good mechanism to set that tone.”

My own cynicism was very much muted after experiencing that line yesterday. Now we just have to see what's going to happen when the real work begins. As one of my co-workers just said to me after seeing the coverage of yesterday's event on the news, "I feel like were in a movie right now and I just hope that it ends well."

Don't worry, there are plenty of other items in the news for me to be sarcastic and less than 100% hopeful about today - not the least of which is a candidate for President convincing a small New England state that she's the candidate of "change" just by saying the word 3000 times - so the blogger you've come to know and be ambivalent about will return soon.

A warning not to drop the ethics ball

There's an excellent post over YPP that reminds us that just because it's a "new day" with a new mayor who has voiced his commitment to cleaning up city government, it's not time for anyone, least of all the city's main "good government watchdog" group to think that ethics is no longer an issue:

On Sunday, Zack Stalberg appeared on Live at Issue. He said that with the change in office, the Committee of Seventy was likely to shift its attention away from ethics violations (the main issue during the Street Administration) and towards "good government," i.e., efficiency, the quality of city services, etc. The proposed changes to the city charter, then, would fall under how the Committee is now interpreting its mandate.

But even if it's a broadening of focus rather than a wholesale change, I find this troubling -- especially insofar as it seems part of a narrative that with Street out and Nutter in, the city's ethical problems are over and we can move on to other issues. The presumption that a change of the top office holder somehow changes both the prevailing dynamics and universal potential for corruption is woefully short-sighted.

I wholeheartedly agree. Nutter and his appointees may be the squeakiest of the squeaky clean but that doesn't mean that all of the 22,000+ people who work for the city - and who have been there since long before he took office on Monday - are as ethically sound.

You don't have to look much further than City Council and Traffic Court to get that icky feeling about government that was so common over the last eight years. I was especially impressed by the boldness with which Action News's David Henry characterized Curtis Jones and Willie Singletary:

Mayor Nutter likes to say it's a new day and a new way in Philadelphia. But some of the old ways are apparently still hanging in there. We have a new traffic court judge who is a notorious scofflaw, and a new council member who's under investigation.

And hopefully the new administration realizes that. I'm not sure what Nutter can do about either of these, considering that, as one commenter to the Action News story wrote:

Good job Philly! Nutter didnt appoint these people, the voters did.

Can a mayor criticize the alleged ethical violations of those in Council without completely alienating them? If not, can he face a city that has come to depend on him to take a strong stand against even the hint of such impropriety?

Estimates of the attendance at yesterday's open house vary...

Dan McQuade at Philadelphia Will Do went for the high end:

Yesterday, Michael Nutter hosted at open house at City Hall and like 80 billion people showed up and the line stretched all around the street. It was like the Phillies were in the playoffs again. It was even 60 degrees outside. Only John Street got booed at the Phillies rally, while Nutter had people shaking his hands and whatnot.

McQuade is apparently also the official Alycia Lane Comic Commentator™.

Now that's... a sweet gig.

Nutter becomes first mayor to be a YouTube star

Also via Philadelphia Will Do:

I guess I left waaaaay too early.

It's too bad YouTube wasn't around for Ed Rendell's stirring rendition of Meatloaf's "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" during the 1992 Inaugural Ball.

Will Philadelphia ever be a place for "industry" again?

I had considered taking the rest of the day off from blogging since there's no way I'd be able to top a post with a video of the new mayor performing Rapper's Delight, in its entirety.

But I wanted to bring up the larger point that is touched on in this news item that was way down on philly.com's home page (under PA Suburbs - I guess Kensington could be considered a suburb before the 1854 consolidation):

A proposed zoning change that would allow a mixed-use "green" project on an industrial site in Philadelphia's South Kensington neighborhood has met stiff opposition from businesses along the American Street Industrial Corridor and the city's Department of Commerce.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment yesterday delayed action on the change in designation for the tract at 1647-1724 Germantown Ave. until "we have a chance to look at it," said the Rev. William Hall, who chaired the meeting.

The developer, Home (Scale), proposes building about 50 residential and three commercial units in a complex known as High Street Philadelphia. Vincent Dougherty, the city's assistant director of commerce, said the project "would remove more industrially zoned property from an inventory constantly being reduced by residential, big-box store and commercial development."

The larger point is, while Philadelphia's not quite in the dire straits that was back in the 1990s when there was absolutely NO development taking place and the Rendell administration felt that it had to accept anything that came along, it seems unlikely that Philly will ever need all of the "industrially zoned property" property that Mr. Dougherty is seeking to protect. We can wish all we want that all of those vacant, rundown, broken factories and industrial lots magically reopen as modern plants, building computers and plasma screen television, with hundreds of high paying manufacturing jobs, but it's pretty unlikely.

It would seem that a "mixed-use 'green' project" is the next best - and only realistic - reuse of this kind of land.

A New Day, A New Way, A New website?

I was poking around the city's website today to try to get a sense of which top level staff were kept on from the previous administration (to update our own "appointments page") and I realized how ridiculously difficult it must be for whoever is in charge of that site to create something that's useful, coherent and well-organized.

This isn't a dig at the Mayor's Office of Information Services. It's just a thought about how difficult it must be to create a website that has to be so many things to so many different people. For business and residents, the website should exist to provide an easy way for them to get certain city services or find out where to get them. For the city, it serves as a promotional tool that spreads the word about new programs or initiatives. For those of us in the media, sometimes all we want is to find out who's who (and who's doing what job).

To complicate matters, the city government itself is HUGE. Just hit the drop down menu on the top left that says "Select a City Department" and you get 85 choices, many of which seem to stretch the definition of "City Department." Basically, rather than make things simpler, the website falls into the trap of simply reflecting the complexity of city government and the difficulty with which one has to navigate it.

So we probably shouldn't expect a massive overhaul of the city's website within the first several weeks of the new administration. The only real change will come when the actual system represented by the website is radically reorganized.

That said, don't expect this blog to do some sort of "Web Watch" in which we nitpick the pages and parts of the site that are out of date, non functional or just plain confusing. Heck, plenty of folks can do that for The Next Mayor website anyway. But we will continue to be vigilant about and report on the structural changes that make city government work better.

(And for anyone who's wondering when we'll update that "Appointments Page," the Nutter folks assure us that they'll be sending out a comprehensive list of all of the senior level staff. As soon as we get it, we'll fill in all of the blanks.)

January 10, 2008

Nutter's role in picking a schools CEO

Two true things: 1) The city schools are under the control of a state-installed School Reform Commission. 2) The governor and the mayor both have appointments to the SRC, but the governor has a majority.

And one more thing that's not true quite yet, but you can bet on it: When the time comes to pick a new schools CEO, to replace the departed Paul Vallas, new mayor Michael Nutter will have his say. He made that perfectly clear even as a candidate.

So now we know two on the "short list" of those being considered. Each are well-known; one has been a lightning rod for controversy.

And I just find it interesting that this appointment will be one of the new mayor's biggest challenges yet -- and it's not officially his appointment at all.

Getting to know "Chief" Ramsey

WHYY's Susan Phillips produced a fantastic, in-depth interview with new Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey. Listeners will get a little insight into how Ramsey made the decision to become a cop, his thoughts on stop and frisk, community policing and his plans for the PPD.

Right click and choose "Save As" on this link to download this piece. Or you can just click and listen. The file is large so please be patient as it loads.

Envisioning Philadelphia in 2035

My internet connection has been crazy slow today so I bow to YPP for beating me to these two pieces of news in this morning's Inquirer:

Two meetings set on waterfront transit

It's nice to think that folks are actually considering making that PATCO-SEPTA connection with some sort of light rail that will travel along the waterfront. With that piece in place, it's not hard to imagine the Civic Vision for the Central Delaware waterfront becoming a reality. I'll be at one of the meetings to check it out, not so much as an Issues and Policy blogger, just a concerned Philadelphian who would love a quick and easy way to ride to the Sports Complex (when he's 50).

Planning Commission meetings on city's future

This second item points out that there's a City Planning Commission sponsored website called Imagine Philadelphia on which viewers are asked:

How do you imagine Philadelphia's neighborhoods, skyline, parks, and business districts in 2035?

It's humbling to think that by 2035, 27 years from now, just about all of the major players and decision makers who run this city today will have faded from the scene. For my part, I hope that my wife and I are living on the beach on of the South Pacific islands that hasn't been completely inundated from the effects of global warming and rising sea levels, say, Australia.

Check out the website. Like the plan for Philadelphia, most of the website is still under construction but you can find a January meeting near you.

Starting line ups for your 2008 City Government

Doesn't quite have the same ring to it as, "Welcome your 2008 Philadelphia Phillies" but for those of you keeping score, like us, the Mayor's office has released the complete list of senior government officials to date.

Many have the "Acting" in front of their title which means that the search continues for the permanent occupier of that role, though that does not mean that many of the "Actings" aren't in competition for their own jobs. The biographies for each of the non "Acting" (or permanent) is located further down the page. At the bottom, you'll also find the newest members of the Mayor's office:

Pauline Abernathy, Senior Advisor to the Mayor
Julia Chapman , Director, Legislative Affairs
Tricia Enright, Deputy Chief-of-Staff
Terry Gillen, Senior Advisor to the Mayor for Economic Development
Wendell Eric Pritchett , Director, Research, Policy, and Planning

Most of the people who have gotten permanent appointments as departments heads are long time veterans of city government. Please feel free to comment on any of the choices.

The funny things you find on the internet

I know I promised that I wouldn't nitpick the city's website but I was poking around Philly.gov to find information about the Mayor's Office of Community Services (MOCS) so I could fill out our Appointments Page with the info from Mayor Nutter's office and I found this funny little malapropism:

In the 1960s, poverty threatened to ravish the United States. (emphasis mine)

That's in the "History" section of MOCS. Let's review:

Ravish (verb) 1 a: to seize and take away by violence b: to overcome with emotion (as joy or delight) <-ed by the beauty of the scene> c: RAPE, VIOLATE 2: PLUNDER, ROB.

Ravage (verb): to wreak havoc on : visit destructively and often violently.

(From Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary)

Sorry, I shouldn't mock MOCS. I think the better question would be, since MOCS was originally created as a result of a federal mandate, which I'm sure came with a lot of federal dollars, are those dollars still flowing in such a way that this office can be sustained? Please feel free to share your own experiences with MOCS, positive or negative, and let us know whether this office is one of your budgetary priorities.

Anyway, check the appointments page for the complete starting line up of your Philadelphia City Government and be sure to get ready for the City Government Fantasy Draft.

January 11, 2008

Shameless WHYY plug for all of you fans of The Clash

I just got this message from our daily company announcements and I thought I'd put it out there for any of this blog's readers who may be interested:

The Clash Live: Revolution Rock
Be a part of this live-taping and national production on January 24th. We will need volunteers to help answer phones on our TV set from 8-11 p.m. Meet David Rubinsohn, Pierre Robert from WMMR and many more as this documentary plays first in Philly! Dinner will be provided!

Unfortunately, I don't think The Clash themselves will be there but every time I've come in contact with Pierre Robert, I come away feeling just a little bit cooler - quite a feat for me!

If you're interested, click here and fill out the volunteer form. It won't cost you anything and, hey, free dinner!

Ok, shameless WHYY plug is over. Now back to the politics.

A firsthand look at the inner workings of city government

This morning, the Mayor's Office of Communications sent out a media advisory alerting recipients to the fact that the mayor would be meeting with the Administrative Board this morning at 11 am. As a total government geek, my curiosity about this governmental body was piqued, so much so that rather than just look up the make up and function of the Board in the Home Rule Charter, I raced down to City Hall to watch it for myself.

I only hope that all such meetings are as short and efficient as this one.

Apparently, several other media outlets were just as curious about this event. Channel 6 and Channel 3 both had cameras, with Channel 3's Robin Mackintosh (who has his own Wikipedia entry). KYW 1060 AM, the Daily News and at least two other print journalists were also present.

City Solicitor Shelley Smith answered our question about the board, saying that the board administers the rules for exempt employees of the city (those who aren't covered by civil service regulations, in many cases, political appointments and their staffs). Also present were Finance Director Rob Dubow and Chief of Staff Clay Armbrister, who was acting in place of the Managing Director, and Armbrister's executive assistant.

The meeting began shortly after 11 AM, giving this blog reporter time to get through the security line that was so accurately criticized by the Daily News Editorial Board this morning. Armbrister called the meeting to order and they quickly dispensed with their two agenda items - the reappointment of Acting Water Commissioner Bernard Brunwasser who had retired on December 29th to take advantage of the DROP program (and who's name, ironically, means "well-water or spring-water") and increasing the number of exempt positions in the Managing Directors Office by 12