Heard in the Hall

This intruiging op-ed in yesterday's Inquirer is generating a good bit of discussion in City Hall and elsewhere. In it, mayor-elect Michael Nutter rides to the defense of U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, who'd been derided in an earlier Inquirer editorial for, among other things, having a legislative record "thinner than Kate Moss." Ouch. Prompting the Inquirer editorial was recent word that a young doctor named Keith Leaphart who plans to challenge Brady is lining up big financial support.

Over at Young Philly Politics, they're wondering why Nutter would so publicly have Brady's back, and they're asking similar questions at the Next Mayor.

Heard in the Hall hears that Brady asked Nutter to write the op-ed, and Nutter acquiesced. The letter is bound to make some Nutter supporters uncomfortable, or at least those who are heavily invested in his "New Day" message. As Democratic Party Chairman, Brady doesn't exactly represent a new day, and his pro-patronage record wouldn't appear to match up real well with Nutter's ethics-first approach either.

But consider the other side. Brady bent over backwards following his defeat in the mayoral primary, rallying the party behind Nutter. And Brady is now chairman of a House committee, which will likely help him direct more federal money to Philadelphia. Plus, he's the city's resident labor mediator, and given the contract negotiations Nutter will face immediately after taking office, he could be a real asset to the next mayor.

The mayor elect's got a lot on his plate, and he seems to have concluded there's little to be gained in snubbing a party chairman who's had his back since the primary.