As a candidate, Mayor Nutter paid homage to other cities, visiting their City Halls to see what Philadelphia could learn from what they did right.
Tomorrow, Nutter's press secretary, Doug Oliver, will embark on a similar "best practices" tour.
He is expected to go to Chicago, with a visit to Washington scheduled for this Wednesday, and a brief trip to New York City slated for the following week. The fact that these cities have good reputations and are well-positioned nationally "doesn't happen by accident, it is by design," Oliver said.
Some of what he will be looking for are tips on how to better structure the press office; how much time to spend reacting to news versus pro-actively placing it; who to choose what are good issues to associate his mayor with; and how to choose what are potential national stories versus local.
"We're doing okay," he said, "but if there is some trick of the trade, I want to know it."
Comments (3)
It's about time this city stopped doing the "way it has always been done" and try to move into the 20th let alone the 21st century. Kudos to Mayor Nutter and his team for trying to learn from those that do it better. Maybe someday others will want to come to Philadelphia and learn about how things are done here, we will be the standard by which others are judged. One can only hope.
Posted by Lance | January 31, 2008 9:07 PM
Posted on January 31, 2008 21:07
I agree wholeheartedly with Mayor Nutter and the previous poster. Except I would never include Washington, DC in a list of well-run cities. You could add Indianapolis instead.
To be fair, perhaps the DC press secretary's office runs particularly well, given the constant barrage of municipal scandals to which it must respond publicly.
Posted by Mark from Mount Airy | February 1, 2008 7:43 AM
Posted on February 1, 2008 07:43
I think DiCicco has acted with courage to do what right.
Anyone who would want a casino in their neighborhood should have their head examined.
With the looming Girard Avenue Interchange project (until 2017) - who would want an additional 40,000-60,000 cars on Delaware Avenue? Traffic will be a nightmare.
If you had children in those neighborhoods - would you feel your children were safe as drunk-drivers avoid I-95 congestion via small Fishtown and Pennsport streets?
Somehow, pro-casino people rationalize increases in drunk-driving, traffic, and property crime...saying "it won't be THAT bad". I ask: is an increase in crime ever good?
Oh, and wake up Fishtown. At least half of the jobs you want will go to the minorities you made sure didn't move into your neighborhood in the 1970's and 1980's.
The leftover jobs? Have fun cleaning rooms, waiting tables, and being parking attendants. These jobs will not change your life.
Do you really think SugarHouse is going to put a suit on you make you a gaming executive?
Posted by luke | February 1, 2008 12:49 PM
Posted on February 1, 2008 12:49