Great Expectations

Nutter's win is historic by Philly standards. But he still has the much of the same council, with it's same dated vision of Philly as the uniony, tax the businesses and wage earners until they move out to get a 5% raise mentality.

Is council going to allow Nutter to collect overdue property taxes? Sell city held property at competitive, open auction/bidding?

Privatize city functions while modernizing them?

Pubish the city budget draft? Pay down the city debt so we can borrow at saner rates?

Make PHA sell the property stock it can't afford to maintain or rebuild?

Allow debt for utilties to be collected at lien sales using the proceeds of the sale of the property to pay off the bill?

All of this is how the counties make a tax base and fund schools, police, and the right amount of prison/rehab space. The largest landlord in Chester County is not an entity that pays no property taxes (ie the Philadelphia Housing Authority).

Why is Philly so slow to grasp that it can't afford a quarter of the owning population as not paying at least part of its own way? Cities can't be where we house the poor for the state. The federal government is not going to pay for that anymore.

And really, aren't Philly's entry level skilled workers better off where the jobs are that suit them, where the towns are safer, the schools better, and the cost of living cheaper?

Living in the city is a priviledge, not everyone can swing it, and that's just fine.

Council though, unlike Nutter, doesn't realize how much it needs the new middle class vote, and is going to try to create huge debt to "house" and "train" the people it just paid for to educate and failed to do.

Council has made itself clear about loving the wage tax and not being able to imagine life without it.

That means Philly's economy will still only be a shadow of its possibility.

If Nutter couldn't show these people the light on wage taxes (or the BPT, a tax that is unique in all the world, except maybe in pre-revolutionary France), then is there really any hope of them coming around to "creating jobs" by letting the economy create them?

Can a Council so illiterate economically learn?

Street, Fattah, Campbell, and all of their ilk; you lost. You are done. Now please just go away.

chaka fattah started with a seemingly rock solid lead, it was his to lose and he did, which makes him the biggest looser.

Dwight started in second and ended up a huge looser, but somehow he doesn't seem like a looser. He looks like a guy who gave it the old college try.

Bob Brady, started in last place when he announced and did better than expected, he was especially comfortable in the debates, which most folks thought would be his week spot, and given the climate for change and the battering he took in the media and from Knox, the ballot challenge, how badly he was outspent and the fact that other candidates just couldn't bring Nutter down to earth, I think Brady comes out ok with a third place finish.

Nutter will need Brady when it comes time to negotiate with the unions and build support for his programs.

Knox's candidacy was just really poorly conceived, he knew his past business practices made him unacceptable, but he preceeded to blow 13 million of his own money anyway. Sure he built an electronic base with all that money, but they blew right off him the minute he was attacked (more credit to Brady for having the guts to spend 400,000 dollars attacking him. He's a huge looser too. And so is Jon Doc and Jane Blackwell.

When Michael first ran for City Council in 1987, then Representative Chaka Fattah backed yesterday's winner Curtis Jones until he was removed from the ballot. he then offered his "support" for Michael's campaign while he simultaneously did a lot of questionable and backhanded things to try to seemingly prevent his eventual success. This included trying to have his organization mambers challeng Michael's attempts to become a force in the 52nd Ward, to supplying unproductive "workers" from his organization to assist with the Nutter campaign.

It seemed that Chaka was always intent on being THE power from West Philadelphia and his actions and the actions of those who surrounded him bore those sentiments.

It is really GOOD to see that Michael trounced him in the manner that he did.....
Shows who the REAL power was in West Philly.

Fattah - 4th place...so much for the so-called legendary field operation - a fraud like Fattah himself!

Local guru Neil Oxman won; national strategists Joe Trippi and David Axelrod got their asses kicked.