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Philadelphia’s New Mayor
By Natalie Pompilio, photos by Ryan Donnell
Michael Nutter, W’79, is serious about doing the right thing.
The day started around 9 a.m. at the Philadelphia Zoo. The
Man Who Would Be Mayor pulled a free t-shirt over his long
sleeve shirt and tie, stepped to the microphone, and welcomed
walkers to the charity walk-a-thon.
Two hours later, he was on Independence Mall, one of the
many politicians on hand for the groundbreaking of a new
museum. An hour after that, he was in South Philadelphia,
standing in the pulpit of a church, asking the congregation
for their votes—and their prayers.
And so it went one Sunday one month before the election
that would propel Michael Nutter, W’79, into City Hall.
In truth, he didn’t have to work this hard. His post was as
good as won: Democrats have helmed the city since 1952,
and the party enjoys a 5-1 voter registration advantage. Post-primary analysis showed Nutter’s victory over four other
candidates was also notable because he garnered more white
votes than any other African American in city history.
But Nutter, 50, a married father of two, said he campaigns
on two speeds—“fast and faster.”
“I don’t take anything for granted,” he said. “Everything
that got me here, it doesn’t make sense to slow down now.”
What got him here are dozens of handshakes and photo
ops, hours on the telephone seeking contributions, speaking
appearances and debates and policy meetings. He resigned
his seat on the Philadelphia City Council a year ago to
focus, a bold move considering many thought he had no
chance. He had to.
“I have to give 100 percent to what I’m involved in. The
only way for me to do this and do it well and do it right was
not to have any other responsibilities,” he said.
Then he put it in business terms: “This is all about risk
and reward. In terms of what I accomplished, it was a good
business decision. In terms of having money in my pocket,
it was not a good business decision. When you’re passionate
about something, you often have to make these tradeoffs.”
Few thought he would pull it off. At one point last year,
it seemed Tom Knox, a businessman who spent more than
$10 million of his own money on his mayoral campaign,
was headed towards a Democratic primary victory. Knox had
started advertising on television and radio in August 2006,
the first candidate out of the box, and never stopped. Knox
portrayed himself as a political outsider in a city where political
insiders were under fire.
He finished second.
And, if not Knox, then it seemed the likely winner would
have been U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, the city Democratic chairman
with the strongest union support, or U.S. Rep. Chaka
Fattah, an early front-runner who had name recognition and
an unrivaled election machine. Or, if not them, then State Rep.
Dwight Evans, who had earned the praise of Ed Rendell, the
popular Pennsylvania governer and former Philadelphia mayor.
But Nutter? He was respected by some City Hall watchers
and had the endorsements of the city’s two mainstream newspapers,
but two months before the primary, a poll showed
that almost half of Philadelphians had never heard of him.
“Three weeks or four weeks out,” City Hall watcher Zack
Stalberg said, “no one would have predicted Nutter would
be the winner.”
- Serious About Doing the Right Thing
- A Cheerleader for the City
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