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“That sort of humanized Michael,” Oxman said. “The
only thing people really knew about him was his comments
from City Council. He wasn’t well known. He’d never
run citywide. He had a particular problem with African
American women voters. And when we put that ad on, his
polls shot up.”
Nutter’s personal touch also helped. Limited by campaign
finance rules he’d helped craft, Nutter raised his money the
old-fashioned way.
“He would spend six hours a day on the telephone doing
it and that made the biggest difference,” Stalberg said. “He
touched a lot of people individually. After they give money,
they’re more likely to vote for him. They’re also impressed by
his work ethic, and it takes a lot of work ethic to ask for $50,
$100 at a time.”
On the night he won the May primary, Nutter stood with
his wife and daughter by his side and addressed a packed ballroom
of supporters at a downtown hotel. He put his achievement
modestly.
“We had a really decent couple of weeks,” he said. “We
had a really good day.”
A Cheerleader for the City
Now Nutter the councilman must become Nutter the mayor.
He’ll go from running a council office to running a city.
“It’s a different mind set,” Kenney said. “He’s going to
have to allow people around him to deal with problems and
challenges. He has to avoid the temptation of all intelligent
people to micromanage. A big part of the mayor’s job is being
a cheerleader.”
Economic leaders like Joseph Zuritsky, CEO of the
Philadelphia-based Parkway Corporation, hopes that cheer-
leading will bring new jobs to the city.
“He’s a good representative of the city of Philadelphia,”
Zuritsky said. “A new mayor will improve public relations and I think we’re going to see a resurgence of people wanting
to do business here.”
Nutter knows business: He served as Chairman of the
Pennsylvania Convention Center Board from February 2003
to April 2007, leaving the unpaid position to focus on his
mayoral campaign. While there, he helped craft a pivotal
labor-management agreement and spearheaded the Center’s
$700 million expansion.
In addition, Nutter said he wants to eliminate the gross
receipts portion of the business privilege tax over time and reduce the net income portion. He also wants to see
a reduction in the city’s wage tax, which affects not only
residents but people who work in the city and live in the
suburbs. The combined business tax burdens currently
mean it costs more to do business in Philadelphia than
in six other major cities, including Boston, Los Angeles
and Washington, according to a 2006 study done by the Philadelphia Business Journal. Only New York places a higher
burden on its businesses.
“Michael recognizes that the city can’t take care of its services
unless there is a growing job base and the attraction of
new businesses to the city,” Zuritsky said. “His attempts to
reduce the business privilege tax and wage tax will have an
excellent impact on attracting and holding existing jobs.”
The only danger, Zuritsky said, is that people may expect
too much.
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