Featherman: Nutter, butt out
The mayor of our city has never really received kudos for much of anything – even his meager accomplishment of keeping Philadelphia running. He’s been booed at an Obama rally, at his City Council budget address and a Tom Wolf event at Temple University – mostly by Democrats in his own party.
It's tough being Michael Nutter.
The mayor of our city has never really received kudos for much of anything – even his meager accomplishment of keeping Philadelphia running. He's been booed at an Obama rally, at his City Council budget address and a Tom Wolf event at Temple University – mostly by Democrats in his own party.
Snubbed by the Obama Administration for a cabinet position, Nutter is already fading into obscurity – arguably becoming the most lame duck Philly mayor during our lifetime.
If it weren't for Nutter's narcissistic attempts to gain national exposure, I'm not so sure we'd even be talking about him.
Mayoral candidates have been steering clear of him, making Nutter irrelevant on the political front, as well.
Not to be ignored, Nutter has become a vocal commentator on both the mayoral and City Council races, even saying about 2nd district City Council candidate Ori C. Feibush that "We're not going to let some little jerk with a big checkbook steal this election!"
At age 57, the DJ formerly known as "Mix Master Mike" is desperate for attention. Can't blame him. A career politician, he's going to have to make a living, and it probably won't be in elective office. So he's appearing on CNN, on Face the Nation, on Meet the Press.
Basically, it's "The Nutter Farewell Tour," even with a trip to China. Yep. China.
All fine.
That is until Nutter crossed the line by wasting taxpayer money to historically revise his legacy. Rather than talking about his proposed library closings, Nutter had the taxpayers fund a puff piece called "Tale of the Tape" that glorified the Nutter years, with Nutter saying, "Candidates are going to talk about whatever candidates talk about. But I think it's important for the public, the candidates (and) the press to have true, accurate, factual information. I'm not expecting this is going to be a negative campaign or that people (will be) trying to slant things in a particular direction. But there are facts, and people should know them. When people talk about them, they should talk about them on a basis of fact, and not theory or whisper-down-the-lane."
Nutter should butt out of the mayor's race. It's absolutely the prerogative of the new mayor to appoint whomever he or she wants in their administration or to cabinet positions. Nutter has defended Obama's appointments. He should move aside and let State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams do the same. And certainly, Nutter was out-of-hand stating that mayoral hopeful Williams was "probably not smart enough" to be mayor if he fired Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.
In fact, it's Nutter who's probably not smart enough to know that comments like that make Nutter look bad – not Williams. Barring a major event later this year, Nutter's legacy has been etched in stone. And rather than a "Tale of the Tape," it's more like "A Tale of Two Cities" – Philadelphia and Nutterdelphia – his utopia that only he can see.
Possible independent mayoral candidate Sam Katz, for whom the fourth time may be the charm, could not have said it better. "Any Mayor should have a choice in Police Commissioner and in every other Commissioner of every department of City government," Katz posted on my Facebook page. "Eight years is long enough for appointees. Fresh blood, fresh faces, new ideas. That's why it's called a "transition."
Contact John Featherman at john@featherman.com