Mayor raises campaign cash, draws pals and others

Close to 200 of Mayor Nutter's friends and supporters showed up at a campaign fundraiser the mayor held last night at the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel.

Gov. Rendell stopped by.

And so did Bill Green, the only one of City Council's 17 members widely rumored to be considering a run against Nutter in 2012 - despite Green's insistence that he is not interested in running City Hall.

"I went because I was invited," says Green, a first-term councilman who has emerged as a sharp critic of Nutter's. "It's not everyday the mayor invites me to be somewhere."

But invite him the mayor did - and he also took a moment to recognize Green during a speech at his fund-raising reception. According to those who attended, Nutter remarked that in spite of the news media characterizating their relationship as tense and even spiteful, that the pair actually worked together in an honest and close-working fashion.

Asked about the mayor's comments, Green said: "I'm pleased he considers that to be our relationship, and I look forward to working closely with him for the benefit of the city."

Three other Council members also showed up: Darrell Clarke, Curtis Jones, Jr. and Jannie Blackwell. Notably, three of the four Council members - Clarke, Blackwell and Green - are among the most likely on Council to butt heads with Nutter.

"I may not agree with half the things the mayor does from a work perspective," Clarke says. "But we are friends personally. ... I figure out a way to separate the personal from the business."

Last night's reception was Nutter's only fund-raising event this year, and his first since June 2008. Scott Freda, the mayor's campaign finance director, hadn't tabulated yet how much money was raised but said the campaign was on track to meet its goal of about $500,000.

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Posted by Marcia Gelbart @ 3:58 PM Permalink | 4 comments

Comments

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 8:10 PM, 10/15/2009

What happened to campaign finance reform mayor? Why do you have to be rich to win a seat? All that money you raise could go to public schools, clinics, etc. THIS IS WHAT IS WRONG PEOPLE.... BIG BUSINESS POLITICS!

— fightback