PhillyTablet Inquirer Daily News
Mobile
Home Delivery
philly.com
email
font size
comments
0
options
 
Tuesday, November 17, 2009

What the mayor hasn't done
(Sarah J. Glover / Staff Photographer)

Catherine Lucey offers a "two years in" assessment of Mayor Nutter this morning. It's a little bit crazy to read if you were present for and remember all the pomp and optimism surrounding the mayor's election back in 2007. Nutter and his supporters are given ample opportunity to make their case, but there's an understandable "what went wrong?" vibe to the article.

Taxpayers should really read the piece for a sense of where the mayor stands, at least with the political class in the city. Few things matter more to how your dollars are being spent than the performance of the mayor.

One thing that stuck out to us is that the story recounts more frustration with things that haven't happened than with things that have. The complaints cited about the budget, for instance, don't revolve around the idea that the end product of the budget process is bad per se; rather, they focus on the fact that the mayor threatened to close libraries and raise property taxes, and that the situation with the municipal unions still isn't resolved. Similarly, a section on governance highlights what critics say is a lack of a coherent agenda, rather than an initiative gone wrong.

There are some concrete complaints, such as Nutter's apparently unhelpful involvement in the SEPTA strike (a strike which very much happened). And of course, concerns about stalled agendas and diminished political capital shouldn't be dismissed. But one take-away from this story might be that much of the frustration with Nutter is really disappointment -- and that a lot of it could still, theoretically, be undone.

Review city services on our sister site, City Howl.
Posted by Doron Taussig @ 1:19 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
Comments   


0 comments
About It's Our Money
Every year, city government spends slightly more than $4 billion. Where does all that money come from? More importantly, where does it go? Are we getting the most bang for our tax buck? “It's Our Money” is a joint project between Philadelphia Daily News and WHYY, funded by the William Penn Foundation, designed to answer these questions.




MONEY AND JUSTICE DON'T MIX

City Hall

Imagine you're appearing in court, about a matter that's very important to you. You've never seen the judge before. But the attorney for the opposition has given his Honor thousands of dollars in campaign donations, which helped the judge become a judge in the first place.


ILLEGALLY PARKED TRUCK? CITY PASSES THE BUCK

City Howl

Randy Malone has a backhoe problem.


WILL THE NEW COUNCIL GIVE YOU A SAY?

 podcast

On this week's It's Our Money podcast, we talk with Zack Stalberg, president of government watchdog Committee of Seventy, about public comment in Council.

It's Our Money contributors

Tips? Comments? Questions?
Contact:

Doron Taussig:
215-854-5307
doron.taussig@gmail.com
@dorontaussig

Holly Otterbein:
215-854-5809
hm.otterbein@gmail.com
@hollyotterbein

Juliana Reyes:
215-854-5855
juliana.f.reyes@gmail.com
@juliana_f_reyes

Follow on Twitter

Advertise Here