Inauguration begins 'new day' and 'new way.'

The "new day" forecast by Michael A. Nutter arrives this morning when the former city councilman is sworn in as mayor before a packed house at the Academy of Music.

It will mark the end of long and, at times, seemingly improbable path to the mayor's office for Nutter, who has pledged to bring a "new way" of government to the city.

The inauguration, hosted by City Council, begins at 10 a.m. Cardinal Justin Rigali will offer the invocation, and the Philadelphia Boys Choir will sing the "Star Spangled Banner."

U.S. Circuit Judge Theodore A. McKee will administer Nutter's oath. C. Darnell Jones 2d, president judge of Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, will swear in City Council's 17 members.

They will be followed by the rest of the city's elected officials, including judges, city commissioners, Clerk of Quarter Sessions Vivian T. Miller, Sheriff John Green, and Register of Wills Ronald Donatucci.

Council President Anna C. Verna is expected to speak on challenges facing the city, but she will stay out of Nutter's spotlight.

"It's Michael's Day - and she doesn't want to take away from that," said Anthony Radwanski, Verna's spokesman and a member of the arrangement committee for the event.

Nutter was on Council for 15 years, becoming an independent and articulate voice for modern reforms - from campaign finance to a smoking ban. He ran for mayor as an underdog, but won an upset by pitching his campaign against a man not on the ballot - outgoing Mayor John Street.

In his inaugural speech, Nutter is expected to repeat the themes of his campaign - making a safer, cleaner city whose government one can trust - and call upon citizens to join him in changing Philadelphia's image to one of greatness.

Nutter then will move to the Mayor's Reception Room on the second floor of City Hall for the swearing in of 14 senior administration officials he has appointed thus far.

Nutter's next stop is a 1:30 p.m. Mentorship Luncheon at the Bellevue Hotel, where he will dine with students and their mentors from the business community. This event also requires an invitation.

The day closes with an "Inaugural Celebration" at the Cruise Ship Terminal at the Navy Yard, full of symbolism for the city's industrial aspirations, past and present, and the future of the city's Delaware and Schuylkill riverfronts. The party will salute the city's neighborhoods.

With a capacity of 2,000 people, the very democratic $50-a-ticket party has been sold out since Wednesday.

For those unable to get a ticket, Nutter will hold a free public reception tomorrow at City Hall between 4 and 8 p.m.

In interviews, previous mayoral staffers recalled the giddiness of taking the keys to the city.

"We felt it was make or break for the city - and I think everybody sort of feels that way when they go in," said Kevin Feeley, who was deputy press secretary on Ed Rendell's first day as mayor, later heading the press office.

The heady first days of an administration provide a thrill that can carry a staff past the darkest days, Feeley said.

Mayor Street's chief of staff, Joyce Wilkerson, was head of strategic planning when Street took office in 2000. She said the huge challenge of "standing up a government" will become apparent quickly.

All the long-range planning has to be done amid the frenzy of running a city, she said. Wilkerson remembers jokingly calling for a recount of Street's victory.

"You realize, 'Oh, my God - it's a big, big job,' " she said.

Feeley remembers going to his office in City Hall after the inauguration, brimming with the confidence that the mayor and staff could solve all the city's problems by will alone.

And then, Feeley said, reality calls.

"I remember people saying, 'Where's the bathroom?' "