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For Nutter, it's 'Precedence Day'

THE CLOCK starts now for Mayor Nutter to finish what he started. Here are some of the priorities he says he'll pursue in his second term:

THE CLOCK starts now for Mayor Nutter to finish what he started. Here are some of the priorities he says he'll pursue in his second term:

EDUCATION: This is the big challenge and a bigger headache. In the wake of the scandals surrounding former Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, Nutter has taken a more active role at the state-controlled school district. He wants to continue pushing to improve high school graduation rates and college attainment. He says he won't try to regain local control of the district.

PENSION: The city's pension fund is underwater, with less than half the money it needs to pay projected benefits. Something has to change and fast, if the city wants to get on strong financial ground for the future. But to do that, Nutter will have to go head-to-head with the powerful city-worker unions over pension reforms. He says he's committed to getting this done.

CRIME: With popular Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey still at his side, Nutter will keep trying to drive down crime rates. He said that that a renewed push to get illegal handguns off the streets will be part of that strategy.

WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT: The second term is when most mayors think about building something so they can leave a physical legacy on the city. Look east to the Delaware Waterfront, where the $6 million Race Street pier opened to acclaim in May. Nutter wants to use that to spark further development.

TAX REFORM: Nutter came into office with a long history of pushing for tax cuts, a position he was forced to abandon to balance three tough budgets. But he's hoping to restart small reductions to the business and wage taxes in the second term, as well as complete a daunting overhaul of how the city's notoriously unfair property taxes are calculated. Most think he'll try again for a soda tax, which would likely earn him national accolades, despite losing on that issue for the past two years.

- Catherine Lucey