This is how Mike Nutter ended his It's Our City interview with Dave Davies (around Minute 42 on the video):

People will have to decide. You know, do you want to be a populist, or do you want to be a leader? Do you just want to be talking? Or do you want to show strength and leadership under very difficult circumstances. Leadership requires you to make tough choices, not just run your mouth.

So, I think that were more than willing and open. We don't assume that we have all the ideas or all of the answers. As long as people want to engage in a dialogue that is legitimate about how you want to close massive holes...

First, the very first definition of populist that comes up is this:

A supporter of the rights and power of the people.

And, so, that would be a bad thing to be, for a big city Mayor? (Let's assume that he more means a demagogue, and move on.)

Second, Nutter is willing to assume that he doesn't have all the answers? So why do we have town hall meetings where the Administration is basically saying that the cuts are the cuts are the cuts. (And that, of course, is after after making those cuts in secret, after withholding the super-duper secret information that were theoretically used to make them.) Where does he actually ask people for their ideas, and where does he show he will consider them? Certainly not at town hall meetings.

This whole thing is beyond bizarre. And, really, if I hear the Office Space Routine one more time...

And, Oliver said, one of the administration's primary points is that the library system is too big and needs to be pruned.

...I am going to flip out. So really, they wanted to cut libraries all along? I guess I missed Candidate Nutter's plan to cut libraries during the Mayoral campaign?

From his campaign website, in fact, we get this:

THE FREE LIBRARY

In 2005, the City announced that twenty branch libraries would shift to half-day service and many head librarians would be laid-off. Library supporters protested the "reorganization plan." Councilman Nutter called for an investigation to evaluate the Library System and to find additional funding in order to restore this essential City service. After a five hour hearing, which was attended by a capacity crowd of students, library supporters and employees, restoring library funding became a critical issue during that year's budget discussions. City Council eventually rejected the budget cut, restored funding, and returned all branch libraries to full-day service with head librarians.

Is that just down the memory hole? Are we not supposed to remember?

I voted for Mike Nutter to become Mayor because I thought that while I would have some ideological differences with him, his desire for openness, transparency and citizen participation would provide enough buffer to make sure that, whether he liked it or not, he would be...

A supporter of the rights and power of the people.

Thus far, this has not really worked out like I had hoped.