This is my personal endorsement for Michael Nutter. Please distribute the message to every Philadelphia voter you know.

Michel Nutter is Philadelphia's best Mayoral Candidate in a generation. He’s right on the issues, his knowledge of city government is unmatchable and he has a proven track record.

After a decade of watching city politics, despite a contentious campaign, there is actually substantial consensus on the issues that need to be addressed to improve Philadelphia and increase the prospects of our favorite city having a brighter future. We need to continue to invest in education to allow Philadelphia citizens to tap into the rapidly growing knowledge economy, create mixed income communities where anyone or any business would want to be and improve our regional infrastructure so that we can improve our competitiveness and connectedness to the global economy.

More so than any other candidate running for Mayor, Michael Nutter has a track record of proposing meaningful solutions to the challenges we face while also fighting for good equitable citywide public policy. Please join me in supporting Michael Nutter in every way you can. Donate money, volunteer to canvass one weekend day in your community, and take a day off from work on Election Day to make a statement and ensure that the people who support meaningful change in this city get to the polls. Michael Nutter is running a grassroots campaign that is funded by small donors and volunteers so every contribution matters. In addition, don't forget to make sure you are registered to vote today.

The battle for a better Philadelphia will not be won or lost on May 15th. It will not be won or lost over the summer or, even particularly, on November 6th. Philadelphia is changing for the better. By supporting Michael Nutter, and leaders like him, we have the capability to make Philadelphia the city it ought to be just a little bit faster and much more equitably than by supporting any other candidate. Read more to find out why.

Philadelphia has enormous challenges beginning with the fact that too many citizens live in poverty. It also has enormous assets that properly utilized make Philadelphia a more attract place than much of the region in which we live and provides comparative advantages in competing against regions around the world. As one of my organizing heroes once said, the challenge in influencing our political-economy is not to reallocate crossing guards from one school to another but to create public policies that support equitable communities. It is these quality public policies that will transform Philadelphia. Philadelphia’s next Mayor needs to triage among the numerous challenges that exist to address immediate problems like the killing spree in city neighborhoods while building the foundation for a better future by formulating and implementing quality municipal policy. Michael Nutter's entire public service career is about successfully managing the balancing act between acting today and planning for tomorrow.

Michael Nutter’s commitment to reform is more than just about ethics; it’s about maximizing the use of available dollars so that government can invest in programs and policies that result in meaningful improvements to the quality of life for all Philadelphians and contribute to economic prosperity. Philadelphia faces some severe financial challenges but there is no question that City Hall must be more responsive and provide more equitable services to communities across the city that it currently does. Whether through the implementation of single source recycling or improving the flow of information so that city government can better coordinate city services, Michael Nutter offers the best ideas along with the necessary leadership skills to ensure Philadelphians get the government they deserve. Whether the most effective allocation of resources includes midnight basketball programs, community policing strategies, or tree plantings, I am confident that Michael Nutter will find a way to implement them.

In order for Philadelphia to overcome the staunch challenges that it faces in education and public safety, it is necessary that our next Mayor is accessible, listens to constituents, and builds the relationships that are necessary for our city’s institutions to succeed. I know Michael Nutter will do all of these things because while my former neighbors in Olney were building these relationships with City Councilwomen Marian Tasco, community leaders in Michael Nutter’s district were doing the same—and they raved about him. They raved about him, not just because he was delivering good constituent services although that was true, but because he displayed an understanding that it doesn’t matter how much we invest in education and safety if communities are not engaged and relationships constantly maintained and strengthened. From the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative to public safety or neighborhood parks and libraries, Michael Nutter fought for policies that worked for the city as a whole and not just those who live in Rittenhouse Square and those with connections. Under Michael Nutter's leadership, we will improve our city block by block and classroom by classroom.

Making Philadelphia a better place to live entails ensuring that government is committed to fairness and high standards on critical and not so critical issues. In practice, this means that the impending full-value real estate assessments will be performed impartially, that getting your car out of the Parking Authority’s impoundment lot is not quite so wretched a process, and that police officers don’t park in the middle of the small streets unless there is an emergency, among many other sorely needed improvements to city government. Philadelphia’s political leadership must also demonstrate that its economic development policy will not consists of low interest loans for a connected few or tax breaks in a couple of enterprise zones. In order for business to thrive and for the city to be an attractive place to do business, our politicians need to fine tune and upgrade the infrastructure that supports Philadelphia’s economy—our ports, regional roadways and transportation networks. Continuing to reduce business taxes marginally sends an important message that Philadelphia is open for business more than a few government sponsored initiatives supposedly supporting economic development. Transparency and fairness ensure that those who win government contracts are those who are the most qualified rather than those who are the most connected.

The most appealing aspect of Michael Nutter’s for me is that he is always proactive, positive and constantly communicates. Philadelphia can’t afford a Mayor who is content to lurch from one crisis to another offering quick fixes which results in decisions like badly located ballparks and politically convenient police overtime with negative long term consequences. For those who worked in the trenches for over a decade and for my friends and neighbors that the city has too long neglected—it is blatantly clear that an inch of progress on equitable public policy is worth more than a boat load of promises. In fact, a boat load of questionable promises is a recipe for neither progress nor progressivism. Michael Nutter understands that social justice not about rheatoric but about results. Michael Nutter’s independence and constant search for innovative and feasible solutions to the challenges that Philadelphia faces leads me to believe that of all the candidates he’ll improve services to the cities numerous communities in a way that will most improve all residents’ lives.

There are two absolutely essential tasks that Philadelphia’s next Mayor must perform if Philadelphia is to achieve its potential: one is to invest in and improve the School District and the second is to reform the zoning code so that future residential development in the city supports sustainable and integrated communities that foster strong social networks. Michael Nutter has a track record that suggests he will work extremely hard to improve the education of Philadelphia’s children and his policy papers show that he understands that good zoning includes affordable housing and transit oriented development. Yet, Michael Nutter also knows that Philadelphia is not an island unto itself. He is committed to initiating a region-wide conversation on how we allocate our resources concerning everything from economic development to transportation. Progress in each these areas would improve the quality of life for all Philadelphians by building bridges that support livable communities and good jobs. Michael Nutter’s honest leadership and focus on fundamentally sound public policy with make Philadelphia’s prosperity both more likely and more equitable.

By joining me in supporting Michael Nutter, you can ensure that Philadelphia gets the candidate for Mayor that it deserves.

Thanks for reading and let me know if you want to canvass in Fox Chase, Castor Gardens or my old hoods of Olney and East Oaklane between now and May 15th. The forces supporting the status quo are substantial but Philadelphians are ready to embrace the leadership that Michael Nutter offers.