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- Jan. 14 Workshop:HOW TO RUN FOR ELECTION BOARD IN 2013; HOW TO RUN FOR COMMITTEEPERSON IN 2014
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- PA Revenue Strong Midway Through Year; Tax Cut Could Have Big Impact
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“None of the Above” For Mayor
Submitted by charlesdog12 on Wed, 01/10/2007 - 5:16pm.
The title of this entry is in reference to a Richard Pryor movie called Brewster’s Millions. It’s a pretty funky tail about a guy who inherits 300 Million dollars on the condition that he spends 30 Million in a month, in order to teach him to hate spending money. One of the things that he did to spend all that money was, oddly enough, run for mayor by telling everyone to vote for “None of the Above”.
I don’t intend to say that people shouldn’t vote. But what I do intend to say is that there is no candidate in the race that deserves anyone’s full support. People seem to be extremely passionate about their candidate of choice, but, in my opinion, none of them deserve such passion. So, at least I’m an equal opportunity candidate basher.
Michael Nutter
He seems to be a polarizing figure in the Progressive Community. Pretty much everybody either loves him or hates him. I don’t really understand either position. I’m pretty much indifferent. He seems like he was a pretty good District Councilperson who differed to his Ward leaders and did a lot of constituent services, but I don’t think that that is why people love him.
I think that people love him because of the toothless ethics legislation that he passed and the Smoking Ban which he championed. So basically, when ethics was in the news, someone with Mayoral aspirations championed ethics legislation. A good thing? I don’t know, I mean toothless legislation is almost worse than no legislation at all in the fact that it lets people be in a state of denial about what’s going on. Whether that is the case or not, we should all know that he was running for mayor when he did this.
People who champion him as a progressive also seem to forget how he basically whored for Comcast at every opportunity. Being “Progressive” and standing up for huge media and telecommunications conglomerates that use monopolistic tendencies to rip of the consumer do not reconcile. So when people say that the opponents of Nutter do not like him because of his style rather than his substance, all I have to say is Comcast. Moreover, style is important. You can’t just be a good guy or have good ideas. You have to be able to sell those ideas, and in this arena, style is everything.
People who hate him seem to hate him because he advocates tax reform. I don’t mind paying high City Wage taxes, or even paying the retarded BPT when I’m consulting. However, let’s not act like our tax system isn’t stupid. It is, and someone needs to do something about it. What I do mind is having to drive to my job in the suburbs in horrible traffic because my bosses hate our retarded tax system.
Chaka Fattah
It seems like a lot of people like Chaka, but mostly for his name recognition or because they saw him on Hardball or Crossfire or any of the other political shows on Cable. If you ask these same people what he has done, you usually get blank stares. Say what you want about Bob Brady, or even Vince Fumo, but they at least support Progressive candidates from time to time. Who has Fattah supported?
I can understand people from West Philly liking him, because he seems to have a certain amount of pull there. (So I guess you are off the hook Ray). But he pretty much has no presence in the Northwest. I found out that I literally live a block from his office. I’m sure that I pass by it every day, but I can honestly say that I have no idea where it is. I’d like to meet someone who has actually been there.
Dwight Evans
I’ve heard pretty mixed reviews on Evans. Marc has a lot of good things to say about him as it pertains to community development. All I know is that he supported the state taking over the schools, Convention Center, and Parking Authority, and that doesn’t sit to well with me. Also, I don’t think that he has a prayer of winning, especially after his God awful run the first time around.
Tom Knox
Hey, Tom says that he is going to take the “For Sale” sign off of City Hall. Anyone who has bought a house knows that before they take down the “For Sale” sign, they put a little sign on it that says “Sold”. What exactly is progressive about buying an election because you are rich? Also, where did he get his money from? I know that he was the CEO of one of the biggest HMO’s in the country. I also know that there are some questions as to whether he was involved in predatory lending. Some people think that he has good ideas, but good ideas aren’t enough. I’d like to know where someone’s heart really lies, because if it isn’t in a good place, then those good ideas will fall by the wayside.
Johnny Doc
Is it even possible that anybody on here is supporting Johnny Doc?
Bob Brady
Our fearless party Chairman may get into the race. To his credit, he does support progressive candidates from time to time. He also supports some dingbats, but then again, in order to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs. So, I sort of don’t know what to think about him.
If he really did push Saidel out, then I don’t think that that was a smart move. I personally think that Saidel would have been a shoe in for Mayor. I don’t even think that there would have been a contest. Sure, Brady will get support from a lot of Ward leaders, but all of them would have supported Saidel. Plus Saidel is an extremely funny and charismatic person, and the Mayor’s election is a lot more about that then it is Ward leader support.
Dislcaimer: I am highly leaning towards supporting “None of the Above” for Mayor.
Nutter's Record
Charlesdog - here's Mike Nutter's record on ethics, what's "toothless" about it?
ETHICS REFORM BOARD
After working to create an independent Ethics Board, Councilman Nutter proposed changes to the Ethics Code that would provide for routine training of City officers and employees, the issuance of advisory opinions, the adjudication of violations, and the imposition of fines. These measures were approved by voters in the May 2006 citywide election.
NO-BID CONTRACT REFORM
Councilman Nutter has pushed for transparency in the awarding of no-bid (professional services) contracts. In 2005, City Council approved reforms requiring disclosure of campaign contributions prior to and during the period of a contract. 87% voted to approve this change - the largest margin ever recorded in the City. Through Councilman Nutter’s efforts, contract opportunities and explanations of award decisions are now available to the public online.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM (BILL NO. 050014)
Councilman Nutter sponsored a bill that requires City candidates’ campaign reports to be filed with the City’s Records Department and posted on the City’s website. The Records Department has implemented this reform, making campaign reports available to the public online.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE REFORM (ORDINANCE NO. 050613)
Councilman Nutter introduced an ordinance that prohibits the receipt of City financial assistance by those who have made qualifying campaign contributions to City candidates or incumbents. It also requires those seeking financial assistance of $50,000 or more to disclose campaign contributions made in the past two years, and those awarded financial assistance to refrain from making qualifying campaign contributions for the following five years.
come on
If you are going to convince me of something, then try not to give me a press release. But, seriously, an “Independent Ethics Board”? So basically, it’s the law now that people in city government chose the “independent” people who Police their actions. Isn’t this sort of like letting the head of the Mafia chose the Police Chief?
As far as Comcast, he didn’t do anything to stop the spread of their Monopoly in Philadelphia, which was covered here. Also, he was on the forefront of getting them the enterprise zone. He made a Bill to do something great, like creating soup kitchens or something, be tied to the Bill allowing Comcast to pay no taxes.
Hello
It's not a press release, just info from the campaign website. I don't share your pessimism about the ethics board; there wasn't an ethics board and now there is.
Comcast is a major employer in Philly - they just announced on the radio yesterday they're added 2,500 or so jobs in the Philly region. The tax abatement they got (I don't think they got an enterprise zone) is the same that all new construction in the City gets.
There's a lot more to Nutter's record, like forming the Police Advisory Commission, being instrumental in bringing City Year to Philadelphia, sitting as the Chair of the Convention Center Authority.
ethics board
My point was that it is in no way an independent board. Yes, there is an ethics board, but do you really think that they are going to get anything accomplished when their job is to find dirt on the people who hired them? And, do you really think that the people hiring them will pick people who are going to crawl up their asses?
Comcast?
So what did Nutter do for Comcast?
The Ethics Board
Found this article about the ethics board from a while back...might add some more information and perspective to this discussion:
Paper: Philadelphia Daily News (PA)
Title: City has a chance to impress - Council vote set on reform package
Date: March 8, 2005
Section: LOCAL
Page: 13
WITH A SINGLE vote in City Council Thursday, Philadelphia could move from being a national embarrassment to a national leader in government reform.
The sweeping pay-to-play reform package on Council's agenda this week gets high marks from public-interest groups who track the issue across the country."This a remarkable bill," said Craig Holman of the Washington-based Public Citizen, after reviewing the text of the legislation. "This would set Philadelphia ahead of any other major city or state in pay-to-play regulation."
Pay-to-play is shorthand for the doling out of government contracts to political contributors.
The Philadelphia package, sponsored by Councilman Michael Nutter, bans big contributors from no-bid city contracts, requires some competition for those contracts, and makes those seeking contracts disclose the lobbyists they use and their political contributions.
Holman said five states and a number of local jurisdictions have some form of pay-to-play laws or regulation, but Philadelphia's would be more comprehensive than most.
"Having a good disclosure requirement is key," Holman said. "Ohio's law has good rules, but there's no disclosure requirement for government contractors, so the ethics board has never taken legal action against anyone for a pay-to-play violation."
Philadelphia's bill requires anyone competing for a no-bid city contract to disclose his campaign contributions, along with any made by his lobbyist, his board, or his political action committee, as well as any contributions solicited by the contractor for a candidate for city office.
The Philadelphia law, sponsored by Councilman Michael Nutter, also requires contractors to disclose if a city official has recommended a specific minority subcontractor to him, or asked him to make a contribution to some cause over the life of the city contract.
Some Council members have complained that the disclosure requirements are too invasive and will discourage participation on boards of nonprofits that serve the city. *
Author: DAVE DAVIES
daviesd@phillynews.com
Section: LOCAL
Page: 13
Unless we have explicit
Unless we have explicit permission to do so, please don't quote whole articles (assuming this one is?).
A few paragraphs and a link... I really don't want to violate copyright law.
Comcast?
What did Nutter do for Comcast? It was the state that gave the $30 million grant.
This is a Progressive Democrat website...
Nutter is one step away from being as Republican. Specter has offered him to run on the Republican ticket for Mayor. Look for the switch when Nutter loses the primary. He also hosted a screening of republican propagandist Tigre Hill's film The Shame of a City. At the event he denounced the entire Democratic party,(scroll down to campaign 07) http://www.northeasttimes.com/index.html.
Nutter is a disgrace of a Democrat and it will show as the campign revs into high gear.
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/columnists/16244935.htm?source=...
A Nutter Republican?
Republicans desperately seeking a mayoral candidate are floating a new idea: Democratic candidate Michael Nutter.
They see Nutter has friendly ties with Republicans on the Convention Center board. He was the toast of Chester County businesspeople at a Pennsylvania Society reception last weekend in New York.
Nutter's on the outs with Democratic organization leaders Bob Brady and Carol Campbell, so if he's feeling squeezed, Republicans figure, he has a home among the elephants if he wants one.
"It's certainly a conversation we're interested in having," said GOP counsel Michael Meehan.
In fact, Clout hears, Republican U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., has already had that conversation with Nutter.
Asked about that, Specter said, "Who the hell would comment on a question like that?"
This is a non-denial denial.
Nutter, meanwhile, will say only that he talks with Specter about a lot of things.
"I'm a Democrat, I'm staying a Democrat, and I'm running in the Democratic primary," Nutter said. "It seems to me the only people who have an interest in creating this buzz are people who would not like to see me run for mayor and want to create distraction from the real issues ."
Silly
One step away? That's silly; even if Nutter were to run in the general, why the heck would he run as a Republican? For one thing, he isn't. Secondly, what could the Republican party possibly offer his candidacy? Also, will you kindly follow the YPP disclosure rule and let us know who you're supporting for Mayor?
Nice Try
Your hypothesis/conspiracy theory has one giant hole in it. Nutter wouldn't be able to switch to the Republican Party to be their nominee for Mayor after losing the Democratic Primary, because the Republican Primary would already be over and they would therefore have a nominee. Nice try, though.
Also, calling the activities of certain Democrats (some of whom have admitted that they were just trying to spin a bug that was part of a broader public corruption investigation into something positive for the Mayor whose office was bugged) "insanity" is not "denouncing the entire Democratic Party."
Have you seen the film? The behavior that a number of Democratic leaders exhibit is disturbing and should be especially offensive to anyone who, like me, considers themself a progressive.
not legal to happen
"Nutter is one step away from being as Republican.... Look for the switch when Nutter loses the primary."
to be clear, this would be illegal and so it won't happen. the state election code has a provision preventing "two bites of the apple" - you can't run in the primary and lose and then run in the general. in fact, I believe once he submits petitions for the primary, he is ineligible for the GOP to use him to replace whatever candidate they initially put on the ballot. so this rather persistent rumor will die off in March.
Charlesdog?
Can you please explain what Mike Nutter did for Comcast? Comcast isn't in his district. What did he do?
RIF
As I said in a comment above:
Unclear
I'm still a little confused. They're not in an enterprise zone and Nutter wouldn't have advanced it anyway because Center City wasn't in his Councilmanic District. And what's the reference to a linkage between Comcast expansion and soup kitchens?
I also think that charges that he allowed their monopoly to spread are pretty dubious; aren't all cable companies by their nature sort of "monopolistic"? I mean, it's not like you can choose between cable companies...the one that serves your area is the one you're stuck with. Also, Comcast is a major employer in the region and Philadelphia...just heard on the radio last week that they're adding nearly three thousand jobs to the area, including the City.
There is no question that it
There is no question that it is great that Comcast is here. Period.
But, what is especially monopolistic about Comcast? How about the fact that they bought the sixers and flyers, started a TV channel to show them, and wont let competitors have access to the channels? That seems pretty monopolistic to me. In fact, their tactic is illegal in every United States city, except one- this one. Shocking. So, in fact, while all cable companies might be monopolistic, Comcast in Philadelphia is uniquely bad.
So, anyway, lets not act like Comcast is some charity. They make more money off of Philly than anywhere else. We are their cash cow. They charge exorbitant rates that constantly rise faster than inflation, and they are protected from competition. So, what could Nutter have done? Well, I suppose he could have said, "we are doing something that will save you a lot of money (granting Comcast the ability to take the entire City), the State has already pitched in tens of millions for the skyscraper; in return, give satellites the same rights they have everywhere else in the Country: to carry local sports programming."
Instead, they did nothing.
Ok, but...
It is true that Nutter allowed comcast to expand - by allowing the Urban Cable Works franchise to be acquired by Comcast - he introed that bill. I for one am thankful to be a Comcast customer...Urban Cable Works was a pain in the neck to deal with.
Nutter did not introduce the Comcast koz bill and had no personal connection to it. He did vote for it, as did all of City Council, in June 2004. The Mayor made sure that Council had no choice - the legislation was also for a koz for the new produce terminal in South Philly which is thousands of jobs and there was a deadline that went down to the wire. There were no "soup kitchen" amendments of any sort. The legislature did not authorize the koz, however, and so Governor Rendell authorized $30 million in state aid that Council later agreed to. No one at Comcast would call Mike Nutter the most Comcast-friendly Council member by any means - he would grill them at every opportunity he got.
My point in responding to this is not so much to get into a discussion about Comcast, but to respond to Charlesdog's comment about Mike Nutter "whoring" for them, which I think probably is a bit over the top and inaccurate.
Maybe it's over the top but . . .
Frankly the response that they all did it -- i.e., voted for the koz -- shouldn't be real compelling for us. We know that the entire Council has largely been in lockstep commitment to the corporate agenda, with the exception of former Councilmen Ortiz and Cohen. (And Councilman Goode deserves props as well for his steadfast opposition to providing tax increment financing -- a tool intended to revitalize low income neighborhoods -- for upscale development all around the City.) That doesn't excuse any one of its members, it just defines the nature of the challenge that faces us.
But even if Nutter doesn't have a unique problem with Comcast, it seems to me that he has an underreported problem with Econsult. This is the firm that advised the Tax Reform Commission which Nutter virtually birthed into existence and which created the intellectual architecture behind the BPT repeal craze that Nutter also spearheaded. After finishing their work with the Reform Commission, Econsult was hired by a City Council in which Nutter was very close to the leadership, to advise it on implementing the Commission's proposed "reforms". Now, according to Philadelphia Magazine's January, 2007 issue, Nutter has been hired by that same Econsult to put bread on his table during his run for mayor. Philly Mag mentioned this remarkable hire in the middle of a puff piece that could have been written by the Nutter campaign itself. So they concluded that his doing this was "kind of UnNutterish." In other words, Michael is generally such a moral person, one can safely discount its significance. But they conceded, "it looked like something Councilman Nutter would have criticized a mayoral candidate for." Indeed, it did.
One thing I don't have a problem with
We have a stupid law that forces people to leave office if they want to run for another office. What do we expect them to do? Work at McDonalds? The lawyers go to politically connected firms, and the non laywers go to differently connected non law firms. But, what is the alternative? Assuming the Councilpeople aren't independently wealthy, then we need to get rid of this rule. Until then, I cannot fault someone for doing something like this.
I didn't vote for the COMCAST KOZ!
I didn't vote for the Comcast KOZ, neither did Councilman Rizzo.
Cohen actually DID vote for the tax-free zone and then voted against the City/PAID applying for the State $30m grant which was already approved.
WWGjr
Sorry
Sorry that I didn't have my facts straight regarding the unanimity...I remembered incorrectly. While it's awesome when threads go off on tangents, my main point was to refute Charlesdog's assertion that Nutter was "whoring for Comcast". It just isn't true. As far as people taking jobs when they're running for something, I don't know...what do you think about the folks running for Mayor who just stood for re-election when they knew they were going to run for Mayor?
It's not a question of taking a job
the question is do you take a job with a business you may well have helped get at least one contract, if not two, in the recent past. Doesn't that at least have the appearance of impropriety? And doesn't it violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the prohibition on campaign contributions by city contractors authored by this particular candidate? Isn't there the whiff of hypocrisy here?
But, who would hire
But, who would hire him?
Look- he is doing nothing for them, right? So, who would hire him? People who like him?
I am not saying it is a good situation, but, you expect someone running for Mayor to run full time, right? What do you expect them to do? It is a dumb law, and these are the consequences. The only way around this is to have only rich people to run, or to get rid of the law.
Well
I think it's a heck of a lot more inappropriate to run for reelection and then tell people after you've gotten into office that you're actually pursuing another office. I agree with Dan about the rule - it's dumb and should be changed. But I would say no, it doesn't seem inappropriate to me (or to most others, which is why it hasn't gotten much play at all in the press).
Nutter's the media-made ethical hero
That's why anything he does that smacks up against his image gets no play in the press. But the real reason he's their hero is because on economic issues he serves the corporate agenda.
Clear opposition to the status quo
From my perspective, Philadelphia doesn't have much in the way of corporate interests. How many fortunate 500 companies are located in the city again? I can think of two: Comcast and Aramark, and the latter was just taken private. There might be two or three more at most. There are a handful of really large corporations in the region but by no means are we a center for corporate headquarters. So if you want to throw out corporate interests, let's get specific. Forget about Comcast because no one City Council member has ever really fought to remove their monopoly on serving the city limits or their refusal to provide public access channels.
There is no doubt that poor people get screwed each and everyday in this country and city. If Philadelphia doesn't put its house in order, I fair to see how that will change. Painting the car won't do much if you don't fix the transmission. While I agree with Ray's argument that investing in education is critical, I fail to see how pouring more money into broken institutions improves them.
As for Nutter, I can only speak from personal experience working with community leaders from all over Philadelphia. Nutter has a consistent record of listening to his constituents, including poor ones by the way, and coming up with creative public policies to improve the lives of everyday Philadelphians. He has never brought much bacon home because he doesn't have relationships with Mayor Street. Even Fattah has acknowledged that tax policies should be "revenue neutral" with respect to the suburbs or Philadelphia is at a clear disadvantage in attracting and retaining entrepreneurs and businesses.
It is my firm belief that Michael Nutter's apparent willingness to be a salesman for the city, to make sure that the bureaucracy is accountable, to insist on honesty at all times, and his willingness to build relationships across parties will spur more economic development than any policies that any other candidate has offered. Creating new jobs in this city is a difficult task. How about forgetting about Nutter for a moment and talking about what kind of businesses you think could be started in this city as it currently exists?
--------
When hope begins to challenge despair, the possibility of change begins.
Supporting Michael Nutter for Mayor.
There's Walmart, Sunoco, the big law firms . . .
the hotel and food chains, the banks, the predatory credit companies, the ball clubs, the developers, Earthlink, Waste Management . . . off the top of my head. (And then there are the "non-profit" giants, such as the Universities, Blue Cross, etc.) Just because you're not headquartered here doesn't mean you don't have a hell of an interest in tax, zoning, procurement, eminent domain, wage, regulatory and environmental policies. So there is a big business agenda, it's pushed overtly and covertly by the chamber of commerce and it doesn't necessarily conform to that of the rest of us in not just creating jobs, but in creating good-paying, health and safety sensitive, and union friendly jobs. As to Nutter's creative policies in procuring such jobs and fighting good job devouring entities like Walmart, there's not much. Which is not to say that the other mayoral candidates have come up with much either, so far. But Nutter is clearly, it seems to me, the favorite of the corporate crowd looking to have its priorities advanced.
Except...
Except for when he's not serving the "corporate agenda":
NEIGHBORHOOD BENEFITS STRATEGY
The Neighborhood Benefits Strategy began from legislation written by Councilman Nutter. It has expanded business opportunities for underprivileged residents and businesses by requiring housing and community development projects financed with federal HUD funds to employ low-income neighborhood residents and contract with neighborhood businesses to the greatest extent possible.
LOCAL BIDDING PREFERENCES
Councilman Nutter created a bidding preference for local businesses on qualifying City contracts. The program provides that the bids of “Local Business Entities” are reduced by 5% during the bid selection process, but are paid in full if the contract is awarded.
LOCAL HIRING PREFERENCES (BILL NO. 050950)
In an effort to give city residents more job opportunities on construction projects, Councilman Nutter introduced legislation requiring that local residents perform at least 50% of the work on qualifying City construction projects. The bill requires contractors to comply with the hiring preference by requiring them to submit detailed employment plans before receiving building permits. They also must submit monthly compliance reports throughout the construction project.
LOW INCOME HIRING PREFERENCES
To combat unemployment, Councilman Nutter sponsored legislation requiring at least 40% of the workers on City construction contracts exceeding $150,000 to be low or moderate income workers. This requirement also extends to contracts administered by City-related agencies (such as the Redevelopment Authority) that involve City funds or financial assistance.
TAX INCREMENT FINANCING REPORTING (ORDINANCE NO. 990181)
Councilman Nutter sponsored an ordinance establishing reporting requirements for Tax Increment Financing Districts (districts where certain increases in tax revenue associated with development projects can be used to finance them). The reports must include detailed information on construction, hiring, minority participation, and other important employment statistics.
I have worked with the
I have worked with the bidding preferences, they are helpful to Philadelphia businesses.
Disagree
I don't think so Stan...this one just doesn't stink. The press in this town loves a juicy story and they wouldn't give Mike Nutter or anybody else a pass.
Hey Charlesdog, What's
Hey Charlesdog, What's matter with Johnny Doc? Nobody in this race so far is as honest and hard working. Also, if you took the time to know him I think you would change the above statement. Johnny Doc, if he so pleases would be a breath of fresh air to the city. Progressive, agressive and impressive!!!!!!!!!!!!