The heavens opened up, god spoke and now Michael Nutter is Mayor of the City of Philadelphia. Uh...Not exactly! Actually the residents of the city of Philadelphia actually spoke with their votes and low and behold...Here's Mike!

For the first time in Philadelphia's history we have a mayor who's not only African American in a city where African Americans predominate but he's an African American who has a brain he's not afraid to use. Unlike previous African American mayors in this city Mr Nutter appears to be a policy wonk and a pragmatist. Given his own sense of style and personality AND pragmatism, he's not likely to get bogged down with political feuds, megolamania, egotism, authoritarianism and the self imposed isolation of his predecessors. He's articulate, intelligent and conversant with the city's pressing issues. He's progressive and is the author of two pieces of groundbreaking legislation in Philadelphia's history..the smoking ban and the Ethics bill. He's appears everybit as invested in quality of life issues as the rest of are. He's concerned about the funding of Philadelphia schools as he has a teenaged daughter who attends Masterman. He is affected by senseless gun violence in the city as his family also resides here. Mr Nutter will inherit a potentially volatile agenda of city governement; Municipal Labor contracts which includes a possible revamping of the pension and medical care systems, The school funding issue, a burgeoning homicide rate and casinos. This is coupled with an attempt to attract the "Best and the Brightest" to work for his administration tackling the city's most serious issues at jobs that pay at the most quite possibly a fifth of what they would earn in the private sector. Mr Nutter has also made the campaign promise to cease this city's "Brain Drain" in an effort to keep the "Best and the Brightest" who graduate from any of our numerous excellent academic institutions employed right here in Philadelphia and contributing to our quality of life. These are not easy issues and Mr Nutter will not be in an enviable place in dealing with these...The saving grace might be the presumptive election of either Hillary Clinton or Rudy Guliani as this nation's 44th president. Both candidates appear to genuinely extol the virtues of saving this nations cities as well as improving the quality of life for all Americans. It will be "Touch and Go" as shortly after taking office in January 2008 Mr Nutter's skill as a politician, reformer and pragmatist will be tested when he is saddled with the cumbersome task of negotiating new Municipal labor contracts. We all wait with "baited breath" and wish mr Nutter success in navigating this city's myriad of social, economic and political issues.

                                                                                                                                  Excelsior