"I think a good, healthy, respectful relationship is 75 percent of the battle of moving this city forward . . . People want to see cooperation. They want to see us getting along and making progress and putting an end to all the bickering and the pettiness and the politics of personality. That has to come to an end."
Councilman James Kenney has been counting down Street's days in office for years. Although Kenney, like every other member of Council, didn't support Nutter in the primary, he said he's excited about the new year.
"I anticipate an excellent relationship," Kenney said. "I look forward to access, having our ideas heard . . . Mayor Nutter will face some very difficult issues early on, and it's our job to help him succeed."
Councilman Darrell Clarke, who frequently had to carry Street's water in Council, believes that Nutter should clearly communicate what he wants to do in the next few years.
"We need to do the same and then hope we can find a consensus," he said.
Councilwoman Marian Tasco, for years a sharp critic of Street's, said: "Council members want to feel included. They may not always agree with the mayor, but they can give feedback."
Joining the returning incumbents in the largely unchanged Council will be at least three freshmen: at-large member Bill Green, son of former Mayor Bill Green; Curtis Jones, in Nutter's former district, the 4th, stretching from Roxborough to Overbrook Park; and Maria Quinones Sanchez in the 7th District that runs from eastern North Philadelphia to the Northeast.
Republican David Oh, a Korean-American in his second bid for elective office, and Republican incumbent Jack Kelly were locked in a race so close that a winner could not be determined last night. (See story this page.)
Nutter said the mayor-Council relationship boils down to "communicating, collaborating and cooperating to get things done."
