Be careful what you wish for, eh?
Now that he's stuck with the job, Nutter must rapidly develop his policy plans, hire staff and manage a transition into office. And given that he's probably a little overworked, we thought we'd help him set his priorities.
So listen up, Mike. Here are the Top Five Challenges Facing the Next Mayor :
1) Crime
2) The rising cost of city pensions and health benefits
3) Neighborhoods
4) Philadelphia Gas Works
5) Restoration of civic pride
Crime
Talk about a no-brainer.
By far the most urgent problem facing the city is the horrifying rise in homicides and shootings. Just last week three Philadelphia police officers were shot, one fatally.
Starting today, the pressure is on Nutter to find ways to stem the blood.
"There won't be a honeymoon time for him," said Patrick Carr, a sociology professor at Rutgers University. "This is a problem that has festered for so long, he's in the unenviable position of having to deal with it very quickly and having very little margin of error."
Some of Nutter's initial moves are clear.
First, he needs to appoint a police commissioner. That choice is expected to come soon, perhaps in the next few weeks. The jury is still out on whether he'll pick a Philly cop for the job, or an outsider.
"Everyone is expecting he'll appoint someone new, but who knows," said Ralph Taylor, a criminal-justice professor at Temple University.
But getting a guy - or gal - in the top job is only the beginning. Nutter has spoken extensively about changing the culture of policing in Philadelphia and attacking violence head-on.
Nutter's plans include declaring crime emergencies in the city's worst neighborhoods, which could allow cops to close streets or set curfews. And he has said he will encourage cops to use "stop and frisk" police tactics to seize illegal guns.
But Carr also stressed that Nutter will have to work with residents to fight crime.
