While there remains much to do, let's review what our government has achieved. In many ways, it's leaped past us and, for the first time in generations, the private sector must scramble to catch up to leadership in City Hall. Who'd ever have thought that possible, besides Michael Nutter?
Take Greenworks, the policy framework to guide the city and its partners through 2015. It consists of five goals: Energy, environment, equity, economy, and engagement. These goals organize 15 specific targets and 169 mutually reinforcing initiatives to achieve them.
These targets are extraordinarily ambitious. But they have been embraced by this administration. Just watch the video at www.phila.gov/green/greenworks to see what I mean.
Greenworks, especially when linked with the new Metropolitan Caucus that the mayor has established with the region's other local elected officials, provides unprecedented public leadership on these issues.
So, they've done their part, and now I want to talk about us.
With Greenworks, this government has given us an anvil to hammer on - but we have to pick up that hammer and start to forge change.
Greenworks is a tool for evaluating every decision this government makes. As I used to say about Mayor Street, in a very different context: It's not about the mayor, it's about us. I left government because this is where the action is - where it must be, and where it should be.
The sustainability constituency rightly feels a certain ownership of this administration, but they need to play it much bigger than they have. Local green advocates either fail to recognize or fear to exercise their full potential power. They need to speak out on every issue confronting the city, especially the budget and our relationship with Harrisburg and Washington.
