"It is a test of mayoral leadership, and I believe he's up to the job," former Gov. Mark Schweiker said. "This is a mayor who's finding his stride, and he can push this across the proverbial goal line."
Schweiker said he had seen a vigorous mayor "with his chest out," coming off a convincing primary-election victory last week - even if he defeated a weak opponent.
But on Wednesday, the day after Schools Superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman asked for the city's help in closing an enormous budget gap, there was little indication of the mayor's plan for fulfilling his promise.
"We have no idea what he intends on doing now," Councilman Wilson Goode Jr. said. "There are a plethora of options, and we'll pursue every option we have."
But, Goode added, "we're not looking at a tax increase as an option right now."
Several other Council members, including Council President Anna C. Verna and education chair Jannie Blackwell, also said there was little appetite for raising taxes.
A solution will have to come quickly - the city has to pass a budget by the end of June or face stiff consequences.
"At this point, it's a very difficult ask at the eleventh hour to ask us to raise more than $100 million in revenue," Majority Whip Darrell L. Clarke said.
Brett Mandel, a civic activist and former candidate for city controller, predicted Nutter would get what he wanted from Council.
"The mayor has nicely pushed them into a corner and given them little choice," he said. "Make no mistake, this was the intention all along."
He said no Council member would want to be seen as voting against the needs of schoolchildren, and with budget deadlines looming, action has to be taken quickly.
"The mayor lied to us when he put forth his budget. He knew this was coming," Mandel said. "It's one thing to have a robust debate. Then we could have arrived at this point in a way that involved the public."
