One of Mayor Nutter's top aides, Desiree Peterkin-Bell, is leaving City Hall after less than two years to help President Obama's reelection effort in Pennsylvania.
Peterkin-Bell, 34, joined Nutter in September 2010 and kept a low public profile, despite a $142,500 salary and a major title - director of communications and strategic partnerships.
She has widely been viewed as part of Nutter's effort to build a national reputation for himself - reflected in the mayor's recent election as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, frequent pronouncements on national issues, and big-time media appearances.
Asked Friday to describe some of her accomplishments, Peterkin-Bell mentioned an HBO documentary, Weight of a Nation, that featured the city's antiobesity efforts and the city's increased use of social media to communicate with the public. That proved important, she said, when the administration was negotiating last fall with the Occupy Philadelphia movement.
