Michael Nutter

ORLANDO, Fla. — Vice President Biden calls Mayor Nutter "one of my best friends in public life. " Michelle Obama addressed the mayor as "my dear friend" the last time she came to Philadelphia. Democratic pundit Donna Brazile wants Philadelphians to know that she has Nutter on speed dial. "Michael Nutter is a breath of fresh air. He likes to bring people together," Brazile said Thursday at the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting here, where Nutter was inaugurated as the organization's new president Saturday.

CITY COUNCIL is scheduled to hold hearings today on the budget and a raft of sweeping tax reform bills. How ready is Council? The Daily News asked all 17 members the following question: 1Have you read the 500-page Tax Reform Commission report, which explains the need for each tax reform bill now before City Council? (The report was released in November.) 2Will you support all or some of the 13 tax reform bills put forth by the Tax Reform Commission? 1Yes. 2No. "I would expect to be for 11 or 12 of the bills.

WE'VE BEEN joking lately that Michael Nutter's campaign bumper sticker should read "Michael Nutter: Managing Expectations. " Ever since this reform candidate pulled the primary out from under the millionaire, two congressmen and a state rep, many in the city have done something they haven't done for a long time: Dared to dream. They're imagining a City Hall snatched from its legacy of pay-to-play, finally shaking off the reputation of a content and corrupt city and being led by someone who can wrangle the budget, crime and schools - and still talk about sustainability, transparency and ethics.

At Great Expectations forums this year, the people of Philadelphia spoke about what they seek in the next mayor. Certain themes cropped up again and again. Voters want a mayor who will rise above "politics as usual," who will attack corruption. They want "a mayor of the whole city," someone who won't cater just to his base, who won't pit neighborhoods vs. Center City. They want someone who is not just smart, but displays "emotional intelligence. " Someone who can attract good people to City Hall and keep them; who can make ordinary citizens feel heard, not dismissed.

THREE QUARTERS of the city's voters reaffirmed a likely second term for Mayor Nutter. The bad news: One quarter voted for a stunt candidate who owes the government more than $1 million in back taxes. Still, Nutter now has a choice: to make it a second term in which he has lots of free time because he can't get anyone to do anything . . . or a second term in which, having nothing left to lose, he lets it rip. We prefer the latter. Here is our advice: The mayor should forgo green and eat more red meat : Nice Mike should acquire a taste for blood.

FOUR YEARS AGO, our endorsement of MICHAEL NUTTER ran with a one-word subhead: "DUH!" The choice in the general election was that obvious. Republican Al Taubenberger offered only token resistance, and Nutter had emerged from an impressive field to win the Democratic primary in this one-party town's de facto mayor's race. This year, he is virtually unopposed for the nomination (sorry, Milton), and his overall record has earned him our enthusiastic endorsement. The mayor had barely finished repeating the oath of office before he was forced to wield a budget ax and collect more money.

Anyone who follows Philadelphia politics knows that the Street administration has put a bull's-eye on its chief critic on City Council, Michael Nutter. An ally of Mayor Street, Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell, is now the de facto leader of Council, thanks to a subtle coup against Council President Anna C. Verna. The Street-friendly Council majority that stripped Verna of her normal powers now has kicked Nutter out as chair and vice chair of key committees. Philadelphia politics are hardball; Nutter has opposed the mayor on many high-profile issues.

YOU HAVE GOT to be kidding! Street vs. Nutter, Nutter vs. Street? Are these the only options? Is this the best Philly has to offer its hardworking, taxpaying citizens? If I vote for the old crazy guy who owes more than $1 million, I make Nutter look bad. If I vote for Nutter, I make myself look bad and disappoint my fellow residents. We should all strike and not vote for anyone. Maybe then someone with better qualities and credentials will come forward, and we can cast our vote for him. It should be somebody who's not so well-known in our area as Milton or Michael.

Shortly after 10 tomorrow morning, Michael Nutter will be sworn in as Philadelphia's 98th mayor and take the helm of a city that is hungry for his leadership and plainly expecting great things from his administration. After the inaugural party winds down, enormous and pressing challenges await Nutter in his second-floor office in City Hall. In less than a month, he must craft a budget and a five-year plan that reflect his priorities. He must finish putting together his government.

The inaugural party for Philadelphia's next mayor will be a toast to the city's diverse neighborhoods. The Monday night event honoring Mayor-elect Michael Nutter - billed as a celebration, not a ball - will take place at the Cruise Ship Terminal at the Navy Yard. But don't try to get into the bash; it's too late. The $50 tickets to the gathering, for about 2,000 people, were sold out on Wednesday, according to the Upstages ticket service. Partygoers have been asked to wear regular cocktail-party attire; no black tie, tuxedo or ball gown required.

In journalism, we have a saying: Three makes a trend. A few weeks ago, I ran into three different movers and shakers on our city streets. Each one first shared disillusionment over the usual suspects rumored to be running for mayor in 2015, and then expressed disgust with the current occupant of the office. One's face twisted in disdain as he spat out the words: "The guy is irrelevant, and has been since the morning after his reelection. " Another noted, "It took six years to build the Hoover Dam; six years in, this guy still can't figure out how to collect delinquent taxes.

"MITT Romney doesn't get it. " That's what Michael Nutter said at last year's Democratic National Convention. The mayor jabbed hard and fast at the Republican contender on the subject of education. Never mind that Philadelphia's schools have been in perpetual crisis for years. And here we are again, $304 million short. His plan? Try to keep the blame on Harrisburg. If they won't raise vice taxes, don't blame Nutter for the fact that our kids' schools, if they are still open, do not have foreign language or music or art or counselors or nurses or lunch-room aides or secretaries or security or disciplinarians or librarians or books or paper.

MICHAEL NUTTER will welcome technologists and mayors to a closed-door Innovation Summit this week. At Media Mobilizing Project, we work with poor and working people every day to tell our stories and connect our struggles using media and technology. Mayors, listen up: these are the innovations that our communities need. 1) Pay Your Workers Enough . Forty-two percent of city workers earn under $35,310 annually - below poverty for a family of four - and this number has doubled since 2008.

I AM TIRED of hearing legislators crying "no new taxes. " Why? What's wrong about tax increases? Would you rather have new and more efficient roads and bridges, or no new taxes? Would you rather have a new and more efficient infrastructure, or no new taxes? Would you rather have a functioning and more efficient school system, or no new taxes? I could go on and on, but these are just a few serious problems that need to be addressed now. If these can't happen unless taxes are raised, then I say raise the taxes.

THE PENNSYLVANIA Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority. The name seems to embody governmental minutiae, a bureaucratic backwater with little relevance to taxpayers. At times in the past, that's not far from how PICA operated. But this year, the state board that oversees Philly's finances could play a dynamic role in shaping the city's budget plans. And it's already caught up in a political tango between City Hall and Harrisburg. "A lot of people are eyeing PICA," said Zack Stalberg, president of the good-government group Committee of Seventy.

WHILE MAYOR Nutter was at Yale University on Monday talking about gun violence, his anticrime efforts back in Philly took a beating from the city's top prosecutor. At a City Council hearing, District Attorney Seth Williams lambasted Nutter's proposed budget for the D.A.'s office of about $32 million, similar to the current year's funding. Williams said a flatlined budget would, in effect, be a cut for him because he's taken on new responsibilities and costs in recent years. "What we do is simply not valued by the mayor," said Williams, who is asking for $2.8 million more.

SO, PHILLY loses another firefighter, after which Mayor Nutter states, "We must never forget the grave risks that these heroic public servants take every day at a moment's notice on behalf of us all. " Now living in Nashville, I read the Daily News every day on my Kindle and I find Mayor Nutter's statement somewhat ironic. As someone who used to live one block from where Capt. Michael Goodwin died protecting my old neighborhood, I urge Michael Nutter to never forget the words of his statement above when he tries to fight the salary arbitration case against the firefighters, or refers to the noble police force of my hometown.

Tom Knox is bored. How else to explain the millionaire businessman's statement last week that he would not run for governor in 2014 after all and was aiming instead to inject himself into the 2015 race for mayor of Philadelphia? Back in 2007, Knox gained some credibility the way a tornado does - with brute power. He spent nearly $11 million of his own money to build an instant media brand and finish second in the five-candidate Democratic primary for mayor. The neophyte pol was leading in the polls until his opponents ganged up on him to suggest his lack of governing experience was a liability instead of an asset, and to attack some of his past business practices, notably offering high-interest payday loans when he owned a bank.

Tom Knox, the wealthy businessman who put more than $10 million into a nearly successful Democratic candidacy for mayor in 2007, indicated Thursday that he may run again in 2015, when the city elects someone to replace Michael Nutter. "After careful consideration and many discussions with people whom I deeply respect, I am seriously considering a run for mayor of Philadelphia in 2015," he said in a statement emailed to media, ostensibly to announce he is not interested in joining the crowded race for governor next year.

Tom Knox, the wealthy businessman who put more than $10 million into a nearly-successful Democratic candidacy for mayor in 2007, indicated Thursday that he may run again in 2015, when the city elects someone to replace Michael Nutter. "After careful consideration and many discussions with people whom I deeply respect, I am seriously considering a run for mayor of Philadelphia in 2015," he said in a statement emailed to media, ostensibly to announce he is not interested in joining the crowded race for governor next year.