Nutter

For Mayor Nutter, opponent T. Milton Street Sr. may be an itch that won't go away - but he is still by any measure the very distant second in next month's Democratic primary for mayor. That has freed Nutter to concentrate on how to make the most of a second term, and at the moment that means getting some allies elected to City Council, where for three-plus years he has lacked a reliable majority of votes. An official "Nutter slate" of candidates may not coalesce, but the mayor does intend to actively back Council aspirants in some competitive races for open seats.

Ann J. Land, 58, was locked in a close race early today with investment broker Michael A. Nutter, 33, in her effort to retain the Fourth District Council seat she has held since 1981. The results in the race were straggling in, and showed the race neck-and- neck early this morning with about 40 percent of the votes counted. But Nutter said shortly after 1:30 a.m. today that Land's campaign manager had called him and conceded the outcome. Four years ago, Land had retained her seat by holding off a challenge by Nutter.

If Michael Nutter's mayoral campaign doesn't work out, maybe he has a future in retail. Buried in the former councilman's detailed budget policy paper - which will be formally released today - is an interesting notion: a "Philly Gear" apparel line, to be sold online and at city-operated gift stores. Modeled on Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's ambitious New York City Store, Nutter's plan predicts that Philly-branded products could earn the cash-strapped city up to $1 million in annual revenue.

When Mayor Nutter took office in January, the expectations for his administration could not have been higher. Ten months and a $1 billion budget crisis later, should Philadelphians temper their hopes? Yes and no, Nutter said in a Friday interview. "I think yesterday was part of the expectation-adjustment process," Nutter said, referring to his Thursday announcement of painful spending cuts and a freeze on planned tax reductions. But Nutter did not back off his most ambitious goals, such as halving the high school dropout rate within seven years, and doubling the city's four-year college-degree attainment rate within 10 years.

Though he's still working on last-minute Council business and has yet to pack his bags, City Councilman Michael A. Nutter is leaving for Cape Town in South Africa tomorrow for a fellowship program on leadership and public-service values. Called the Emerging Leaders Program, the fellowship is administered by the United States/Southern Africa Center for Leadership and Public Values, a partnership between Duke University and the University of Cape Town. Nutter said yesterday he was nominated as a fellow in the fall by a friend who had completed the program.

Union leader John J. Dougherty has an ultimatum for City Councilman Michael A. Nutter, a potential rival in the race for mayor of Philadelphia: Resign, or take yourself out of next year's Democratic primary. According to Dougherty, Nutter effectively declared himself a mayoral candidate last week by filing a lawsuit demanding that four other potential candidates return money raised in violation of the city's new campaign-contribution limits. Under the City Charter, officeholders explicitly running for a job other than the one they have must resign their current post.

WOULD Mayor Nutter like to trade in his office at City Hall for one at the White House? Political circles have been buzzing for months with speculation that Nutter might cut short his second term for a job in Washington if President Obama is re-elected. And Nutter's speaking appearance at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night will only fan those flames. Just how seriously should this chatter be taken? Insiders say that if Nutter wants a job, he would likely be a strong contender.

The city's on-again, off-again romance with banning smoking in all workplaces is, for the moment, showing signs of working out. Though time is running out for City Council to vote on the measure before it breaks for the summer, one roadblock has been cleared: Mayor Street is at least on speaking terms with Councilman Michael A. Nutter, the sponsor of the bill. Last Thursday, the mayor had complained that Nutter, who appeared one vote shy of getting the bill passed, was trying to ram the legislation through Council no matter what the cost.

With Mayor Nutter about to face city voters again, he's making a smart political move - as well as one that's in the interests of good government - by expanding the rules for most city workers on accepting gifts, safeguards on sexual harassment limits on outside employment, and by imposing a needed ban on nepotism. Nutter's 2007 election campaign on a reform platform included a memorable "throw out the bums" TV ad showing the top of City Hall being ripped off. So the ethics rules the mayor issued as executive orders Tuesday were a welcome reminder of why Philadelphians rallied behind him. The mayor, of course, would argue that he's kept his reform fervor well-stoked all along.

Philadelphia City Councilman Michael Nutter makes it to the top of a rock wall in the Wissahickon Valley yesterday during his four-day Outward Bound experience.

THE MAYOR and City Council agree that the school district needs more money. After that, they part ways - once again. Mayor Nutter has proposed three solutions to the district's request for $60 million: increase delinquent tax collections to raise $28 million; up the across-the-bar drink tax from 10 percent to 15 percent to raise about $22 million; impose a $2-a-pack local tax on cigarettes sold in Philadelphia to raise $45 million this year....

To raise money for the desperate Philadelphia School District, Mayor Nutter proposed Wednesday to tax cigarettes at $2 a pack and raise the city's liquor-by-the-drink tax from 10 percent to 15 percent. Alongside School Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. and others at City Hall, Nutter also pledged to improve city tax collections. The mayor estimated that his plan would raise an additional $95 million for schools in 2013-14 and $135 million in the second year. Nutter stressed that the money would benefit not only students enrolled in district schools but those who attend the 84 taxpayer-funded charter schools in the city.

THE NUTTER administration switched gears and has now set aside $31 million to pay for a portion of the firefighters' arbitration award that it is appealing - again. Despite concerns raised by City Council, the city controller and the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, the city's fiscal watchdog, Nutter's budget proposal had not included the costs of the award if the appeal was unsuccessful. The issue has been a major sticking point during this year's budget debate in addition to the longstanding contract disputes with the city's blue- and white-collar unions.

IF THE school district doesn't receive additional funding and operates next year under an austerity plan, the resulting scenario would devastate education for the children of the city, Mayor Nutter asserted yesterday. The district cuts essentially would mean "buildings that are open and people who are there," Nutter said. "But it is not an educational opportunity. " Schools would go without assistant principals, guidance counselors and extracurricular activities, Nutter said to students and staff at Jackson School in South Philadelphia.

IF YOU'RE planning to watch the finish of the Broad Street Run on Sunday, pack light. Mayor Nutter said yesterday that spectators will not be permitted to bring bags or backpacks into the Navy Yard at the race's end. The security precaution follows the deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon. Nutter also discouraged fans from carrying bags elsewhere along the course, although they are not banned from doing so. Organizers will provide transparent plastic bags to people who need to carry their belongings.

DEAR MAYOR NUTTER, We've met only twice, and once I watched you give your card to an ex-con looking for work and tell him that you'd help him out. I was impressed. So before we get off on the wrong foot here, I'm going to assume you missed the softball I lobbed over to City Hall last month. Understandable; you're a busy guy. Bicycle sharing. The Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival kickoff. The U.S. Conference of Mayors' fifth-annual World Cultural Economic Forum in New Orleans. Hope you make time to grab some beignets and po'boys; they're yummy.

MAYOR NUTTER yesterday took a spin around Rittenhouse Square in a test ride of the bike-share program he hopes to bring to Philly. "It's obviously an economical way to get around and also plays into our health initiatives, takes cars off the street and makes the air cleaner as well," Nutter said to a crowd before hopping on a yellow bike. "It's green, it's clean, it's convenient, and we just want to move the city into this new environment. " Mimicking programs in Washington, Denver and other cities, Philly's bike-share program would feature a series of kiosks throughout the city where riders would pay to rent bikes and return them to any other kiosk.

MAYOR NUTTER appointed Julia Chapman, legislative director for the first two years of his administration, to chair the Zoning Board of Adjustment yesterday. Chapman, Nutter's longtime chief of staff during his City Council days, will replace Lynette Brown-Sow, who became chairwoman of the Philadelphia Housing Authority on Friday. "Throughout my many years of public service, I have been keenly aware of the critical role the Zoning Board of Adjustment plays in balancing neighborhood preservation and the economic growth of the city while insuring the integrity of the zoning code," Chapman said in a statement.

IN ONLY 15.7 seconds (we timed it), Gardner Nutter smashed the record (whatever it was) for the most let's-go-to-the-dictionary words uttered by someone being interviewed for a high school story in the People Paper. Here we go . . . Let the head-scratching begin: Lumbar. Thoracic. Therabands. Oscillating. Deceleration. While the good, ol' Daily News indeed is wonderful, it doesn't offer a science/medical section, so this story must appear toward toward the back of the paper.

MAYOR NUTTER yesterday announced that J.P. Morgan and Loop Capital Markets will be the brokers for a possible sale of Philadelphia Gas Works, a big step forward for the administration's goal of privatizing the utility. The firms would profit only if the utility is sold, and the city would go ahead with the sale only if the price is right, Nutter said. The process is expected to take a year. The contracts are designed to encourage a higher sale price. A $1.6 billion sale would pay the firms a combined $7.2 million; a $1.85 billion sale, the estimate a city consultant came up with last year, would get them $12 million, Nutter said.