The DP Opinion Board endorsed Michael Nutter for Mayor.

Reform is finally at hand in Philadelphia. For years, we have worked and hoped for it –only to be disappointed and forced to wait for the next election.

This time, you can cast a vote for real change in our city the kind of change that will transform City government from a constant source of embarrassment to a point of pride. We have labored for so long under the weight of corrosive attitudes, defeated expectations, and arrogant arrangements among self-dealing insiders. This can end — and it will, if you vote for me.

For fifteen years on City Council, I have treated my time in your government as an opportunity and obligation to confront our City’s toughest challenges. I established the City’s first independent Ethics Board, started the first limits on political contributions, and revolutionized how city contracts are awarded. I led the charge and took the heat for establishing and sustaining a schedule of significant reductions in our wage and business taxes, while preserving essential municipal services. And I put 100 new police officers — scheduled to hit the streets this summer — in last year’s City budget, when others tried to zero out police hires.

In the State and Congressional legislatures are powerful Philadelphians who are in a unique position to deliver the resources we need to address challenges such as decaying infrastructure and entrenched poverty. But those higher levels of government need a capable local partner. I am the only person running for Mayor with significant experience in Philadelphia government. I came into City Council in the same election that brought Ed Rendell into the Mayor’s Office, and I was a part of the government that solved the fiscal crisis of 1991-92.

The next Mayor will face equal, if not greater, challenges. As a son of West Philadelphia who made it to Penn, I know how to overcome challenges. I have done it before, and I am prepared to do it again. I need your support on May 15 to get started.

Thank you

Editor’s note: Here is the link to Nutter’s campaign website.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 24th, 2007 at 11:38 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.