Matt McClure (Candidate for 4th Councilmanic District) Releases Fairmount Park Plan

On the 135th Anniversary of Arbor Day, Matt McClure, candidate for the Fourth Council District, released his plan for making immediate improvements to Fairmount Park by providing secure and adequate financial resources and clearly accountable leadership to make system-wide improvements.

Once elected, McClure has committed to immediately fighting for complete implementation of the Fairmount Park Commission’s Five Year Funding Plan. The majority of Fairmount Park’s 9,200 acres lies within the Fourth Councilmanic District.

“Its time to end the secretive backroom deals that select our Park Commissioners and City Councilmembers,” stated McClure. “Instead, I want to work hand-in-hand with an independent commission and parks advocates to keep our parks well-maintained, safe, and attractive. Fairmount Park is one of our region’s strongest assets, and with some innovative approaches to income retention and entrepreneurial opportunities, I believe that not only will we have the largest urban park system in the world, I believe we can also have the best.”

Matt's full plan for Fairmount Park can be found here.

Michael Nutter's Fundraising Surges

From the Nutter Campaign:

NUTTER'S MOMENTUM CONTINUES WITH A SURGE OF ONLINE DONATIONS

Over 313 Donors Give Average Contribution of $191 in last three days

Philadelphia, April 30, 2007

Michael Nutter, Democratic candidate for Mayor, today announced that his campaign raised more than $60,000 from more than 313 online donors in the last three days - Friday, April 27 through Sunday, April 29. Nutter said that he believed that this level of online support was unprecedented in the Philadelphia mayoral race and had likely far exceeded online donations made to any of his opponents over a comparable period of time. "These donations show that grassroots support for my candidacy continues to build, and we hope to ride this momentum straight through to May 15,"said Nutter. "Every time someone makes a donation, it shows a level of solid support - and from the start of this campaign the support that we have received has been phenomenal." Nutter said that more than 4,050 people have made a donation to his campaign for Mayor since he began his campaign last year. Nutter said that the online donations came after his campaign sent an email to his supporters reporting on a poll by Pennsylvanians for Effective Government (PEG) that showed Nutter in a virtual dead heat with the previous front runner, Tom Knox. Both the PEG poll and the Philadelphia Inquirer's endorsement of Nutter on Sunday, April 29, boosted donations to Nutter's campaign over the weekend. In 2006, Nutter raised more money and had more donors than any of the other four Mayoral candidates.

Michael Nutter's Latest TV Ad

Can be found here.

27th Ward Endorses Michael Nutter

Over in the 27th Ward - mostly University City - the Ward Committee overwhelmingly endorsed Michael Nutter for Mayor. The story - by Philadelphia's own Chris Bowers - can be found here.

Inquirer Endorses Nutter

In Sunday's edition, the Philadelphia Inquirer will endorse Michael Nutter for the May 15 Democratic primary election.

The Inquirer calls Nutter "the most promising package of achievement, persistence, smarts and vision." Further, the paper believes that it "is easy to imagine on the national stage as the fresh voice of a resurgent Philadelphia, changing the narrative from one about bloodshed, corruption and dysfunction to one about new ideas, new energy, new partnerships."

We're Number Five!!

The 25th anniversary edition of "Places Rated Almanac" is putting out its latest ranking of America's most livable cities, and Philadelphia ended up #5. Our sister City in the west of the state - Pittsburgh - was #1.

The ranking of 379 metropolitan areas across the nation is based on nine categories: housing (cost of living); transportation; jobs; education; climate; crime; health care; recreation; and ambience (museums, arts, restaurants and historical districts).

The rest of the top 10 are San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Rochester, N.Y., Washington, D.C., San Jose-Sunnyvale, Calif., Boston and Madison, Wis.

Bill would create regional authority for PHL

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

"A state representative from Delaware County, joined by other lawmakers, introduced a bill in Harrisburg today to create a regional authority to operate Philadelphia International, Lehigh Valley and other airports in the area."

"Rep. Bryan Lentz said in a news release that establishing a Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Airport Authority could help reduce congestion at Philadelphia, one of the nation's most delay-prone airports, by coordinating planning and operations at all the region's air fields. The authority would be required to have cooperative agreements with state authorities in Delaware and New Jersey, and to coordinate planning and investment with SEPTA and Amtrak, he said."

Another Media Endorsement for Mike Nutter

The University of Pennsylvania's student newspaper - with a daily circulation of 14,000 - has endorsed Mike Nutter for Mayor of Philadelphia.

"The [Daily Pennsylvanian] Opinion Board strongly endorses Michael Nutter for the next mayor of Philadelphia. While all five Democratic candidates have their advantages and disadvantages, Nutter has the vision, know-how and experience to take the city in the right direction."

"Philadelphia needs real, practical solutions from someone who knows how to get things done. Michael Nutter is that man."

Read the full endorsement here.

Vote for Philly

CNN and Travel and Leisure are rating the nation's top cities in a variety of categories. Last time (2004), Philadelphia didn't fare well. While it is one of the top places for sightseeing, we also were ranked to have the least "good-looking" residents and second to last quality of life. You can see the results here.

The survey is coming out again soon so if you want to vote, click this link and improve our standing!

The First Major Media Endorsement Goes to Michael Nutter

Nutter will be endorsed by Philly Mag in the May issue - hitting newsstands Thursday.

Said Philadelphia Magazine:

"We interviewed all five Democratic candidates, and the nearly unanimous view of the staff was that only Michael Nutter has the vision and sense of urgency to tackle the city’s problems, from ethics to tax cuts to taking on the murder epidemic. In the end, we felt that Nutter has the best potential to be an inspiring leader and to speak to all Philadelphians.”

"Well, there is one candidate in this race who has, over the years, shown a willingness to take on the entrenched interests and do the people’s business. His name is Michael Nutter, and he’s been on the right side of virtually every public issue the city has faced over the past decade and a half. The Police Advisory Commission, domestic partner benefits legislation, ethics in government, wage tax reduction, the smoking ban — none of it would have happened without former councilman Nutter’s Job-like persistence."

Mid-Atlantic Highlands Action Program

The Mid-Atlantic Highlands Action Program is a multi-state partnership run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It is the first-ever attempt to coordinate environmental conservation and economic revival in the mid-Appalachian range. The governors of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia recently announced they had signed the charter establishing the partnership, which is mandated by an 2001 act of Congress.

Governor Ed Rendell said the program - similar to the state's Pennsylvania Wilds eco-tourism project in northern-tier counties - will seek to balance the region's portfolio of recreational amenities with various economic interests. "Our challenge," said Rendell, "is to seek common ground and develop policies that will manage the many demands on this land, while preserving the natural beauty and heritage of the Appalachian Mountains."

The states, under EPA's aegis and funded by an initial $2.5 million federal grant, will survey the region's ecologically significant highlands areas and identify pilot projects to facilitate ongoing community conservation efforts and local economic development.

Friday Agricultural Factoid

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the Commonwealth has preserved over 350,000 acres of farmland. That's a lot of land. It's equal to 70 million parked cars, more than 233,000 football fields and is four times the size of Philadelphia.

PHL is GREEN

Philadelphia International Airport is the largest purchaser of wind power among all airports in the U.S. They've committed to purchase 7% of their annual electricity use - about 13,000 megawatt hours - from wind power each year.

Friday Agricultural Factoid

I know, it's been a while. I've been on a hiatus.

Anyway, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, more than 2 million acres of crops will be planted this spring in the Commonwealth. Farmers will plant wheat, corn, oats, barley, sorghum and soybeans across our state’s 7.7 million acres of farmland.

PennDems Endorse Michael Nutter for Mayor

PennDems Endorse Michael Nutter for Mayor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: MUKUL SHARMA

communications@penndems.org

Phone: 816.686.0729

UNIVERSITY CITY, PHILADELPHIA – February 13, 2007 – The University of Pennsylvania Democrats are proud to announce their endorsement of Michael A. Nutter for Philadelphia Mayor. Nutter -- a lifetime Philadelphia resident and Penn graduate with an accomplished career of public service, business, and financial administration -- impressed the student organization's members with his reform agenda.

Councilman Nutter supports the gradual elimination of the Business Privilege Tax and adding more uniformed officers to the Philadelphia Police Department. Moreover, his Neighborhood Benefits Strategy would require housing and community development projects financed with federal funds to employ low-income neighborhood residents.

Furthermore, Nutter has long been a voice for reforming Philadelphia politics. He is one of the only candidates for mayor who has pledged to adhere to campaign finance limits enacted three years ago.

Nutter served as a City Councilman for nearly 15 years before resigning to run for Mayor. His tenure was marked by several leadership triumphs, including steering the effort to pass a citywide smoking ban and spearheading the creation of an Ethics Reform Board and Ethics Code to provide routine training for City Officers and officials.

The Penn Democrats -- one of the largest student organizations at the University of Pennsylvania and the 2006 Pennsylvania College Democrats Chapter of the Year -- look forward to assisting Michael Nutter as he seeks to become Mayor of Philadelphia.

Members of the Penn Democrats will knock on doors, write letters, and call voters on Nutter's behalf. These efforts will mirror those taken by the Penn Democrats in 2006, when members knocked on over 15,000 doors for Iraq War Veteran and Congressional Candidate Patrick Murphy in an election he won by fewer than 2,000 votes.

The University of Pennsylvanian Democrats are an organization of progressive college students dedicated to registering voters, educating fellow students, and electing Democrats. For information, please visit www.penndems.org.

Friday Agricultural Factoid - Two Days Late

According to the Department of Agriculture, there are more than 50 confectionaries in the Commonwealth, including Hershey's, the world's largest chocolate company.

High Tech Crime Fighting Technique for Philadelphia

From the Harvard Government Innovators Network, "Philadelphia will take advantage of new statistics software to predict which recent probationers are most likely to reoffend. Developed using research about thousands of previous crimes, the city's new Strategic Anti-Violence Unit (SAV-U) uses computer models to forecast which individuals may commit crimes again. Armed with this information, SAV-U can target resources, such as drug treatment, education, and counseling, more efficiently."

Nutter on Ethics (from the campaign)

I strongly support the proposals of the Committee of Seventy’s ETHICS AGENDA. I am proud to be the only candidate running for Mayor who has achieved any concrete ethics reform in Philadelphia. My public policy record on ethics reform is unmatched by any other candidate or potential candidate for Mayor. Every Mayoral candidate should post on this site their track record on ethics reform based on their experience in the public and/or private sectors. I plan to release additional proposals for continued ethics reform later this month. In the meantime, please read my track record on ethics reform as a policy and legislative issue in Philadelphia.

Independent Ethics Board
In September 2004, I introduced legislation providing for the first time in City history a Charter created Ethics Board. To insure the integrity of this Board, I pushed for a strong, independent entity with adjudicatory and enforcement powers, and guaranteed funding and staff to carry out its mission. The Ethics Board was overwhelmingly approved by the voters in May 2006. Five members were sworn in as the City’s first independent Board of Ethics on November 27, 2006.

Revised City Ethics Code
I made changes to the City's Ethics Code which now mandates regular ethics training and education for all City officers and employees, the issuance of advisory opinions, the adjudication of ethics violations, and the imposition of civil fines. These measures were adopted by City Council in December 2005.

No-Bid (Professional Services) Contract Reform and Contribution Limits
I wrote legislation, approved in June 2005, which provides for an open and transparent process for no-bid contracts, limits campaign contributions to $5000 for individuals and $20,000 for businesses, and requires mandatory disclosure of campaign contributions before the award of a no-bid contract and during the contract period. These reforms were Charter amendments and required voter approval before taking effect. In November 2005, 87% of the voters said “yes” to the ballot question calling for these reforms. This was the largest winning margin ever recorded for a ballot question in Philadelphia. The new no-bid contract procedures took effect on February 1, 2006.

Limits on Political Contributions by Contractors
Another important reform I proposed, approved in December 2005, prohibits persons and businesses from receiving City financial assistance if they have made campaign contributions in excess of the prescribed limits − $5000 for individuals and $20,000 for businesses. In addition, individuals or businesses awarded City financial assistance must agree not to make any campaign contributions which exceed the local limits for five years after receipt of the financial assistance. This ordinance took effect on July 1, 2006.

Campaign Finance Reports on City's Website
This new measure, approved December 2005, requires candidates for City offices to file their campaign reports with the City's Records Department. In addition to a hard copy, the reports are to be electronically filed, and the Records Department, working with the Ethics Board, is directed to post the campaign reports on the City's website no later than five business days after receipt of the information. The Records Department has implemented this new law and campaign reports are now available on-line.

There is much common ground between these achievements and the Committee of Seventy’s Ethics Agenda. I look forward to working with Seventy and to continuing the hard but important work of achieving real change in government ethics in the City of Philadelphia.

I Love the Farm Show

The Pennsylvania Farm Show is the largest indoor agricultural exposition in the nation. The Farm Show Complex contains 25 acres under one roof, spread throughout 11 buildings (including three indoor arenas). I went last year; it's a blast.

Fox Executive MBA program Ranked Top 20 in the US

The Executive MBA ("EMBA") Program at Temple University’s Fox School of Business has been ranked among the top 20 programs in the U.S. by the Financial Times. This is the sixth consecutive year that the Fox program has been ranked among the world's best by the London-based news organization.