Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter sits down to talk about what it's like running one of the biggest cities in the country.  We discuss the roles of being Michael Nutter the mayor and Michael Nutter the man and how he's able to maintain balance.  I ask him if he can even have a personal life with his professional life being so public and I can honestly say that this was the first time in my life that I was "Punk'd" by a public official of his stature.  A milestone moment for me.

We talk about the upcoming Presidential race including his role to this point and what he sees for the coming months.  It was national news that Mayor Nutter supported Senator Clinton over Senator Obama, much to the chagrin of many residents in the city of Philadelphia.  I ask the mayor about his feelings on that now that Senator Obama has won (presumptively) the nomination.  

We also talk about race and politics and I wondered if young African-American kids now have a different career arc – a different "when I grow up...." dream – now that Senator Obama is one step from becoming President Obama.  To follow that, I ask him if he's thought about his career goals and what he wants to do after his time as Mayor of Philadelphia is finished. 

We discuss several issues facing the city, including education and crime.  Did you know that while 45.8-percent of the population in Philadelphia County is African-American, yet that number jumps to 76.7-percent for the incarcerated.  As the leader of this city, I ask the mayor how he feels about those numbers and what he plans to do in hopes of leveling that discrepancy.  (Note: he does not like my suggestion).

We then talk about green...as in making the city a greener place to live with different recycling programs and initiatives to become more efficient.  That conversation is juxtaposed with a discussion about the ever-changing skyline of the city and if big buildings means big business for the city.  We spin that to a conversation about business in the city and if the laws are actually hurting small business owners in order to help large corporations. 

Finally, we talk sports, including the problems the Phils are having on the bump and if Pat the Bat should be an all-star (he, like I, thinks yes).  I violate several interstate commerce laws to ask him which team he'd bet on to win the next title in the city and we close with some quick hits about his favorite cheesesteaks, top movies of all time and what he really thinks of Nutter Butters.

The mayor is a great sport and honestly the coolest mayor I know.

Link to this:

| | | | | |