America's Mayor

As Ed Rendell prepares to turn over City Hall's keys, more opportunities await. Anyone close to the City of Philadelphia over the past eight years would understand why Ed Rendell often turns to the serenity prayer as a source of inspiration: May God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can and the wisdom to know the difference. "It's staggering, the unrelenting nature of the job," Rendell said in a recent interview. "And by that, I mean the problems are so diverse and so numerous that they just keep coming. There's no let up.? But I'm probably best suited to deal with that as anybody will ever be." In many ways, the short prayer parallels the amazing adventure of a mayor and his city. At the city's helm for the past 7 1/2 years, Rendell has followed the prayer's advice to the letter and even his critics -- and they are few -- will agree that Philadelphia is a better place because of it. Rendell's second and final term as mayor will officially come to a close on December 31, and many have already hailed him as the greatest mayor in Philadelphia history -- an elite title that may be more than just hyperbole. When elected to office in 1991, Rendell inherited a city with a seemingly bleak and uncertain future. On the verge of bankruptcy, Philadelphia was faced with annual deficits of well over $200 million, an imminent battle with the city's unions, poor city services, a falling population and a bloated bureaucracy -- to name just a few foreboding issues. Since then, Rendell has submitted six years of balanced budgets, seen the construction of a huge downtown convention center and growth in city-based jobs, helped transform the historic Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and in his crowning achievement, landed the 2000 Republican National Convention. But more than anything else, people in Philadelphia and around the country have regained faith in America's fifth-largest city. None of the tangible accomplishments would have been possible "without that restoration of hope and optimism and belief in the city," Rendell said. "Changing the way other people think about us, that I think is something that I'm extremely proud of," he added. "But I would say the thing that maybe I'm most proud of is that I changed our own people's view of the city, the business community, the people who live here.? People believe in Philadelphia again. People are proud." This has been his "single most important" accomplishment, Rendell said, because of its ability to influence future growth and success. David L. Cohen, Rendell's former chief of staff, said the mayor's unique personality is what enabled him to pump energy into a lifeless city. "I think the greatest achievement of Ed Rendell as mayor is the leadership he has provided in making the city believe in itself again," Cohen said. "In the end, the differences between a good mayor and an outstanding mayor are the intangible leadership skills and I think that is Ed Rendell's most lasting legacy to this city." But though he will most certainly leave his mark on the City of Brotherly Love, Rendell seems to be the last person who wants talk about it. "By and large, I'm willing to let other people evaluate," Rendell said. "I'm not a big person for legacies. I think that whole legacy thing is overdone. I think we achieved so many different things that it's hard to single out one." Rendell -- a 1965 College graduate -- highlighted solving the city's financial woes, improving the level of city services, cutting the wage and business taxes and halting an alarming wave of job loss as his finest accolades. "To be able to do all that is a great testament, not only to me but to the people who worked with us over the last seven-plus years," Rendell noted. "I think those, if you look at the four achievements in the context of what was going on the day I took my oath of office, it is truly remarkable." Cohen -- who left City Hall in April 1997 to manage a large Center City law firm -- explained that his long-time friend and confidant was able to provide such dramatic results because of his extraordinary ability to take control and make decisions. He described Rendell as "indefatigable, emotional, savvy and smart" -- four adjectives that Cohen says "cover the spectrum" and best exemplify the mayor's character. And Rendell's amazing feats have cast him in the national spotlight again and again, earning the respect and high praise of, among others, President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. While Gore has dubbed Rendell as "America's Mayor," Clinton spoke very highly of Rendell during his April 9 visit to Philadelphia. "I want to say a special word of congratulations to the mayor," Clinton said at his Memorial Hall speech. "There's not a better mayor in America than Ed Rendell." Penn History Professor Michael Katz, the co-director of the Urban Studies department's graduate certification program, helped place Rendell's work in a national perspective. Explaining that while many of America's mayors looked to the federal government for economic assistance during the recessions of the early 1990s, Rendell was one of the first to realize that "they couldn't do that." "I see Rendell as a real leader nationally in that effort and applying that approach and being very successful," Katz said, adding that recognition of that fact helped him "turn around the financial hemorrhaging of the city." On paper, transforming $200 million budget deficits into six consecutive years of surpluses seems like a daunting task, even for the most gifted financial wizard. But Rendell singles out the ease of Philadelphia's startling financial turnaround as one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises of his time in office. "The fiscal problems were easier to fix than I thought and were fixed more quickly," Rendell said, explaining that the city cut its costs by $750 million in just three years. "I mean, I knew it would take some tough decisions.? But I didn't think that, without cutting services and without raising taxes, that we would be able to eliminate so much of the cost of doing business in the government so quickly." So in 253 days, Rendell will pass the baton to Philadelphia's next mayor and begin looking for his next challenge. In the short term, Rendell will return to his alma mater next spring to teach a courses in urban studies and urban politics -- a move he says is "the only thing I know for sure." "I hope to give some people real insights into the problems of cities and real insights into how politics operates today," Rendell said. "And part of my goal would be to motivate young people to go into public service." While Rendell jokes he "won't be able to live on his teaching salary at Penn," he admits the Pennsylvania governor's seat is a position that is of particular interest. "Of all the offices, governor is the one that most appeals to me because it's an executive position," Rendell said. "I'd be in a position to continue to help not only Philadelphia but other cities around the state.? If I stay in public life, and I think the odds are that I will, I'll probably run for governor." Though a Philadelphian has not been elected governor in almost 90 years, Cliff Wilson -- the chairperson of the Democratic party in Delaware County -- said that Rendell's chances would be excellent should he decide to run in 2002. "I think there's no question he would be a formidable candidate," Wilson said. "I suppose there's a feeling that Philadelphia is negative for a [gubernatorial] candidate, but Rendell, it seems to me, has transcended that." And while many political experts see a run to Harrisburg in Rendell's immediate future, Wilson said he believes Rendell could soon find himself working in the White House as the nation's second-most powerful man. "If I were Al Gore, I would look at Ed Rendell as a vice presidential candidate," Wilson said. "I think Rendell would be a terrific way to galvanize the Democratic support of cities." Regardless of what Rendell decides to do in the years that follow his time in City Hall, Wilson said the sky's the limit for the outgoing mayor. "He's got a strong electoral future, whatever he runs for," Wilson said.