Nutter lays out ambitious goals

It's no small feat to reduce a major city's crime rate by 30 to 50 percent - but newly-inaugurated Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter plans to try.

In his inaugural speech after being sworn in as mayor last week, Nutter described his plan for a "New Philadelphia," addressing the city's major issues and presenting a series of ambitious goals for his administration.

Besides his aim of reducing crime, Nutter hopes to make strides in education. He wants to double the number of college graduates who stay in Philadelphia in the next 5 to 10 years. Currently, only 18 percent of Philadelphia residents hold four-year degrees.

Nutter's third major goal is to halve the 45-percent high-school dropout rate in the city. In his inaugural address, Nutter called improving education "an economic imperative, an educational imperative - it's a moral imperative."

Nutter has established his ambitious goals, and now, the question facing Philadelphia residents and policymakers alike is whether these aims are feasible. In the week following Nutter's inauguration, experts have expressed cautious optimism about the feasibility of his objectives.

Nutter's goals are generally possible, said political analyst and St. Joseph's University history professor Randall Miller. "But the big question is always how."

Reforming the educational system will likely be hindered by Nutter's lack of control over the school board and universities, Miller said.

"There are all kinds of things the mayor can't do because he doesn't have the authority to do them," he said.

Nutter acknowledged these challenges in his inaugural speech, asking for help from public and private resources.

However, in the area of crime, Miller said he believes Nutter has a good chance at reaching his lofty goal. "This is an area where the mayor can have more of a direct impact," Miller said.

Miller also noted that Nutter's three goals are connected - if the city's crime rates decrease, this will have a positive effect on the state of the city's education system.

Other analysts agreed that Nutter's goals are possible, but only with outside help.

"These are very ambitious goals and will require people across the community to cooperate - but these are all things that have to get done," said Donald Kettl, director of Penn's Fels Institute of Government.

While coordinating change with other areas of government will be complicated for Nutter, analysts expressed optimism about his ability to do so.

"I've never seen a transition in government where there has been so much good will and so much support for trying to go in that direction," Kettl said.

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