Opinion Board | Second chances

To the surprise of no one, Michael Nutter was swept into City Hall on Tuesday by a margin of four to one.

Now it's time to get to work.

Last February, the Pew Charitable Trusts, an independent nonprofit, released The Philadelphia Case Study. The study had a lot to say about the state of Philly (some good, mostly bad), but one of its more notable observations was that Philadelphia was run by a "bifurcated leadership."

There's the city government and then there's the business and civic leadership, including universities - both sides have goals and hopes for the city, but they rarely talk. Philadelphia has tremendous resources - economists, urban planners, public-health experts, entrepreneurs, students - at its fingertips that, for the most part, go untapped.

The Street administration has failed to cultivate the kind of productive relationships with these thinkers and leaders - relationships which could do a lot to solve Philadelphia's problems.

Michael Nutter has a chance to change that.

Penn is the largest private employer in Philadelphia and boasts an operating budget upwards of $4 billion. There's no question we're one of Philadelphia's most significant economic drivers.

As Penn embarks on its eastward expansion and continues to develop the University City area, now is an ideal time to get a dialogue started.

How can Penn best utilize its resources to engage with Philadelphia and improve the surrounding community? What can City Hall do to address the brain drain that plagues Philadelphia and attract investment and businesses?

These are questions that the city and its universities could work jointly to answer.

Nutter has said in the past that he will create an Office of College and University Relations, that would open lines of communication between the city and its universities, utilizing their ideas and soliciting their input.

That's a good start.

We urge the Wharton grad to keep his promise and make it happen.

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