1979 Wharton graduate and former Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter announced on Jan. 17 that he will not be pursuing another bid for mayor in the future.
Nutter dispelled the rumors that had been circulating about his potential candidacy at a ‘mayoral job interview’ event hosted by the Philadelphia Citizen. He was one of four on a panel interviewing current Democratic mayoral candidate Derek Green. The primary election for mayor will occur on May 16 to decide who will replace departing Mayor Jim Kenney.
Also on the panel were partner at ghSMART Michael Haugen, managing director at Diversified Search Group Jim Langston, and CEO of Philabundance Loree D. Jones Brown.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that prior to the event on Jan. 17, Nutter was still believed to be considering a bid for mayor despite giving no indication of fundraising or beginning to staff a campaign over the last several months.
Nutter graduated from Wharton in 1979 and held mayoral office in Philadelphia from 2008 to 2016 through a severe economic recession. During his term, Nutter launched Philly311 — a customer service hub through which residents can submit non-emergency requests — and signed an executive order revoking Philadelphia's status as a sanctuary city, among other initiatives.
Nutter also served on the City Council from 1991 to 2006, where he sponsored a law prohibiting smoking in an expanded definition of 'public places' and introduced legislation to create an independent ethics board in Philadelphia.
Following his term as mayor, Nutter joined the ranks of faculty at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs to teach classes related to his experience in politics. He also worked as a CNN commentator and an advisor to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Nutter was named a fellow at Penn’s School of Social Policy and Practice in 2017 with "a focus on poverty in Philadelphia and beyond," according to a statement published by SP2 at the time.
According to the Inquirer, Nutter’s future work will consist of plans to start a center for public policy at Penn and a focus on “addressing poverty and income inequality in the city.” However, mayoral candidacy is decidedly out of the picture.
Current mayoral candidates who also graduated from the University include Helen Gym and Cherelle Parker. Parker received her masters of public administration from the Penn Fels Institute of Government in 2016. Gym is a 1993 graduate of the College and a 1996 graduate of the Graduate School of Education.
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