Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Rebeca Martinez Michael Nutter raises his hands in victory after his decisive victory in Tuesday's mayoral election. [Click to enlarge]

Winning the election may have been the easy part.

Michael Nutter was victorious in the mayor's race Tuesday by a record-setting 4-1 margin, but experts say that within months of his January inauguration, Nutter will have to face a looming pension crisis, rising crime rates and union-contract negotiations, among other problems.

"His honeymoon's over," said political analyst and St. Joseph's University history professor Randall Miller.

Nutter has "been the presumptive mayor for months now, and he's built up a lot of expectations and hope for change," Miller said.

Possible priorities for the Nutter administration could include a series of well-publicized crime-fighting efforts or widespread zoning reform to attract developers and jobs to Philadelphia, said Kevin Feeley, who served as an advisor to then-mayor Ed Rendell.

Nutter steps in to the city's top post following the maligned administration of current Mayor John Street, and given Nutter's popularity, Feeley said voters will give him time to enact his policies, as long as he clearly articulates his mission.

"When Rendell was mayor, we told people that there was going to be a lot of short-term pain for long-term gain," he said. "And people gave Rendell the better part of two years to make those changes.

"Nutter's doing the same thing. He connects very well with voters, and Philadelphia is going to give him a fair opportunity."

A former councilman himself, the mayor-elect has also signaled his willingness to work with the City Council in addressing crime problems. Most incumbent council members kept their seats in Tuesday's election, with the possible exception of Republican councilman Jack Kelly, who trailed challenger David Oh by a few dozen votes with absentee ballots still yet to be counted.

On the state level, a power shift in Pennsylvania's Supreme Court as a result of Tuesday's elections could have wide-ranging implications for Nutter's policies, and for Philadelphia.

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