Standing up and yelling versus quieting down and hoping
Update- Be sure to check out Penn Future's Christine Knapp's feedback in the comments. Maybe the green advocacy community is just gearing up, rather than sitting back...
Bruce Schimmel's CityPaper column this week talks about the green movement of the City, and the kick in the ass the community received when Mike Nutter re-appointed noted recycling anti-advocate, Clarena Tolson:
With Tolson's reappointment as commissioner of Streets, they felt kicked to the curb.
"This is the very antithesis of a new day and a new way," said one advocate. "Tolson stymied every effort to create a viable recycling program," another added. Stunned, and I think humiliated at having been blindsided, no one would speak on the record. Saying instead they needed to speak with "one voice," they found no voice at all.
...
In addition to demanding a "national search" for the "most qualified" candidates in their five-point agenda, the Alliance also had mayoral hopefuls promise "total transparency," by promoting cooperation between the new Streets commissioner and the very groups whom Tolson had shut out.
Basically, the entire environmental/green advocacy community put into their plans during campagin season that this woman needed to be replaced. Nutter endorsed those plans. But, now, for a reason no one can really pinpoint, Tolson has been reappointed. Pretty strange.
I know that in many ways, Tolson will do better work with a little fire under her ass. But, um, so what? Why, when qualified people are being replaced in City Government, because Nutter wants his own team, would a person like this stay?
But, much more important is the question for advocates: Schimmel takes a look at the City's green movement, and basically sees a group that has neutered itself, and has quietly not complained when they obviously just got a stick in their eye.
There is a more charitable description of it all- that they are giving Nutter time to work, etc. That is fine and good, but that certainly isn't how I would do it. It just is not in my nature to let someone give me a kick while I smile and take it. This isn't the green movement asking for a 50 million dollar new program; this is simply asking that someone who was long seen as an adversary of a clean, green city, no longer be holding the keys to the kingdom.
That said, I sort of admire the behavior of the greens here. Just like I admire the good government types who didn't mind when Nutter wholly endorsed Bob Brady as party chair while vaguely talking about reform. Just like I admire the historic preservationists who didn't seem to complain that Nutter, the new Mayor and ex-chair of the Convention Center, was nowhere to be found when historic buildings were being illegally destroyed for Convention Center expansion.
OK, some of the above is sarcasm, but as someone who is way too impatient about everything, I admit there is a virtue
somewhere in there.
At heart, I really do think Mike Nutter can be a great Mayor. But, that won't be if he serves as a dictator- it will be if advocates demand a seat at the table and act as watchdogs. Nutter is not a superhero, and if we want the City to be all that it can be, I don't think it does us any good to simply sit down, keep quiet and hope for the best.
it would be good to know why nutter made this decision
who is she connected to, why did he decide to retain her?
Hi all, To be upfront, I'm
Hi all,
To be upfront, I'm on the board of the Recycling Alliance and was the only person actually quoted in the article- and misquoted at that.
Without sounding too defensive, we only found out about Tolson's reappointment on Friday in the newspaper. Bruce's deadline for his column was Monday. So he basically called us out for not doing much over the weekend. In fact, we met on Friday afternoon, made a call to the administration, wrote a letter to Nutter asking for a meeting over the weekend, and hand delivered it a few days ago. We already have an appointment being scheduled for next week.
I can assure everyone that we are mightily disappointed in the appointment decision and we plan on getting a response straight from Mayor Nutter himself. We'll also be asking him to outline his plans for recycling and absolutely plan on holding him accountable to the committments that he made.
Hey Christine, Thanks for
Hey Christine,
Thanks for letting us know. Can you keep us to up to date on what happens?
Will do. And if you ever
Will do. And if you ever have questions/thoughts about recycling, let me know. We're hoping to get a Recycling Alliance electronic newsletter off the ground soon as well to keep information flowing regularly.
Christine - don't know if you're comfortable speculating
but I'm wondering if you'd take a stab at "acouch's" questions: who is she connected to, and why did he retain her? Given that it seems highly unlikely that we'll get an explanation from his administration - it would be good to hear ideas from those who might have a good knowledge base.
The Honeymoon isn't over yet
For what it's worth (probably very little), I went to the Urban Sustainability Forum at the Academy last night because (1) I am very interested in this BikeShare idea and (2) I wanted to see if there would be any indication at all that Nutter's decision on the Tolson reappointment would affect the the reception he got among the largest environmentally friendly crowd he has faced since the decision.
Once again, he was greeted like a rock star - standing ovation, raucous applause, etc.
This tells me one of three things, either the group that happened to be gathered - and it was a packed house - wasn't savvy enough about all of the ins and outs of recycling and the role that Tolson plays in its success or failure, or they didn't care, or they do care but they're deferring to Nutter on this decision and figure that if kept Tolson, there must be a good reason. It could also be that the folks at that gathering last night were just there because they love bicycles or the idea of BikeShare and, while they do what they can for recycling, they couldn't care less about how hard or easy it is to recycle.
My gut tells me that it's the first reason. Just because people are passionate about sustainability (in general), bike sharing (in particular) or recycling, they aren't automatically any more informed about the inner workings of city government and political appointments than folks who are passionate about the arts, sports or business.
That, of course, is where the leaders of the movement come in. And I'll defer to Christine on this, since it seems pretty clear that those leaders are responding and mobilizing. If they aren't satisfied with the outcome of their meeting, it won't be long before they start getting the word out and organizing the larger groups of people, making them aware that the mayor, whom they supported, needs a stern reminder that they expect action on promises.
As for the question of who Tolson is connected to, some of my usual Anonymous commenters at thenextmayor.com blog have offered their theories.
Nutter's appointments
From the comments here re. re-appointment of Tolson, I can understand the concerns.
However, over-all Nutter's appointments have been stellar—- seasoned profesionals with solid credentials and decades of experience in their areas of expertise.
What I have found especially heartening is Nutter’s willingness to reach out to those who were not his supporters:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20080118_Nutter_picks_five_for_his_...
The appointment I found most encouraging was Everett Gillison as Public-safety Director. This certainly provides reassurance to those concerned about Nutter’s proposed stop and frisk policy.
And the re-appointment I found most encouraging (for all the obvious reasons) was Lance Haver as Consumer Advocate.
In order to advance his agenda, Nutter will need to appoint/endorse some who may not fit in with overall thrust of his reform agenda—e.g. his support for Bob Brady.
I guess I am one of those good government types Dan criticized for not denouncing Nutter's support for Brady, but there are some tough labor negotiations coming up and I can understand why Nutter might want Brady’s help. Those who know me know my commitment to campaign finance reform and my opposition to Brady and his supporters for trying to gut our campaign finance reform laws last March, BUT given the problems Nutter is facing, I understand his endorsement of Brady.
As some have suggested, upcoming labor negotiations might have something to do with the Tolson appointment. If she is well-liked by the sanitation workers, why get them upset right before contract negotiations??
I am sure that many of Nutter’s supporters have found one or two appointments disappointing. There was one I found really disappointing and wondered why in the world Michael Nutter would choose that person, but overall the appointments have been very impressive.
One Possibilitiy
One thing that occurred to me when reading the article was that Mayor Nutter may have found that few qualified people nation wide wanted to take on Philadelphia. From what I've read in the Inquirer, in an article several months ago, Philadelphia is gaining a reputation nationwide as a dead end in terms of recycling. Maybe a lot of the qualified experts don't want to take on the challenge.
The Expatriate
I would find that hard to believe
How about the School District's reputation when Paul Vallas came in or the city's 'Killadelphia' title that has still managed to net us Commissioner Ramsey?. These people came in ready for the challenge. With so much to improve in regards to sustainability and a Mayor who will support the change, there was (and is) a great opportunity for the commissioner of Streets to really make a difference.
Although the appointment of Tolson slipped past me, I will be sure to let all my enviro friends know. I would imagine a lot of people concerned with recycling in Philadelphia are not aware of the finer political details of the situation and this may need to spread from the top down. I am very disappointed, especially because Mayor Nutter's performance at the sustainability forum, the first debate of the primary, showed that he was knowledgeable of the issues and prepared to do something about them. We were all hoping that he would bring someone in with a stellar recycling resume but this just means that we will have to continue to apply pressure.
That being said, does anyone know how Tolson "stymied every effort"? It was my impression that a large part of the hold-up had to do with securing funding.
Full reappointment or retaining on an interim basis?
All the comments make it seem that she was reappointed on a full basis, rather than being retained on an interim basis. I read that much of the Street administration is being retained on an "acting" or "interim" basis. Can anyone confirm her status? I could not find any press announcement regarding her reappointment.
Full
Inq: Nutter completes staff.