Mayor Nutter Won’t Be Shouted Down in Council This Year

Remember last year, when union protesters raised such a din that Mayor Nutter was forced to retreat from City Council chambers to give his budget message? That ugly spectacle won’t be repeated again, the Inquirer reports.

Nutter is scheduled to revisit Council chambers Thursday morning to present his budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, and he doesn’t appear to be a lot more popular with the city’s unions than he was a year ago.

This year will be different, Clarke assured reporters Tuesday.

“We will do what we need to do to have a secure environment to ensure the mayor is allowed to deliver his budget message,” the Council president said. “I anticipate that some people might not feel comfortable about the budget message, be it PGW or be it the lack of all the municipal unions having a contract.”

John Dougherty of the electricians’ union says his members expect to abide by Clarke’s wishes.