Mayor Michael Nutter
Former Mayor of Philadelphia
After serving almost 15 years in the Philadelphia City Council, Michael Nutter was elected the 98th Mayor of his hometown in November, 2007 and took office in January 2008.
At his inaugural address, Mayor Nutter pledged to lower crime, improve educational attainment rates, make Philadelphia the greenest city in America and attract new businesses and residents to the city. He also promised to lead an ethical and transparent government focused on providing high quality, efficient and effective customer service. With the support of an experienced, professional staff, Mayor Nutter made significant progress on every pledge: homicides were at an almost 50 year low at the end of his tenure; high school graduation and college degree attainment rates increased significantly; Philadelphia added hundreds of miles in bike lanes and trails and launched the first low-income friendly bike share system in America, called Indego; and Philadelphia’s population grew every year since 2008, including the largest percentage of millennial population growth in the nation. Despite the damaging impact of the Great Recession, Philadelphia’s economy demonstrated significant growth—since January 2014, more than $11.5 billion of economic development projects have been completed, are under construction or announced.
Since leaving public service on January 4, 2016, Mayor Nutter has remained active in public policy, government, and civic life. In January 2019, the Department of Homeland Security announced that Mayor Nutter accepted an appointment to the Homeland Security Advisory Council. Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) announced his appointment as Professor of Professional Practice. In February 2019, CNN news media organization announced that Mayor Nutter became a political commentator for the network and in March 2019, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced his appointment as a Senior Fellow and national spokesperson for the What Works Cities program, working with mayors all across the United States.
Mayor Nutter is a life-long Philadelphian, born and raised in West Philadelphia and educated at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He has been dedicated to public service since his youth. Mayor Nutter is happily married to his wife Lisa, and a proud parent to Christian and Olivia.