By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times
The Black Urban Times
Former Philadelphia Mayor, John Street threw a dagger at successor, Mayor Michael Nutter by telling The Philadelphia Inquirer that Nutter was "not a black mayor ... just a mayor with dark skin."
And this isn't the first time Street has ignited racial controversy with racial remarks. During a 2002 NAACP conference he boasted, "Let me tell you: The brothers and sisters are running the city. ... Don't you let nobody fool you; we are in charge of the City of Brotherly Love." He later apologized for the remark.
Nutter, a West Philadelphia native, called Street's statement "undignified," saying the former Mayor simply found a crafty way to distract the people from seeing "the deficiencies over there [PHA]."
The two politicians have history dating back to their days on the City Council. Nutter believes this latest attack was brought on by his sharp criticism and nasty gram to Street concerning the embarrassing mess at the PHA.
In his letter Nutter wrote: "I am baffled, like most Philadelphians, to learn of your contention that you as board chairman had no knowledge of the sexual-harassment cases brought against Mr. Greene," then took sharpshooter aim at Street and board members, saying the agency "may be suffering from a lack of appropriate oversight."
Street responded with his usual disdain saying, "He's just talking. He has to say something."
Ouch!
So, according to Nutter, Street's verbal lashing came as "no surprise, given what's happened over the past month or so with the former mayor, and his overseeing the complete managerial meltdown of what's going on at PHA (Philadelphia Housing Authority)," Nutter told The Inquirer.
Whether Nutter will continue to press the PHA issue and force changes beyond Greene's dismissal remains to be seen. Nutter's "track record has not been so good when it comes to playing power politics," wrote Inquirer Columnist, Monica Yant Kinney.
Last week, things grew interesting at drama central (aka PHA) when the Board of Commissioners fired executive director, Carl Greene, amid allegations he allegedly sexually harassed as many as eight female staffers and used PHA funds to settle lawsuits brought on by the women.
While Nutter may be correct about the managerial mess Street will have to clean up over at PHA, thus far, the former Mayor hasn't missed a beat in dancing the political-two-step.
The PHA board fired Greene and a full-blown internal investigation is underway. Federal prosecutors are now on the case, in addition to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, who are reportedly sending in an audit team for good merit.
PHA board members accuse Greene of intentionally making himself unavailable for questioning by checking himself into an out-of-state medical-treatment facility during the time they launched a soft inquiry into the sexual harassment, funds misuse and slush allegations.
Greene responded with a civil lawsuit claiming he "suffered harm" due to board members embarrassing and humiliating him and destroying the "good name of a shrewd and capable leader."
Street, once an avid supporter of Greene, scoffed at the lawsuit saying, "It's all about the money. I don't think it's about keeping his job. I think it's about walking out of here with a little bit of money."
Under Greene's employment contract, the board can fire Greene only if it can prove that his conduct caused "material injury and damage to PHA." If not, the board would have to honor his five-year contract, which is up in March 2012. Greene last year earned $306,370, plus a $44,188 bonus.
And this isn't the first time Street has ignited racial controversy with racial remarks. During a 2002 NAACP conference he boasted, "Let me tell you: The brothers and sisters are running the city. ... Don't you let nobody fool you; we are in charge of the City of Brotherly Love." He later apologized for the remark.
Nutter, a West Philadelphia native, called Street's statement "undignified," saying the former Mayor simply found a crafty way to distract the people from seeing "the deficiencies over there [PHA]."
The two politicians have history dating back to their days on the City Council. Nutter believes this latest attack was brought on by his sharp criticism and nasty gram to Street concerning the embarrassing mess at the PHA.
In his letter Nutter wrote: "I am baffled, like most Philadelphians, to learn of your contention that you as board chairman had no knowledge of the sexual-harassment cases brought against Mr. Greene," then took sharpshooter aim at Street and board members, saying the agency "may be suffering from a lack of appropriate oversight."
Street responded with his usual disdain saying, "He's just talking. He has to say something."
Ouch!
So, according to Nutter, Street's verbal lashing came as "no surprise, given what's happened over the past month or so with the former mayor, and his overseeing the complete managerial meltdown of what's going on at PHA (Philadelphia Housing Authority)," Nutter told The Inquirer.
Whether Nutter will continue to press the PHA issue and force changes beyond Greene's dismissal remains to be seen. Nutter's "track record has not been so good when it comes to playing power politics," wrote Inquirer Columnist, Monica Yant Kinney.
Last week, things grew interesting at drama central (aka PHA) when the Board of Commissioners fired executive director, Carl Greene, amid allegations he allegedly sexually harassed as many as eight female staffers and used PHA funds to settle lawsuits brought on by the women.
While Nutter may be correct about the managerial mess Street will have to clean up over at PHA, thus far, the former Mayor hasn't missed a beat in dancing the political-two-step.
The PHA board fired Greene and a full-blown internal investigation is underway. Federal prosecutors are now on the case, in addition to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, who are reportedly sending in an audit team for good merit.
PHA board members accuse Greene of intentionally making himself unavailable for questioning by checking himself into an out-of-state medical-treatment facility during the time they launched a soft inquiry into the sexual harassment, funds misuse and slush allegations.
Greene responded with a civil lawsuit claiming he "suffered harm" due to board members embarrassing and humiliating him and destroying the "good name of a shrewd and capable leader."
Street, once an avid supporter of Greene, scoffed at the lawsuit saying, "It's all about the money. I don't think it's about keeping his job. I think it's about walking out of here with a little bit of money."
Under Greene's employment contract, the board can fire Greene only if it can prove that his conduct caused "material injury and damage to PHA." If not, the board would have to honor his five-year contract, which is up in March 2012. Greene last year earned $306,370, plus a $44,188 bonus.
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