The Fundamental Theory of Everything - in the 2007 Election

One of my favorite Daily News columnists is Mark Alan Hughes, whose day job happens to be professor at Penn (or more precisely, a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania). In fact, if I were ever elected mayor - assuming the city's population decline continues to the point that the only people left are me and this guy - I would make Hughes my Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning, and then actually listen to him.

When Hughes writes something, I read it. More often than not I agree with it. So how psyched was I when I read his column in today's Daily News and saw that he actually agrees with something that I suggested a while ago.

First read his whole column, it's important. Don't worry I'll wait.

Ok. You're back. Now click "Continue Reading" to see what I'm talking about.

To wit, from Hughes's column today:

THE BIG THEME of 2007 is this: We need a mayor who can manage the tensions between old and new Philadelphians.

a mayor who sees the potential bonds between new and old Philadelphians, who sees the ways in which each is necessary to the other's prosperity, is a mayor prepared to lead Philadelphia out of the dead-end Street and toward a better place.

And from a Next Mayor blog post from several weeks ago in which I commented on a City Paper article about the argument over planting street trees on a South Philly block:

...it also serves as a symbol of all of the things that divide longtime neighborhood residents from the new people who are moving in as both the cause and result of the hot housing market. New residents bring cars, kids, pets, friends, demands for services, increasing property values and therefore taxes, all of which can rub some of the old timers the wrong way.

I bring this up because we need to remember that in spite of the high profile stream of new people who are moving into condos in Center City and rehabbed rowhomes in Fairmount, South Philly, Spruce Hill, Northern Liberties, Fishtown, Kensington, etc. the vast majority of people who actually vote for mayor are the ones who think trees are bad. Candidates for mayor in this city are uniquely challenged to communicate both with new people who always seem to want to go 'achangin' things and the old timers who like things just the way they are.

Professor Hughes used more words and was much more thoughtful about the subject so all I have to add is, "yeah, what he said."

I look forward to his forthcoming articles in which he suggests how to build those bonds between old and new. I'd suggest that anyone thinking of running for mayor should look forward to them also.