Do We Really Need A Shroud Of Mystery Around Who The Next Director Of Sustainability Is?
Friday, July 17, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMEDIA ADVISORY
MAYOR NUTTER TO ANNOUNCE DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY
WHO: Mayor Michael A. Nutter
WHERE: Mayor’s Reception Room, Room 202, City Hall, Philadelphia
WHEN: Friday July 17, 2009 2:00 pm
WHAT: Mayor Nutter will announce the City’s new Director of Sustainability to replace Mark Alan Hughes who left the City in June.
We’ll say this about the Nutter Administration’s press machine: They are thorough. They are easy to reach. And they’re very timely, getting a jump on stories and issuing quotes as quickly as possible. But then there’s dumb stuff like this, where they waste a whole press release on telling you that SOMETHING is going to happen, but they can’t tell you WHAT. And sometimes that just falls flat, as in this case: Why not just send out a press release saying that “We’ll be introducing so-and-so as the new holder of a highly wonkish and unsexy position in City Hall at 2PM today. For the love of God, please come and make us feel like this is not all in vain.”? Information: It wants to be free. And it’s bad at waiting.
July 17th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Freedom then,
By CATHERINE LUCEY
Philadelphia Daily News
luceyc@phillynews.com 215-854-4172
Mayor Nutter is expected to appoint an internal candidate today to the post of city sustainability director.
Katherine Gajewski, who serves as special assistant to Chief of Staff Clay Armbrister, will be made the city’s Green Czar, sources told the Daily News.
Nutter’s spokesman Doug Oliver declined to comment yesterday. A news conference is scheduled for today at 2 p.m.
Mark Alan Hughes left the post of sustainability director in June. During his year in the job, the former University of Pennsylvania professor created the city’s ambitious environmental agenda, Greenworks Philadelphia, a set of 15 targets to make the city more environmentally sustainable.
Hughes had a salary of $142,500 and reported directly to the mayor.
Gajewski, who worked on Nutter’s mayoral campaign before joining the administration, will be the city’s second sustainability director. Prior to working for Nutter, she served as campaign coordinator for the Breathe Free Philadelphia Coalition, which advocated for the city smoking ban.
July 17th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Regardless of the silly mystery they sometimes shroud themselves in, Nutter’s administration is a 500% improvement over Street’s when it comes to information. And Doug Oliver is just a standup dude.
July 17th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Points taken, boys.
But perhaps, on occasion, you could get up off your beery asses and deliver a hard news lead.
It’s the whole “part of the problem” thing, you see.
Well, you claim to see it.
You just so fucking don’t, though.