Nutter's First Appointment: Finance Director

by KYW's Mike Dunn
 
Philadelphia mayor-elect Michael Nutter has made the first top appointment of his administration -- and it's a numbers cruncher.
 
With the city's finances in a precarious situation, it is telling that Nutter's first staffing announcement is to fill the crucial position of Finance Director. 
     
For that post he has chosen Robert Dubow, who has been John Street's budget chief, Governor Rendell's CFO, and is currently head of the state agency known as PICA, which oversees city finances:
  
"I've found the best person I can find in the City of Philadelphia, if not the United States of America, who has the expertise necessary, the background and experience to know the numbers, to know where the money is, to know where some of it is buried. Because no one has buried money better than Rob Dubow."
 
Nutter says he grew to respect Dubow when he was on City Council and Dubow was John Street's budget chief, and the two sometimes tangled:
    
"I don't think anyone has grilled or tortured Rob Dubow more than me. The guy's been tested, he knows the numbers. He grills you fair and accurate information regardless of where he was."
  
Dubow will play a key role in what will be one of Nutter's top concerns as mayors: negotiating contracts with the four municipal workers' unions -- contracts that expire next summer.
 
Meantime, a new job is in the works for outgoing Mayor John Street. Temple University announced Wednesday that Street will teach two undergraduate courses there starting in January. The classes will be right up his alley, on urban politics and policy.
    
Street is a graduate of Temple Law School. He was at Temple years earlier in a different role, selling hot dogs to students from a food cart.