Poll calls Nutter man for all regions

So far, Mayor Nutter is a pretty popular guy in Philadelphia. But it's looks as though his appeal isn't limited to the city, or even to the region.

According to an internal presidential poll obtained by The Inquirer, Nutter has fast become relatively well-known and well-liked on a statewide level. More than 60 percent of respondents statewide were familiar enough with the mayor to have formed an opinion of him, and his favorable-to-unfavorable ratings ratio was almost 3.7 to 1, which is outstanding.

"I'm impressed," said Pennsylvania pollster Terry Madonna.

"His image is very strong, he's considered kind of an independent reform voice."

The poll also offered a close-up of public opinion in a few congressional districts in and near Philadelphia, where Nutter fared even better than he did statewide. That backs up anecdotal evidence suggesting the mayor is wildly popular in the suburbs.

And it raises an interesting question for him: What role, if any, will he attempt to play in suburban politics? State Democrats think suburban Republicans are highly vulnerable. Might Nutter fund-raising and campaigning on behalf of some challengers put Democrats on top?

The poll's findings should be taken with a few grains of salt. First, the poll is dated. It was conducted in late March. Also, the copy obtained by The Inquirer was heavily redacted, and no sample size was available. Still, internal campaign polls are generally considered to be reasonably accurate.

- Patrick Kerkstra

In the weeks before Pennsylvania's April 22 primary, the Clinton campaign was adamant that it was doing all it could to hunt down voters.

"We're going after everyone we can get our hands on," said one spokesman.

Not, apparently, in Philadelphia.

The Board of Election reports the Clinton campaign turned in about 1,000 voter applications before the deadline. The Obama campaign? More than 32,000.

Guess there was a reason for the overwhelming amount of Obama activity on the city's streets.

Another 18,000 applications were turned in by the activist group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

And ACORN is still at it. The elections board said another 1,800 applications were dropped off this past Tuesday.

About a third of those, however, bore dates before March 24, raising eyebrows at the elections board about whether 600 voters were possibly disenfranchised.

ACORN spokeswoman Krista Holub explained that the group intentionally held those forms back because those 600 applicants were not 18 or older by March 24 at the election board's request.

Tim Dowling, a document specialist for the elections board, said no such request was made. Of the 600, he said, 303 were too young for the primary election.

But of the 297 who were not, he said, "They should not have been disenfranchised by ACORN's failure to turn them in on time."

- Marcia Gelbart

A short-term peace?

It had the makings of a real political headache for City Council President Anna Verna: dozens of veterans promising to crash council chambers, presenting her with a resolution condemning her hiring of Edgar Howard, a ward leader with no veterans' work experience, to lead the city's veterans affairs office.

An advisory commission had recommended the job go to another candidate with far more extensive experience in counseling and veterans affairs, who also had a college degree, which Howard lacks.

But Verna defused the tense situation - at least temporarily - at the last meeting of the Veterans Affairs Advisory Commission.

She told veterans leaders she meant them no disrespect by picking Howard, who she believes has political skills that will be an asset to the office. Verna also told the commission Howard would consider hiring a deputy for the office, build a veterans resources Web site, and explore producing a public-access television show dedicated to veterans affairs.

The pitch was enough to persuade American Legion County Commander Roney J. Steele to hold off on any public protests.

- Patrick Kerkstra