Nutter Lands Yet Another Job, at a Bloomberg Initiative

Photo by Jeff Fusco

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Former Mayor Michael Nutter has landed a new gig. This time, it’s as a 2016 senior fellow for What Works Cities.

Since leaving office last month, Nutter has also accepted positions at Columbia University, the Homeland Security Advisory Council and CNN.

What Works Cities is an initiative of Bloomberg Philanthropies, which was founded in 2015 by former three-term New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. Its goal is to help cities use data and evidence to become more efficient and improve residents’ lives. “Nutter will serve as a national spokesperson for this work and an advisor to current mayors,” says a press release announcing the news. “He will also provide advice and strategic support to participating cities, focusing on taking action and community engagement efforts.”

Along with Nutter, What Works Cities is also bringing on former New York City Chief Analytics Officer Mike Flowers as a senior fellow.

“Michael Nutter and Mike Flowers both have great track records using data and evidence in creative ways to improve people’s lives in cities,” former Mayor Bloomberg says in the news release. “The wisdom they bring to the table from their work in Philadelphia and New York will be a valuable asset for everyone participating in What Works Cities.”

As mayor, Nutter launched PhillyStat, Philadelphia’s performance management system. He also appointed the city’s first-ever Chief Data Officer, which led to the city releasing numerous illuminating data sets. At the same time, though, critics said the Nutter administration was not as transparent as it claimed and sometimes shot down reasonable requests for government records.