Hutt hopes to oust Miller, turn 8th District Green

By MICHAEL J. MISHAK

Tom Hutt is a one-man army fighting an uphill battle.

Hutt, a Mt. Airy resident and political activist, is engaged in a bid as the Green Party candidate for the 8th District Councilmanic seat, hoping to capitalize on constituent discontent in an ambitious attempt to oust two-term incumbent Donna Reed Miller.
As a Green candidate, Hutt, 38, faces a formidable challenge.
Miller has the backing of both the Democratic Party and Mayor Street in one of the city's most diverse council districts, counting 113 registered Green Party voters to the 83,479 registered Democrats.

But Hutt said he believes a Green Party platform will resonate strongly with the district's many racially and economically diverse neighborhoods.

Running from the top of Chestnut Hill through Mt. Airy and Germantown to Nicetown and Tioga at Broad Street and Lehigh Avenue, the 8th District offers fertile ground to grow the Green Party, Hutt said.

Home to a large activist and gay and lesbian population, Mt. Airy and the surrounding communities are uniquely suited for a progressive candidate, Hutt said.

If successful, Hutt would join the ranks of 177 Greens holding elective office throughout the country, including 10 in Pennsylvania. He would be the first in Philadelphia history.

"When I'm out on the street talking to people, finding out the issues, I'm more and more convinced that this was the right decision," Hutt said. "I'm finding out how underrepresented this district is and how poor of a job this incumbent is doing."

Formerly a contracting officer for the federal government, Hutt manages office space and real estate for the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine. He cites a strong background of both financial and project-based management, both assets in city government. He also has a political science degree from West Chester University. A Pottsville native, Hutt has lived in the 8th District since 1992, first in Germantown and currently in Mt. Airy.

Hutt claims that the residents he's spoken with have painted a grim picture of the political process in their neighborhoods.

"They look to get things done in spite of City Council, rather than with it," Hutt said. "These hard-working people are doing it on their own. It's sad because they don't seem to even expect much from City Council anymore."

Miller is at a "disconnect" with the energy and passion of her constituency, Hutt said. "I consider myself a fighter," he said. "And I think that's who should be in the 8th District council seat."
And although Miller chairs the council committee on education, Hutt is hard-pressed to name any of her accomplishments. "I'll give anybody five bucks if they can tell me one concrete substantial thing she's done on behalf of education," Hutt said. "She's held hearings, but you have to do more … you have to get out there and fight."

But Miller has been fighting, according to her administrative aide Vernon Price, who called Hutt's claims "sad" and "unfortunate."
Miller has played a pivotal role in the "incredible" development along Germantown Avenue, Price said, from brand new tennis courts at the Allens Lane Art Center to the construction of a new Acme supermarket in Mt. Airy. According to Price, Miller was personally involved in a series of 18 meetings to reconcile community concerns, eventually bringing the development to fruition.

Miller also provided support to the FitLife Fitness Center in its quest for a construction loan, and has fostered economic development along the 7100 block of Germantown Avenue, one of several improvement areas in the district, Price said.

Attempts by the Local to speak with Councilwoman Miller directly were unsuccessful.

Hutt maintains that Miller has been an invisible and ineffective councilperson, and is quick to produce a notebook filled with unflattering constituent complaints routinely compiled on campaign stops throughout the district's many neighborhoods. "I never realized how much negativity there was toward the incumbent until I actually got out and started talking to people," Hutt said, citing an East Mt. Airy resident's gripe about rotting trees, one of many issues he says Miller has habitually ignored.

Hutt has even joined with the 8th District's Republican candidate, Deborah Williams, in pushing for a series of debates, an idea that Miller has flatly refused.

"Staying out of the public eye is something she has been doing for a long time," Hutt said, "and it looks as if she would like to continue to do that."

Hutt sees the debates as an essential part of the democratic process, disseminating issue information and encouraging an analysis of service records.

"If [Miller] can avoid debating me, it will be a way of keeping information away from the public," Hutt said. He has petitioned 40 neighborhood and business groups to host debate-format events, pitting the candidates against one another in front of an inquisitive public.

Miller hadn't considered Hutt a real opponent in early July before his nominating petitions were filed, but he subsequently gathered 1,289 signatures, well more than the 750 minimum required, and filed before the August 1 deadline.

With his 10-point political platform focusing on improving constituent services, public education, SEPTA management and the city's tax structure, Hutt believes there is more than enough to talk about in a debate.

If elected, Hutt said he would continue the use of his campaign office at 7222 Germantown Ave. as a district office. "Miller has a campaign office that she opens once every four years, but there's no place to go in the district to see your councilperson," Hutt said.
Price said that Miller's office fields many constituent complaints via phone and e-mail, and that since a district office is not funded by the city, Miller could not support the additional costs.

When needed, Miller meets with constituents in office space that she occasionally shares with State Rep. John Meyers, Price said. (Some council representatives, including Michael Nutter and Frank DiCicco, share state legislators' district offices with their staff members stationed there to speak with constituents.)

With less than a month to go, Hutt is engaged in an "all-out professional grassroots campaign," knocking on doors and handing out Green literature.

Hutt even has a film crew following him throughout his campaign to document the Green Party's efforts to establish a foothold in Philadelphia. But he's also hoping that the folks from Early Morning Documentaries and their rolling cameras will protect against the "nasty stuff" that happens on Election Day.

Seventy volunteers and $8,000-strong, Hutt is aiming to double both his street-forces and his donations. "I think if we can get upwards of 150 volunteers, we can stand toe to toe with the Democratic machine," he said.

And what about the recent accusation by at-large City Council candidate Will Mega that the Greens are racists, citing their African-American membership to be less than one percent.
Hutt isn't concerned.

"[Mega] is simply observing that the Green Party is primarily made up of white members at this point … the organization began in the white activist community and has drawn its membership from that community," Hutt said. "I don't think it has any bearing on this campaign though, because this campaign is coming into every neighborhood with full force."

Hutt said he's walked the streets of Chestnut Hill, Germantown, Mt. Airy, Nicetown, Tioga and Logan. He's already started to sell his ideas to those he's met. Hutt recalled describing a job creation plan he calls "deconstruction" to a man on Chelten Avenue. The plan teams semi-skilled and unskilled people with organized labor workers to deconstruct abandoned housing stock piece by piece, in effect imparting construction skills. The participants could then enter a union apprentice pool, Hutt said.

"What matters to people is not who can call you names, but sincerity," Hutt said. "When I listen to people in the black community and the white community, they want something more from city council than what they're getting right now."