Council President vows protesters won’t shout down mayor’s budget address again

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 Council President Darrell Clarke talks to reporters (Tom MacDonald/WHYY)

Council President Darrell Clarke talks to reporters (Tom MacDonald/WHYY)

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter will give his budget address Thursday and City Council President Darrell Clarke is promising this time things will go according to plan.

Clarke says he doesn’t want a repeat of last year, when protesters shouted down the mayor, forcing him to finish the budget speech outside of council chambers.

“We will do what we need to do to have a secure environment to insure that the mayor is allowed to deliver his budget message,” Clarke said. “I anticipate that some people will not feel comfortable about the budget message be it PGW or be it the lack of all the municipal unions not having a contract but we will have a secure environment.”

Clarke wouldn’t elaborate on the increased security but the entrances to the floor of council chambers and the gallery above already have metal detectors and are controlled by security officers, city police and sheriff’s deputies.

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Last year it was unionized city workers, frustrated by years of fruitless negotiations for a new contract who drowned out Nutter’s speech. One of the two locals, District Council 47 has reached a tentative contract. But District Council 33, which represents blue-collar city employees has not.

 

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