WORTH REPEATING: Mayor Sputter

MONICA YANT KINNEY: And so he boldly revived the soda tax. He hoped to raise $80 million for the School District, no matter what it cost him politically. After Ackerman found a way to save full-day kindergarten, he nonetheless remained resolute. (His backup plan for the soda tax, an additional 10 percent property-tax hike, was equally unappetizing.) […] Concern didn’t begin to describe the mood in Council Thursday, where rivals Bill Green and Jim Kenney repeatedly agreed on how much they disagreed with the mayor’s requests. After hours of arm-twisting and team-switching, it was Nutter who emerged most bruised. He briefly had the votes for the soda tax, but the fragile coalition fizzled. In the end, Council approved a one-time 3.85 percent property-tax increase, raided the surplus, and hiked parking-meter fees rather than touch soft drinks. The eleventh-hour end run will raise $53 million for schools, far less than Nutter had hoped. Still, the mayor hailed the deal as a victory. Given his record, it probably feels like one. MORE