Philadelphia's union for firefighters, Local 22, endorsed Milton Street for Mayor on Thursday, saying "anybody would be better" than another four years with Michael Nutter.
"We're tired of being pushed around," said union spokesman Bob Bedard, WHYY's NewsWorks reported.
"We're going to go a different route if it does nothing else than tells people to think twice before you vote," Bedard said
"I'm dumbfounded and embarrassed," Doug Oliver, the Mayor's former spokesman tweeted when he found out. "I hope it's clearer now what the mayor has had to deal with. It's like trying to play checkers with someone who screams and eats the pieces."
Nutter and firefighters have had a very contentious relationship. The union accused the city of "playing Russian roulette with people's lives," when budgets cuts affected staffing. The two sides couldn't compromise on a new contract, and after an arbitrator sided with the union, the city appealed the new contract.
Even knowing how bitter the union's feelings are toward Nutter, people still questioned the benefit of endorsing an ex-con who compared himself to Moses when outlining his qualifications to run the city.
@LaurenCox08: "This is such a joke!!!"
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@elbendera: "Okay. Wow. Unbelievable."
@WestPhillyLocal: "Wow indeed."
@Domelights: "I understand them not endorsing #Nutter, but Milton Street is an embarrassment."
@Dj_aldawg: "embarrassment? Its unfathomable how they can back a [expletive] federal criminal on PROBATION!! What a joke."
And then there's this from the man who warned us all two days ago that Milton is a Serious Fringe Candidate, @pkerkstra: "Kinda proves point that Milton is really bad news for Nutter." In his Philly Mag article, Patrick Kerkstra writes:
Short of a candidate who could actually beat him (and there don't seem be any of those), this is actually the worst of all possible match-ups for Nutter. No margin of victory would be impressive, given how marginal Milton Street is.
Not only can Milton Street get the media to cover his "antics," Kerkstra says Street could also get an "embarrassingly" large number of protest votes from people who wanted another serious contender in the primary.
Maybe @buzzbissinger will get that write-in campaign going.
