Back From France, Nutter Says He Never Lost Touch With Philadelphia
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Mayor Nutter says his just-completed, six-day trip to France did not take him away from running the city.
Mayor Nutter went off to France with issues like school funding and the sale of PGW still unresolved, but he says it was not a bad time to travel abroad.
"They have these incredible new devices called a cell phone. They work internationally. I've stayed in touch with our team on the ground every day, as I always do," he joked.
Nutter insists it was work, not play, that took him and wife, Lisa, to France -- with bicycling and business development as the key goals.
"[The trip was] about improving our international standing with regard to our own bike race, which brings a tremendous amount of international attention to Philadelphia, to meet with [the CEO of] Saint-Gobain, and to promote and market the city to about 20-25 business people while I was there," he explained.
He says he got to know the new mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.
"I've invited her to Philadelphia. She asked me to invite President Obama to Paris, which I told her I would do. So I'm looking forward to a great partnership with her."
Nutter also met with officials of Union Cycliste Internationale, which oversees international cycling,
and he's hopeful those meetings could boost the chances that the city hosts a Women's World Cup cycling event next year.
