Nutter pushes soda tax in testy radio interview

Mayor Nutter accepted an invite this morning to talk with WPHT 1210 talk radio host Chris Stigall about his continued drive to raise revenue for the Philadelphia School District by enacting a new tax on sweetened beverages.

Stigall said Nutter's doing so is contrary to what the mayor promised in his budget speech this year. Nutter said he's not acting in any contrary way.

"I did not propose any taxes for the city government," the mayor said.

Huh? Nutter's point: The taxes he wants to impose is to raise money for the School District - which is not technically a part of Philadelphia's city government. Read about that ensuing controversy here.

Stigall also brought up Harold and Lynne Honickman, who with their children run Pepsi and Canada Dry bottling operations in New Jersey that provide nearly 20 percent of the city's soft drinks. They are strong supporters of Nutter and the city in general - but equally strong opponents of the so-called soda tax.

"This is not personal, I know them very well, I appreciate everything they do," Nutter said. "They are great people... I don't like raising taxes, believe me... but, we have a serious problem.

Listen to radio interivew here.

Click here for Philly.com's politics page.