Northeast teen
is mayor for a moment

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

The first item on Dave Walkovic’s Feb. 25 agenda was a City Hall news conference with a room full of reporters, photographers and camera operators.
Then came a fully catered lunch with many of Philadelphia’s most powerful movers and shakers.
After that, according to the Father Judge High School senior, being mayor of the nation’s sixth-largest city got to be a lot less fun. In fact, the tedium consisted of about five private meetings where Walkovic discussed things like economic statistics and real estate deals.
"It really gave me a feel for city politics," said Walkovic, who shadowed Mayor Michael Nutter for the day as part of annual PAL Day at City Hall.
Walkovic, 17, was one of 27 Police Athletic League youths chosen to follow city officials like Nutter and Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.
"I think the speech was the best part," Walkovic said of the public comments he delivered upon his late-morning "swearing in" ceremony in the Mayor’s Reception Room.
"I want to major in communications, and I wanted to see how I would do with all of the media there. I was kind of nervous beforehand, but I did all right. Afterwards, everybody said that I did really, really good."
Walkovic took his cue from Nutter, who preceded him at the podium. As the two waited for their introductions, Nutter began to review some personal notes, so that’s what Walkovic did.
"I was sitting next to him before he went on, and he was highlighting the things he wanted to say," the youth recalled.
While reviewing his own notes, Walkovic realized that he had forgotten to include an important point in his own speech. So he quickly jotted it onto the paper.
Quick thinking like that is what earned the Lawndale resident his position in the first place. Each of the shadows were nominated by leaders of the PAL centers they attend. Walkovic’s sponsor was Officer Tony D’Aulerio of Gibbons PAL at 6901 Rising Sun Ave.
That was about two months ago. First, Walkovic had to list in order what three positions he’d like to hold. His choices were mayor, police commissioner or district attorney. He then submitted an essay on why he’d be good for the job. From there, PAL officials whittled down the list of candidates and conducted individual interviews.
Walkovic, who has a 4.0 grade point average and has been accepted to attend Penn State’s main campus next fall, came out on top. It was a just reward for his longtime dedication to PAL.
"I started when I was seven, so it’s been ten years," he said. "I’ve done so much stuff through PAL."
Walkovic first joined a soccer league at the recommendation of a friend, then added basketball and baseball to his resume. He has taken part in academic programs like the Math 24 Challenge, too.
In recent years, he’s adopted a senior role as a volunteer coach, referee and youth mentor.
"I just made a real connection with Tony," Walkovic said. "He gave me so much over the years, I felt I owed it to him. And it felt good helping the younger kids."
Following the speeches by Nutter and Walkovic, then lunch, the duo got down to some real business. The first task was a cabinet meeting with the city’s department heads.
Walkovic and his counterpart shadow for the mayor’s chief of staff Clarence Armbrister actually chaired the session.
"I had to read off the agenda with the girl who was following the chief of staff," he said.
The session produced no bombshells.
Next came a meeting with folks from a company looking to lead an economic development project for a piece of ground near the South Philadelphia waterfront.
Walkovic then sat in on a City Council public meeting where they were discussing the controversial casinos issue. Nutter had other business to take care of at the time, so the teen accompanied Armbrister.
"I thought it would be more interesting because I’ve been hearing so much about all of the protesting," he said. "And there were a lot of protesters there."
After rejoining the mayor, they walked across Love Park for yet another meeting at the Municipal Services Building. On the way, Nutter, Walkovic and their entourage encountered a different kind of protester.
A random man walked up to the mayor and wanted to talk presidential politics. Nutter is publicly supporting Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama.
"(The man) said he’s from Chicago and he’s pro-Barack and he was asking (Nutter) why he’s pro-Clinton," Walkovic said.
Nutter was on his mobile phone at the time, yet the interloper didn’t relent. In fact, he started getting more aggressive.
"He started saying, ‘I can’t believe you’re for Clinton,’" Walkovic said. "Then you see these two big guys come in and take him away."
Those "big guys" were part of the mayor’s security team.
Nutter and Walkovic were running around too much to make a lot of small talk, the youth said, but they did exchange a few light moments — like the time when Nutter, a St. Joe’s Prep grad, started picking on Walkovic’s school.
"He was kidding that Prep beat up Judge in football this year," the teen said.
Walkovic wanted to ask Nutter about his highly publicized rap music accomplishments but forgot about it in the heat of the moment.
On the serious side, the mayor offered him strong professional encouragement.
"He said just to keep working hard. He wished me luck at Penn State and said I should be successful there from what he’s seen," Walkovic said.
The mayor made a good impression on the teen, too. In fact, Walkovic thinks he’ll vote for Nutter if he runs for re-election in 2011. Nutter seemed intelligent, driven and personable.
"I didn’t realize how many people he has personal relationships with," Walkovic said. "He had to talk to like fifty different people during the day and with everybody it seemed he had a personal relationship with. It seemed like he’s really connected with the people he works with." ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com