At the end of Claudia Vargas's piece on Ed Rendell's endorsement of Rebecca Rhynhart for Controller, incumbent Controller Alan Butkovitz previewed a devastating new line of attack on his primary challenger: she's too good for this!

In an incredible excerpt from their joint interview with the Inquirer Editorial board, Butkovitz literally argued that voters shouldn't support Rhynhart for Controller because they'd like her better as a candidate for Congress, or even the U.S. Senate:

Butkovitz said that “there are a lot of opportunities” for Rhynhart to run for office. Just not his seat.

“She sounds to me more like a congressional or senatorial candidate than a candidate for city controller,” Butkovitz said.

Rhynhart cut him off, saying, “I actually have more financial experience than you have.”

Rhynhart is absolutely correct on the financial experience point. According to Butkovitz's Wikipedia page (which has been flagged for containing "content that is written like an advertisement") his only financial experience comes from his time serving as Controller. Butkovitz began his career as an attorney, ran for state representative and served for 15 years in Harrisburg, and then ran for Controller in 2005. He's a career politician. 

By contrast, Rhynhart has all the financial experience. She served in director roles at Fitch Ratings and Bear Stearns, then served as City Treasurer and Budget Director under Michael Nutter, and was promoted to Chief Administrative Officer by Jim Kenney.

You can hear the candidates' closing arguments (and probably some similar Butko zingers) at their upcoming debate on Tuesday, May 9th at Industrious, hosted by Committee of Seventy and The Philadelphia Citizen.

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