Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker hits the ground running

The Centennial Mayor for the City of Philadelphia has hit the ground running; no laying back in the cut for Mayor-Elect Cherelle Parker.
As many expected, she’s already working smart, strategizing meetings with key stakeholders and showing all citizens that she’s preparing to take charge, to build her Administration, and to be prepared from inauguration day to do what no other woman before her has done in Philadelphia and that is to lead this city forward.
Cherelle Parker will come to the Mayor’s office on the second floor of City Hall well-prepared as a former PA State Legislator and then a Philadelphia City Councilwoman. Experience and knowledge, she has those tools. Involved with politics since she was a teenager, she comes into her new position well-groomed, well-prepared, energetic, and ready to take on the job.
Cherelle Parker emerged from a crowded field of some 12 Democrats in the May primary. Most often, we saw nine Democratic candidates out at candidates’ forums before the primary. However, there were actually 12 people who hoped to become the 100th Mayor before Cherelle took home the prize. Because Philadelphia is a Democratic stronghold, once she won the primary, it was assumed she would win the general election, which she did.
She campaigned on a promise to make Philadelphia the “Safest, cleanest, greenest big city in the nation that will provide access to economic opportunity for all.”
“Who is Cherelle Parker going to be? A get-it-done Philadelphian. A get-it-done Mayor who won’t ever forget her deep roots,” she said. “I’m Philly-born, I’m Philly-bred, and I’ll be Philadelphian ’til I’m dead.”
“We can’t solve these problems alone,” she said. “We need federal, state, and local government, along with the private sector and philanthropic communities, to help us address public health and safety.”
Voters in Philadelphia, when asked the question about what are their greatest concerns for our city, have responded about being increasingly concerned about public safety, as well as quality-of-life issues, from faulty streetlights, to potholes, to trash collection. Mayor-Elect Parker promised a well-trained police force that is engaged with the community, along with mental health and behavioral support. She has been elected at a time when the city is seeking a new police commissioner, which we could hear an announcement on in a matter of weeks.
“You heard me talking about making public health and safety our number one priority. Listen, I don’t apologize about that. We are going to use every legal tool that is in the tool book to make this city safe,” Parker said.
As for other winners from the Tuesday, November 7, 2023, general election at the statewide level, we saw Judge Daniel McCaffery get voted in as a PA State Supreme Court Justice, the highest court in our state. We saw two Democratic women get voted into statewide office as Judges on the PA Superior Court. Another statewide race that was won by democrats was the open seat on PA Commonwealth Court where we saw Judge Matt Wolf get elected.
In today’s Civics column, we’ll talk about the winners in the Philadelphia City Council races. But right now, in this post-election day column, I want to take a few minutes to look at some numbers. Who or what got the most votes at the end of the day on General Election Day 2023?
The question on the ballot got the most votes! The question was, should Philadelphia establish an office for People with Disabilities? That question won a resounding yes, with 86% of the votes counted. The question had 248,024 yes votes. The next highest vote-getter on E-Day was Mayor-Elect Cherelle Parker, with 228,162 votes. (For the record, David Oh, the Republican candidate for Mayor, garnered 75,008 votes). The next highest vote-getter in the Philly elections on November 7th was someone who perhaps many of us will have to get to know, but somebody definitely knows her already. I’m referring to Christy Brady, who won the office of City Controller (Democrat of course). She garnered 220,674 votes. That’s impressive for a first.
All of this political news shared on results and who won what–is one thing. Now, getting the job done is something else.
Back to Mayor-Elect Parker. Last week, she announced the members of her transition team. I don’t know all of them personally, however, I would say I know the majority of them. It looks like to me from where I’m sitting that Cherelle Parker is on track with planning who and what her Administration will look like.
Her Transition committee will chaired by Ryan Boyer, leader of the Philadelphia Building Trades Council, long-time friend (brother) and supporter; co-chairs are Della Clark, president of the West Philadelphia-based Enterprise Center, and Greg Segall, a private equity investor and CEO of Versa Capital Group.
There are several other campaign supporters who will now have roles on the transition’s steering committee, including Jeffrey Sheridan, William C. Sproule, who leads the Eastern Atlantic States Council of Carpenters, which endorsed Parker in the spring, and Dennis Zatlin, president of Allied Resources. Garrett Snider, grandson of the late Flyers owner Ed Snider, will be a senior adviser.
There’s more. Many of us just “knew that retired Councilman Derek Green would be on the transition team. I, for one, am thrilled to learn that former city Commerce Director Harold T. Epps will be on the team, and former Aramark CEO Joseph Neubauer will sit on the steering committee along with the Philadelphia Parking Authority head.
The staff of the committee will be led by Parker’s two top aides during the campaign: senior adviser Aren Platt and campaign manager Sinceré Harris.
The transition committee members will be organized into more than a dozen subcommittees, ranging from education to public safety to preparation for 2026 when Philadelphia will host World Cup games as well as events celebrating the 250th anniversary of America’s founding.
Parker also outlined “round table working groups,” “kitchen cabinet” members, and other groups of people who will be part of her transition process over the next two months.
Before Thanksgiving, Mayor-Elect Parker has said she will name who the next Philadelphia Police Commissioner for the city will be.
Do you think you have what it takes to help Cherelle Parker move our city forward? If yes, send your resume to: Transition2023.org. Don’t wait too long if you want to let her know who you are and what you think you can bring to the table. The Cherelle leadership train has left the station, and you better catch her at the next stop, or you’ll be one of the people asking, what happened? How come I didn’t get a job?