Parker’s victory continues a 76-year streak of Democrats winning the city. She will replace Mayor Jim Kenney.
Philadelphia elected its first female mayor, Cherelle Parker – and she’s Black.
Political races can be battlefields where candidates risk having their past experiences held against them like ammo. But for Parker, authenticity was essential to taking control of her narrative as a mayoral candidate. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the Democrat said at the Sheet Metal Workers Union Hall on Nov. 7, “I wouldn’t allow anybody else to attempt to weaponize my humble beginnings against me.”
Her political platform, which aims to crack down on crime and keep schools open year-round, became a reality because of women in city politics, who Parker said paved the way. “I’m only here today because those women decided I was worthy enough to sit at their feet and learn,” the news outlet reported the new mayor said before voting at the Masjidullah mosque on the morning of the Nov. 7 election.
“So anyone who’s watching today, you need to know I don’t arrive here by myself. I didn’t pull myself up by my bootstraps. There was a community and a village of people who lifted me up.”
“So I congratulate her. I wish her well. It is her responsibility now, and we will all support her to make her the most successful mayor that this city has seen because that’s what’s in the public interest.”
The news outlet also reported that a Republican has not won for the past 76 years.
Source: Black Enterprise
