PHILADELPHIA — Democratic nominee for Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker on Monday made her first major public appearance since winning the primary election, saying during a news conference that “this is the unifying moment here in our city.”
“I don’t care who you voted for, I don’t care what section of the city you live in, your ZIP code, what your political philosophy or ideology is,” Parker told reporters. “Our democratic process, we worked through it, we now have the results, and we need all of Philadelphia to unify in order to move our city forward.”
Parker, a former state representative and City Council majority leader, delivered her remarks Monday morning after meeting with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in the Center City offices of the Stradley Ronon Stevens and Young law firm.
She said she chose the Shapiro meeting as the occasion to make her first public appearance to highlight her commitment to working with Harrisburg to achieve results for Philadelphia.
Parker was hospitalized Tuesday night for a dental emergency and missed her own victory party. She spoke to The Inquirer on Wednesday and made a brief appearance at a media awards program Friday, but she has been otherwise recovering privately.
Parker said Monday she had largely recovered after requiring medical attention for severe tooth pain on election day. She learned in February that she had to have a tooth pulled due to a fractured root canal from years earlier. But she put off the procedure to stay on the campaign trail.
Days before the election, the pain caught up with her, and she had the tooth removed in an emergency procedure on the Friday before the election. But she kept on campaigning through the weekend without allowing it to heal, and the pain in her jaw became immense on election day, she said, prompting her hospital visit.
Parker, who lives in Mount Airy, won the nomination with about a third of the vote in a crowded field of nine Democrats, and polls showed as many as five frontrunners had viable paths to victory. On Monday, she thanked her primary opponents and said she intends to meet with each of them.
She prevailed with a moderate, tough-on-crime message that appealed to many of the city’s voters of color, with Black and Latino neighborhoods delivering her the decisive win.
“Our message has taken hold across the city,” she said, “but most importantly in the neighborhoods and the communities who are closest to the pain of gun violence, neighborhood life, struggling schools, and quite frankly, a lack of opportunity. And with our win, to me, these communities they are now closest to the power.”
In November, she’ll take on Republican David Oh, who ran in the GOP primary unopposed. Parker is strongly favored to win, given Democrats outnumber Republicans in the city 7-1. A Republican hasn’t held the mayor’s office in more than 70 years.
If elected, Parker will be the first female mayor in city history. Philadelphia is one of just a few major American cities that has never elected a woman to be mayor.
---------
