Cherelle Parker, a longtime state and local elected official who promised Philadelphians she would aggressively fight crime in the city, was elected mayor Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, making her the first woman voted into the city’s highest office.
Considered more moderate than other candidates in May’s Democratic primary, Ms. Parker, 51, has vowed to hire hundreds more police officers and restore what she called “constitutional” stop-and-frisk tactics. With registered Democrats vastly outnumbering Republicans in the city — the nation’s sixth-most populous, with 1.6 million residents — Ms. Parker’s primary victory gave her a significant lead over Republican candidate David Oh, her former City Council colleague. .
No Republican has been elected mayor of Philadelphia since 1947, and recent candidates have typically received less than 20 percent of the vote.
Ms. Parker, a lifelong Philadelphian, will be the city’s 100th mayor. She is a former English teacher, state representative and member of the City Council. Speaking about how to tackle the city’s high levels of illegal drug use and violent crime, she was open to the idea of asking National Guard to help tackle the open-air drug market in Kensington. More than 500 people have been killed in each of the past two years in Philadelphia, the highest number on record, although murders, shootings and violent crimes fell this year.
Two thirds of the population they say the city is going in the wrong direction. And in her victory speech, Ms. Parker indicated she could identify with the struggles many Philadelphians face, highlighting her background as the black daughter of a single teenage mother who grew up on welfare while being raised by her grandparents.
“My real-life experience was closest to the people who are feeling the most pain in our city right now,” she said.
Ms. Parker’s emphasis on public safety resonated with voters like Victor Gonzalez, 58, and his wife, Haydee Gonzalez, 59, who voted in the West Kensington neighborhood.
“I hope she brings back a few things that have been taken off the table like stop and frisk,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “You have a lot of young people walking around with guns and the police can’t stop them.”
Ms. Parker will succeed Mayor Jim Kenney, who was limited to two terms. He was becoming increasingly unpopular, and he was criticized because he was less engaged and less visible than he had been when he first took office.