Cherelle Parker becomes first woman elected as Philadelphia mayor

Former City Council member Cherelle Parker is projected to become the first female mayor in Philadelphia’s history, according to a Decision Desk HQ projection. 

Parker will defeat Republican David Oh, another former City Council member, in the reliably Democratic city to become its 100th mayor, succeeding term-limited incumbent Mayor Jim Kenney (D). Parker will also become Philadelphia’s fourth Black mayor. 

Philadelphians have not elected a Republican mayor since the late 1940s. 

Parker made it through a competitive Democratic primary in May against several other notable Democrats. 

She ran during the primary and general election as a moderate candidate, focusing much of her candidacy on addressing crime and education. 

Parker has called for increasing funding and hiring more officers for the city’s police department and promoting a “constitutional stop-and-frisk policy.” She has said she would require additional training and accountability measures to ensure the practice does not disproportionately target Black people but wants to make public safety the “number one priority.” 

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She has also called for a form of year-round schooling to provide students with access to academic enrichment programs, tutoring, workforce training and other resources, clarifying that it would not result in students spending more time sitting at a desk in class. 

“Year-round education also references being innovative with scheduling. It doesn’t mean you don’t ever get time off. It could be two weeks here, two weeks here, three weeks here,” Parker told a local education-focused news outlet last month. “So for those children for whom those kinds of familial opportunities aren’t a part of their real lives, how do we structure our traditional school year in a way that makes good economic sense and is worth the educational investment for them?”