Philadelphia is getting ready to choose its 100th Mayor and it all comes down to your vote for either Democratic candidate Cherelle Parker or Republican candidate David Oh.
PHL17 has compiled a list of both candidates’ visions and goals for Philadelphia if they were to become Mayor.
Cherelle Parker is a Democrat running for Philadelphia Mayor.
As the Chair of Council’s Labor and Civil Service Committee, Parker wants Philadelphians to know she is “The Right Vote and the Right Choice!”
Visions for Philadelphia:
- Hire 300 additional foot and bike patrol officers to walk a beat in every neighborhood of the city, getting to know the community they’re sworn to protect and serve – without any tolerance for misuse or abuse of their power.
- Filling current vacancies within the police department and addressing other personnel challenges – including rehiring retired police officers and hiring civilians to fill administrative roles to get sworn officers back on the streets.
- Addressing quality-of-life issues such as cleaning streets, fixing broken streetlights, and repairing and preserving homes where the owners may not be able to afford the repairs.
- Supporting victim and witness services including modernizing and filling vacancies at the 911 Call Center and establishing a hotline for victims and witnesses so people feel more comfortable reporting crimes.
- Investing more in community engagement to address long-term issues that lead to a rise in crime.
- Schools open from 7:30 am – 6:00 pm for before and after-school enrichment
- Year-Round Schooling
- High schools partner with businesses, city departments, and the Building Trades to provide training for jobs that are available and needed, as well as partnering with colleges and universities to provide best-in-class preparatory training for students who are college-bound
- Create cleaner and greener Philadelphia
- Expand PHL Taking Care of Business (PHL TCB).
- PHL TCB works a little differently – using city funds, PHL TCB hires people from the local community to clean the streets and sidewalks along commercial corridors at a decent wage, while teaching them soft skills like resume writing and basic employee training.
- $17.53/hour minimum wage tied to the rate of inflation
- Soft-skills training for people entering the workforce
- Business-friendly environment to encourage employers to locate to Philadelphia
- Schools that teach to needed jobs and better prepare kids for college
- Schools open from 7:30am – 6:00pm so parents can get to work without worrying about before- and after-school care
- Double the number of diverse businesses and the number of small businesses in Philadelphia
- Supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs with free business training
You can find out more about Cherelle Parker’s Campaign, here
David Oh is a Republican running for Philadelphia Mayor.
As a former At-Large City Council Member, David takes service is tackling the city’s pressing issues.
Oh’s campaign is “Leadership you can believe in”.
Visions for Philadelphia:
- Public Safety and Crime
- Regular patrolling and a visible presence from courteous, well-trained and
responsive law enforcement personnel with a focus on crime “hot spots” - A well-equipped law-enforcement community with the best and most up-to-
date technology to ensure faster and appropriate response - A strategy of community-oriented policing based on a partnership between
stakeholders and law enforcement that ensures a focused public service
approach to peacekeeping - Intelligent criminal justice reform that ensures proper evidence initiates the
process and is employed when determining the outcome - Use all means available to increase the number of sworn officer to the currently allowed value total force
- Evaluate PPD’s forensic capability with respect to space and technology currently available
- Regular patrolling and a visible presence from courteous, well-trained and
- Education Reform
- Parents have a voice when it comes to their children’s education
- City resources are utilized to support and supplement educational initiatives
to facilitate the growth of skills and academic achievement - Bridges are built between the community and our schools so that teachers
are better supported in the work that they do - Steer efforts for increased transparency and accountability for all educational stakeholders involved in the learning outcomes of our children
- Support the superintendent in improving the overall district infrastructure and remediate safety related problems
- Request the school district to conduct a review of COVID and other federal and state funding available or unused to help improve infrastructure and conduct remedial activities
- Jobs and Economic Prosperity
- End the era of top-down control through mandates and costly regulations
that stifle and shutter small businesses; measure the economic impact on
businesses of every new regulation - Spur infrastructure renovation in our city to attract employers and investors
- Invite entrepreneurs and business owners to bring their services and
products to Philadelphia, including those associated with the global economy - Stimulate a renaissance of increased job growth for Philadelphians by attracting new businesses and promoting increased economic activity
- End the era of top-down control through mandates and costly regulations
- Government that serves the people
- Foster improving our overall city infrastructure
- Focus on operating city agencies as public services that are service oriented
and create a confidence in Philadelphia residents that they are receiving
proper government services - Create a pilot program that creates a “Trash Force” that will target those
areas and neighborhoods for clean-up that are adversely affected by the
accumulation of trash and debris. New positions will be created in the streets department for the unemployed.
- Fiscal Responsibility and Tax Reform
- Defined expectations for transparency with regard to the budgetary process
- Decreased regulatory burden for small businesses and investors
- Lowering and considering eliminating certain taxes to create an optimal tax
structure that will produce greater revenue - Increased accountability and accountability with respect to expenditure of
taxpayer funds
You can find out more about David Oh’s Campaign, here
