Democrat Cherelle Parker is projected to become Philadelphia’s 100th Mayor based on votes from the November 7th Municipal Election.

Parker who was the frontrunner in the race, was running against republican David Oh.

If votes confirm her as the winner, Parker would not only become Philadelphia’s 100th Mayor but also the first female to hold the role.

Raised in the northwest section of the city, Parker has been interested in politics since high school.

Parker’s long political history includes serving as a Pennsylvania State House representative for about a decade and then taking a seat on the Philadelphia City Council in 2015. Holding the position until 2023 when she announced her run for mayor, Democrat Cherelle Parker worked to address public safety, financial security, and increased quality of life.

Throughout her campaign for Mayor, her vision for Philadelphia was for it to become the “safest, cleanest, greenest big city in the nation that will provide access to economic opportunity for all.”

With public safety as her top priority, Parker previously stated that she would hire at least “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.”

Parker would also fill vacancies within the police department, including her first action which would be replacing the Philadelphia Police Commisioner Role previously held by Danielle Outlaw, and temporarily being filled by John M. Stanford.

Other items on her agenda include “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.”, and “investing more in community engagement to address long-term issues that lead to a rise in crime.”

As well as her plans for public safety and creating a cleaner Philadelphia, Parker also has plans for the children hoping to restructure the Philadelphia school system by adjusting the hours, creating year-round schooling, keeping kids busy with before and after-school enrichment programs, and helping high schools partner with businesses and city department to provide out of schools job and training for students who are college bound.

In order to help the general public, Parker is hoping to increase the city minimum wage to $17.53/hour.

After votes seemingly confirmed Parker as the winner, she celebrated alongside her family, friends, and supporters.

As Mayor-elect, Parker said she wants to look to the future instead of looking back at the past, ” Don’t tell me about the problems of the past, I’m here now, give us an opportunity to get it together and sit at the table and fix it,” she proclaimed, being met with cheers and claps from her supporters.

Shortly after the polls closed around the country, Parker received a congratulatory call from President Biden and Vice President Harris.

Running mate, David Oh conceded to Parker shortly after 11 p.m.

“We have come to the end of this journey, the voters have spoken and Cherelle Parker is the 100th Mayor of Philadelphia. So I congratulate her and 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 is what’s in the public’s interest.” said David Oh. He also had a message for his supporters stating, “For all of you, I appreciate what you’ve done and I ask you to continue to carry that message, the message that we are all important to this city and all of the issues that are overlooked by this city should not be overlooked, every community matters and we should all come to the table together. “.