Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker hits the ground running

The Centennial Mayor for the City of Philadelphia has hit the ground running; no laying back in the cut for Mayor-Elect Cherelle Parker.

- Thera Martin

As many expected, she's already working smart, strategizing meetings with key stakeholders and showing all citizens that she's preparing to take charge, to build her Administration, and to be prepared from inauguration day to do what no other woman before her has done in Philadelphia and that is to lead this city forward.

Cherelle Parker will come to the Mayor's office on the second floor of City Hall well-prepared as a former PA State Legislator and then a Philadelphia City Councilwoman. Experience and knowledge, she has those tools.

Involved with politics since she was a teenager, she comes into her new position well-groomed, well-prepared, energetic, and ready to take on the job.

Cherelle Parker emerged from a crowded field of some 12 Democrats in the May primary. Most often, we saw nine Democratic candidates out at candidates' forums before the primary. However, there were actually 12 people who hoped to become the 100th Mayor before Cherelle took home the prize. Because Philadelphia is a Democratic stronghold, once she won the primary, it was assumed she would win the general election, which she did.

She campaigned on a promise to make Philadelphia the "Safest, cleanest, greenest big city in the nation that will provide access to economic opportunity for all." "Who is Cherelle Parker going to be? A get-it-done Philadelphian. A get-it-done Mayor who won't ever forget her deep roots," she said. "I'm Philly-born, I'm Philly-bred, and I'll be Philadelphian 'til I'm dead." "We can't solve these problems alone," she said.

"We need federal, state, and local government, along with the private sector and philanthropic communities, to help us address public health and safety."