Who is Cherelle Parker? Philadelphia Democrats Selects New Member as Mayoral Nominee

American politician, Cherelle Parker has won the Democratic Philadelphia mayoral primaries at the just-ended 2023 elections. She was selected by the party on Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

She is set to win the general election in November 2023 when she takes on David Oh of the Republican Party. Parker won by a large margin gathering 32.89% of the votes while Rebecca Rhynhart who was in second place had 22.33%.

“I’m so incredibly honored to have earned the Democratic nomination tonight. It’s been a long road, and to see the tireless work of my campaign team, supporters, and family pay off is humbling. I’m looking forward to November and bringing our city together as its 100th Mayor,” she wrote in a social media post.

Born on September 9, 1972, Cherelle Parker began her political career in 2005 when she ran in a special election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to fill the seat left open by LeAnn Washington after Washington was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate. Parker won the election.

She was in office for a decade and for five of those years, she served as chair of the Philadelphia delegation. She has achieved a few milestones for the city, including the ‘Philadelphia Tax Fairness Package’ – a special cigarette tax, and the 2012 Act 75, which amended state law to allow expert testimony in sexual assault cases.

Parker also succeeded  Marian Tasco when she retired from the city council in 2005. She was chosen as a replacement and won the seat as well.  She led the passage of the “Philly First Home” program after that.

In January 2020, she defeated Bobby Henon to become the Majority Leader of the Democrats on the city council. She was elected in February 2021 to the chair of the board for the Delaware River Port Authority.

Parker resigned from the city council to focus on her campaign to win the nomination for Mayor of Philadelphia in the 2023 elections.