Cherelle L. Parker, a former state lawmaker and City Council member, was inaugurated as the 100th mayor of Philadelphia on Tuesday, January 2.
She’s the first female mayor in the city’s 342-year history, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Described as a “centrist Democrat”, Parker, 51, has promised to “curtail crime, introduce year-round school, and spur small-business growth.”
“There will no longer be a tale of two cities in Philadelphia,” Parker said during the inauguration. “We are going to close the gap between the haves and the have-nots. We are going to put people on a path to self-sufficiency.”
She signed an executive order shortly after her inauguration declaring a public safety emergency regarding crime in Philadelphia. Part of her plan includes hiring 300 more police officers and ending the drug market in Kensington.
“I want the world to know that I am fully committed to ending this sense of lawlessness and bringing order back to our city and a sense of lawfulness,” Parker said. “We are going to use a holistic approach to end crime in our city, particularly the quality-of-life crimes that we have seen increase.”
This afternoon, I signed three executive orders to support this Administration’s key priorities for the first term, including orders: pic.twitter.com/jlKH6NHHEt
— Mayor Cherelle L. Parker (@PhillyMayor) January 3, 2024
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Photo: Twitter