The Lead

Philly Democratic mayoral nominee Cherelle Parker is resting at home after brief hospital visit

By: - May 17, 2023 12:37 pm

Philadelphia Democratic mayoral nominee Cherelle Parker (Philadelphia Tribune photo).

By Stephen Williams

PHILADELPHIA — After becoming the first Black female to win the Democratic nomination for mayor, Cherelle Parker is resting at home Wednesday after a hospital visit for a dental emergency, her campaign said in a statement.

A former city and state legislator, Parker, 50, won in a crowded race that was competitive among the top five contenders, according to several polls.

Parker said she was “grateful for all the well wishes, thoughts and prayers she received,” and hopes to be available to the media in the near future.

She missed the celebration of her win Tuesday evening at the Laborer’s Local 332 headquarters in North Philadelphia and did not make a victory speech.

Parker who won 69,499 votes about 33%; beat out Rebecca Rhynhart, the former city controller, with 22.6%; Helen Gym, former councilmember, 21.3; Allan Domb, a real estate mogul, 11.6%; and Jeff Brown, a grocer, who got 9% of the vote.

All of the other candidates have conceded.

On Nov. 7, Parker will face Republican David Oh, a former councilmember, who was unopposed.

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

In an interview at South on Tuesday, Parker said she was prepared to unify the city.

“I am super-duper excited. I feel this overwhelming, powerful, positive energy coming from the ground up. I am really proud of the coalition that we put together,” Parker said. We know that we can’t do anything alone. So we have to have people rowing in the same direction. Quite frankly, we need someone who can unify our city. I’m proud to be the person that is prepared to do that.”

The race made history with more than $30 million spent on the campaign by the candidates, or the super PACs, or independent expenditure groups that backed them.

Domb alone spent at least $10 million of his own money on the race.

Stephen Williams is a reporter for the Philadelphia Tribune, where this story first appeared.

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.