Cherelle Parker’s path to victory, what’s next for her opponents, and other highlights from our mayor’s race AMA
Here is a selection of Inquirer reporter Anna Orso’s answers.
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Philadelphia Democrats on Tuesday nominated former City Councilmember Cherelle L. Parker over a crowded field, picking a Black woman with a moderate ideology to likely be the city’s first female mayor. In addition, City Council appears poised to get some brand new faces come January, meaning City Hall is in for some major change.
The Inquirer hosted an AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) in collaboration with the r/philadelphia subreddit to answer readers’ most-asked questions about the results of Philadelphia’s Democratic primary election.
Here is a selection of Inquirer reporter Anna Orso’s answers.
Q: Cherelle Parker has, rightfully so, gotten a lot of flack for her pro stop and frisk stance. My question is: Will this policy survive public scrutiny? Is this something police officers are even willing to do? Do they want this scrutiny?
A: Parker supports stop-and-frisk or so-called Terry stops, which is when a police officer can stop and pat down a person for such things as guns and drugs. This is not different from what police currently do. Police made about 10,000 pedestrian stops last year, which is far less than during the Nutter administration, but it’s still not nothing. Some of Parker’s opponents would like to see that number be zero. I asked Parker earlier in the campaign if that number should be higher, and she avoided directly answering.
I think the better question is: Is this something police officers are even willing to do? The answer is that it depends on the officer. Pedestrian stops are entirely discretionary, and we’ve talked to experts — even those who are in favor of some use of stop-and-frisk — who say turning the dial back up on the practice could be really hard. Police have been operating in an environment for several years where it’s been frowned upon by the city’s political leaders. Going the other direction could be challenging.
Q: How likely is Cherelle Parker to include some of the losing candidates as members of her administration?
A: Hiring your political opponents is something people really want elected officials to do and something that doesn’t actually happen all that often. That’s because when you’re in a mindset for more than a year that you are going to be the next mayor, and then you lose, it’s really hard to go work for the person who beat you. It happens, but it’s hard. Parker has been tight-lipped about what personnel her administration would seek to hire, so at this point it’s just too soon to say.
Q: On Election Day, I was handed a flier by IATSE supporting Parker and Squilla with ‘Build 76 Place’ on the front. With Cherelle Parker winning, how likely is it that 76 Place will be built?
A: The chances that the Sixers arena happens went up when Parker won the primary. While she wasn’t explicitly pro-arena while campaigning, she was pretty in favor of it when the proposal was unveiled and she was a member of City Council. One of her top allies is Ryan Boyer, who leads the Building Trades Council, and supports the development because of the number of construction jobs it will create.
A note: Squilla took issue with those fliers, which were printed by IBEW. He has said no one should be making definitive statements about their position on the arena before the city’s community impact study is completed.
Q: Turnout, as we know, was once again low. Despite a high number of mayoral and council forums, voter guides, listening sessions, and issues-oriented coverage of the races, the needle barely moved. What’s your take on why such efforts seemingly had little impact on turnout?
A: It’s really hard to motivate people to vote when the city is in such a challenging place in terms of public safety. Some polling The Inquirer did found that a lot of people most affected by crime really don’t have a lot of confidence that the political system is going to make that reality better. Voting doesn’t feel like a priority in many ways. I also think that forums and listening sessions and voter guides are great, but they often are attended and used by people who are already engaged.
Q: Do you have any insight into the campaigns? Did [Rebecca] Rhynhart and [Helen]Gym really not see this coming?
A: I think the three women all definitely thought they had a serious shot at winning, and Rhynhart and Gym each had some late momentum in different ways. Rhynhart overperformed compared to a lot of people’s expectations, and she started to surge in mid-to-late April, which is a good time to do so. Gym had a strong finish with a huge Bernie Sanders rally and a lot of positive national media coverage.
Overcoming the fact that Parker was supported by a plurality of the city’s ward leaders and building trades unions was always going to be a challenge, but I don’t think Rhynhart or Gym *expected* to lose. Parker ending up being 10 points over Rhynhart in second place is a pretty commanding win. I was at Gym’s election-night party on Tuesday night and people were stunned. Lots of “I really thought we had this” talk.
Q: I’d like to hear your thoughts on our new City Council. Are there any trends you can identify across the at-large elected, or perhaps similar platforms that appear to have worked in moving the needle for the winners? Same question for judges and other elected positions, like Sheriff.
A: As for City Council, it was a pretty good night for the Democratic establishment. All three at-large incumbents appear to have won, and if Cindy Bass squeaks through in the 8th district, then all the incumbent district members will have won, too.
As for the newcomers: Rue Landau performed well and will likely take an at-large seat, and that’s interesting because she is really one of the only non-incumbent candidates who was endorsed by both the Democratic Party AND left-leaning groups like Reclaim Philadelphia. Nina Ahmad will likely take an at-large seat as well. That was a bit of a surprise, though she put a lot of her own money into the race and ran television ads, so it makes sense.
As for judges, it appears that all the elected judges were recommended by the Bar Association, which is a notable accomplishment for the bar.
Q: On a professional level as a reporter covering a major election cycle in the sixth largest city in the country, how has your experience working the Philly election coverage gone?
A: It’s been a really great experience. Covering a Philly mayor’s race was a true dream of mine. I love this city and care a lot about its future. Getting the chance to write every day about that has been really gratifying. I’m truly grateful for the opportunity and for my wonderful coworkers.
Looking for more? Read the full Reddit AMA thread here.