Democratic nominee for mayor Cherelle Parker gets her election night victory party two weeks late

Cherelle Parker got to dance at her own victory party, albeit more than two weeks late.

The Democratic nominee for Philadelphia mayor gathered with about 1,000 supporters Friday night at the Pennsylvania Convention Center for a makeup soirée of sorts to celebrate her May 16 primary election win. Parker missed her own election night party because she was hospitalized for a dental emergency.

“I’m here because I’m the product of a village,” Parker told the crowd, before thanking family and friends by name, including her mother, who died when she was 11. “If you have a story like my story, you know you’re not supposed to be standing where I’m standing right now.”

Dozens of elected officials, political operatives, and city luminaries attended the party to celebrate Parker, who prevailed by nearly 10 points over the second-place finisher, former City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart. Three other Democrats were seen as top contenders in what turned out to be the most competitive — and expensive — primary campaign for mayor in recent city history.

State Rep. Donna Bullock, a Democrat who represents North Philadelphia and chairs the Legislative Black Caucus, said she is inspired by Parker, a former state representative, whom she heard speak passionately in Harrisburg about the need for stronger investments in the city.

Bullock said she recalled other lawmakers asking: “What is she talking about?” or “Why is she so loud?”

“That voice was the voice of Black women here in Philadelphia,” she said. “That was Philadelphia’s voice ... and I told Cherelle Parker, this little girl from North Philly had her back every step of the way.”

» READ MORE: Inside Cherelle Parker’s winning campaign for Philly’s Democratic mayoral primary

Parker stressed that her fight to become Philadelphia’s 100th mayor — and the first woman to ever hold the job — isn’t over. In November, she’ll face Republican David Oh, a former City Council member, in the general election. Parker is heavily favored to prevail, given that Democrats hold a voter registration advantage of more than 7-1.

“After we celebrate tonight, we need everybody to roll up their sleeves, get out on the street, and tell folks we’ve got another race to run,” said State Rep. Stephen Kinsey, a Democrat who represents Northwest Philadelphia and one of the first elected officials to endorse Parker. “We want to let folks show that the 100th mayor of the city of Philadelphia is going to be a Black female.”

Friday’s celebration was in some ways reminiscent of a September event Parker hosted at a casino just two days after she resigned from City Council and declared her candidacy for mayor. At both events, Parker sported bell-bottom jeans and her signature orange shirt. And both times, she was joined onstage by leaders of the city’s building trades unions.

In September, their presence fueled speculation that they would support her bid. By February, the trades and their leader, Ryan Boyer, were publicly in Parker’s corner and their support set off a groundswell of momentum for her campaign. She became the favorite of several other politically potent labor unions, such as those that represent carpenters and electricians, and a bevy of establishment-aligned power brokers endorsed her candidacy.

» READ MORE: How Cherelle Parker won the primary: Black voters, a boost from labor, and a personal story of Philly grit

Speaking for about 30 minutes, Parker told the story of her campaign through the people who supported it, thanking well over 100 people by name, including family, friends, mentors, elected officials who endorsed her, labor leaders, consultants, donors, and members of her campaign team.

She said her campaign took off when she was endorsed by the building trades, thanking Samuel Staten Jr. of the Laborers District Council and more than a dozen other leaders in organized labor.

Her list included such names as Pat Eiding, the former head of the AFL-CIO in the city, and Steve Sweeney, the former New Jersey state Senate president and an ironworker by trade.

“This whole campaign was going to be carried on the shoulders of labor,” Parker said.

She also thanked the Democratic party, chairman Bob Brady, and dozens of ward leaders who supported her.

While there were plenty of elected officials and newsmakers on her list of supporters, most of those Parker thanked were ordinary people who’d helped her along the way. There were advisers from her City Council office, and friends who introduced her to donors. There was the West Philly restaurant owner who hung a “Parker for mayor” poster in her window. There was her young son, Langston.

And after the lengthy list of names, Parker breathed deeply, then ended her remarks with a simple question.

“Thank you all so much,” she said. “Can I dance now?”