What these Philadelphia residents want from Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker

Kim Williams has high hopes for Philadelphia Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker, who will be the first woman to hold the office.

“I think she’s going to be the one to clean this city up,” Williams, 59, said Saturday during a break from shopping at the Fashion District. “You can tell she’s a strong leader.”

Top priorities for Williams, a lifelong North Philadelphia resident, are curtailing gun violence, creating more recreational opportunities for youth, and improving schools.

“We’ve had a lot of other mayors that tried to clean it up, but wasn’t successful. But I think she going to be the one,” Williams said.

Parker succeeds Mayor Jim Kenney and will be publicly sworn in Tuesday during City Council’s first session of the year. She will be the city’s 100th mayor and start with an abundance of goodwill from most of the half-dozen Philadelphians asked Saturday about their hopes for the city’s new leader.

Wayne Moyer, 39, however, did not share Williams’ optimism.

“It’s just the same. It’s a one-party town. It seems like there’s no change in that thought process in how to deal with certain things in the city,” Moyer said during a walk across Washington Square, citing crime and homelessness as major problems for the city.

Crime is the top issue for Eleanor Nalle, who lives near Rittenhouse Square. The 76-year-old expects Parker to have a very different presence than Kenney, whom she described as a “nonentity.”

“I’m expecting her to be dynamic. I think she gives that appearance that she’s really going to try to make some changes with public safety, which is something I’m worried about,” Nalle said.

The number of homicides in the city in 2023 is down about 20% compared with 2022, but at more than 400 the level remains near the highest in recent city history, The Inquirer has reported.

Steve Greene, another resident of the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood, said Parker was not his pick during the spring Democratic primary, but he supports her now and feels positive about her potential, calling her experience on City Council a “good background.”

“I hope that the new major is going to bring the city more together,” said Greene, 64, who listed violence prevention and education as his top concerns.

“I’m just glad it’s a woman! That’s my biggest thing.” That was Amy Liedman’s quick response when asked about Parker as mayor.

“She wasn’t my first pick, but I’m happy it’s not some innocuous white guy — no offense,” said Liedman, 39, who lives on Washington Square and has lived in Philadelphia her whole life.

Josh Bullock, 35, moved to Philadelphia from Los Angeles about a year ago and said he’s not well versed in city politics yet. He’s less interested in the next mayor being a woman than in the results she gets.

The race and gender of Philly’s next mayor is “not the worry right now,” Bullock said. “The worry right now is who’s going to get the job done.”

The $1.55 billion arena proposed by the Philadelphia 76ers on the edge of Chinatown is one of the most controversial issues Parker is expected to face as mayor. Parker has declined to say whether she supports the arena, but after her election victory in November she noted that she will not be swayed solely by opposition in Chinatown.

Greene said he hopes Parker eventually opposes the project for the sake of Chinatown. “It was unfortunate that the Sixers made a decision to impose themselves upon that neighborhood, particularly in Chinatown. That’s just not fair,” he said.

The Sixers say the 18,500-seat arena would only help its surroundings by attracting shoppers and diners, encouraging business development, and increasing foot traffic.

Moyer said the arena belongs in South Philadelphia, noting how quiet it was Saturday in Washington Square, about three blocks south and three east of the proposed arena. “Imagine if there’s a game and all the traffic and noise pollution. That’s not going to fly in this neighborhood,” he said.