PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Most mayors lay out accomplishments and goals in their budget, but Mayor Cherelle Parker invited several hundred city officials and local leaders to an 80-minute State of the City address at Temple University on Friday.
“Our purpose is to highlight the substantive efforts and accomplishments during this first year,” she said.
The mayor organized her remarks within the frame of her campaign promise to make Philadelphia the safest, cleanest, greenest big city with economic opportunity for all. Beginning with safety, she noted the 37% drop in homicides and shootings, though she pledged not to rest.
“It is not enough,” she said. “The numbers don’t mean a damn thing if you are a friend of a relative, of someone who has been immediately impacted by violence.”
On clean and green, Parker boasted of the citywide cleanup that touched every block in every neighborhood and the expansion of the city’s tree canopy. Economic opportunity encompassed a range of programs from a school for city employment at community college, to landing the Sixers arena.
Looking ahead, she promised details of her plan for 30,000 new housing units early next year.
“It is important to me that you watch what this Parker Administration does. I want people to feel a sense of hope and pride in government again.”
The mayor acknowledged the next year could be more difficult. The Biden Administration sent the city a billion dollars this year. The Trump Administration promises to be less friendly, but she said she’s not looking to pick a fight.
“We seek to serve the people of Philadelphia and to get things done to make their lives better and as your mayor, I need you to know, no election result will change my focus.”