PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia Democrats have rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris, but it seems no one has been more enthusiastic than Mayor Cherelle Parker.
“I am containing myself right now,” Parker said, “with the excitement that is inside of me about the potential of seeing the first woman president.”
Parker often says she's lived her life at the intersection of gender and race. In Harris, she sees a kindred spirit.
“You don't get to have an upwardly mobile trajectory in your career because of the fact that you live at that intersection, it is in spite of,” she said.
So when Harris came to Philadelphia in 2020 to campaign for the Biden-Harris ticket, state campaign officials saw a natural fit. They set up a roundtable in Parker's backyard — literally, her backyard, with outdoor chairs spaced for COVID-19 prevention.
“She came to have a conversation,” Parker said. “The focus was women and we did gather women leaders to have a conversation about how to move America forward.”
Both Parker and Harris went to Historically Black Universities and joined sororities — different sororities, but both in the Divine Nine Black Greek Letter organizations.
But Parker is clear, her support for Harris comes not from her heart, but her head.
“She is prepared. Her intellectual prowess, her academic preparation. In every way imaginable, she is prepared to meet this moment.”
Parker gave an official endorsement for Harris on Friday at the Building Trades Council, noting this is not merely an emotional moment, this is “about the over half a billion dollars the Biden-Harris administration has delivered for the City of Philadelphia.”
Parker asserted that Harris is the best candidate for the continued health and growth of the city.