10 Ways the Philadelphia Primary Made History
Yes, Cherelle Parker. But not just Cherelle Parker.
Cherelle Parker, who just won the Democratic nomination for Philadelphia mayor (Image courtesy of Cherelle Parker for Mayor)
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10 Ways Cherelle Parker and Others Made History in the Philadelphia Primary Election
Philadelphia is a city known for its history. And history is exactly what was made in this primary:
- A woman received the Democratic nomination for mayor of Philadelphia. Congrats to Cherelle Parker, who is practically guaranteed to also make history by becoming the first woman mayor of Philadelphia when she beats David Oh in November — unless Philadelphia suddenly decides to vote Republican.
- The winner of the Democratic nomination for mayor of Philadelphia couldn’t show up for her own victory party due to a dental emergency. This is a good reminder that I need to make an appointment with my dentist.
- Cherelle Parker won the primary with well under 100,000 votes, the lowest total in recent memory. (Michael Nutter won the crowded 2007 primary with 106,800 votes.) As a reference point, Wilson Goode received more than 300,000 votes in the 1983 primary.
- The top three vote-getters in the mayoral primary were all women. The woman in third place at press time was Helen Gym, with 21 percent of the vote — nearly double that of the person in fourth place, Allan Domb. Cherelle Parker had double-digit leads over both Helen Gym and Rebecca Rhynhart.
- City Council-at-large candidate Rue Landau has advanced to the general election in November. Should she win there, she would be the first openly LGBTQ person on City Council, which would remove Philadelphia’s stain of being the only major U.S. city to never have an openly LGBTQ person on City Council.
- Nina Ahmad also appears to have received enough votes to advance to the November election, and should she win in November, she’d be Philadelphia’s first lawmaker born in South Asia.
- With fund-raising at more than $31 million, this has been the most expensive mayor’s race in Philadelphia history.
- Another thing we never saw before: three former Philadelphia mayors endorsing the same candidate for the job. Alas, it wasn’t enough for Rebecca Rhynhart, who was in second place, slightly ahead of Helen Gym, as of Wednesday morning.
- This was the first time in Philadelphia history that we had four front-runners for the Democratic nomination in a virtual tie just days before the race. The outcome was, of course, anything but a virtual tie. So much for polls.
- It’s the first time the richest person in Pennsylvania pumped $750,000 of his own money into making sure one of the front-runners didn’t win. The Coalition for Safety and Equitable Growth super PAC — whose finances were nearly entirely from Jeff Yass — ran a bevy of controversial ads targeting Helen Gym in the campaign’s waning days.
So What Do We Know About Cherelle Parker?
You can read about Cherelle Parker in this handy mini-profile we put together before the primary.
Isn’t Cherelle Parker the One Who Wants Year-Round Schooling?
Yep. She would be the one. My own personal prediction is that it’s never gonna happen. But I’ve been wrong before.
Despite, Well, Everything, It Appears Rochelle Bilal Will Win Again
Constant turmoil. Alleged misuse of city funds. Trying to nearly double her own salary. Staffers and former staffers reporting they’ve been questioned by the FBI. Despite it all, Rochelle Bilal is still in the lead to retain her role as Philadelphia sheriff. (Voters wrote in other candidates more than 830 times as of 10 a.m. Wednesday, more than for any other office on the ballot.)
Democrats Retain Control of the Pennsylvania House
Control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives was up in the air on Tuesday thanks to a special election in Delco following the resignation of scandal-plagued Mike Zabel in March. But the Democrat, Heather Boyd, crushed the Republican, Katie Ford, on Tuesday. I should note that over the weekend, I asked some Republican friends and acquaintances in that district if they were planning to vote on Tuesday. None of them appeared to have a clue this special election was happening.
In Non-Election News: Happy (Belated) Birthday, Janet Jackson!
What’s a Janet Jackson to do for her 57th birthday? Party with Philly legend Questlove at the Divine Lorraine Hotel, of course. You can wish Jackson happy birthday yourself this Saturday, when she performs at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City.
And from the Day-um Sports Desk …
In case you haven’t heard, the Sixers fired Doc Rivers in the wake of the team’s abysmal Game 7 performance. There are lots of rumors and suggestions swirling about who’ll replace him.
Sixers deny Doc Rivers the chance at a fourth straight second-round loss: https://t.co/fwhUBDmeEo
— Defector (@DefectorMedia) May 16, 2023
Should be a fun interregnum.
In Phillies news, they had a rematch last night against San Francisco, with Alex Cobb and Zack Wheeler as starters. The Phils got going early, as Bryson Stott walked and Trea Turner singled in the first. Bryce Harper then ground into a double play, but Stott was on third for Nick Castellanos, who, alas, flied out. In the Giants’ half, Wheeler kicked things off by walking a man but then settled in. J.T. Realmuto kicked off the second with a double over the third-base bag, then stole third, and Brandon Marsh and Kody Clemens both walked with two outs to load the bases, but Stott lined out.
In the third, another Harper walk, and Castellanos was up again with two out. After he drew a walk, J.T. struck out. The Phils had stranded six men through the first three innings. In the bottom half, the Giants got two singles; on the second one, Brandon Marsh sailed a throw that let the runners get to third and second. Another single: 1-0 Giants, still with men on first and third with one out. Wheeler struck out J.D. Davis, but Michael Conforto singled another run home before Mitch Haniger also struck out.
In the fourth, singles by Marsh, Clemens and Stott brought home a run, and a balk (!) scored another.
Alex Cobb was called for a balk on this play, allowing the Phillies to tie the game … pic.twitter.com/XVVSv2qW06
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 17, 2023
Turner took first on a wild pitch, and there was a pitching change, with Taylor Rogers in for Cobb. Harper struck out, and Castellanos grounded out. Hallelujah: The streak of stranded Phils runners was dead at 27 in a row. After a single by Casey Schmitt in the bottom half, a Stott misplay on a grounder gave Joey Bart a double and scored another run. A single by LaMonte Wade Jr. scored another, but the Phils appealed, claiming Realmuto got the tag at home. No reversal: 4-2 Giants.
Wheeler managed to get through the fifth and the sixth, too. In the seventh, San Fran brought in Tyler Rogers. My God, they have a Taylor Rogers and a Tyler Rogers? Shouldn’t be allowed. Harper and Castellanos singled to bring up Schwarber, who hit into a double play. By the close of their half, the Phils had stranded 11 runners in the game.
Seranthony came in for Wheeler for the bottom of the seventh, and Gregory Soto mowed them down one-two-three in the eighth, but the Phils had nada until Camilo Doval, in for Rogers in the ninth, gave up a two-out solo homer to Schwarber: 4-3. But Realmuto struck out, and that was that. They have one final game at Oracle Park this series, today at 3:45. By the way, 0-7 pitcher Bailey Falter headed back to the minors after Monday night’s mess. The search for a fifth starter has begun.
In Doop news, the Union play D.C. United in D.C. tonight at 7:30 — and you don’t have to stream it, thank God.
All Philly Today Sports Desk coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.
