Cherelle Parker


Cherelle L. Parker is a Democratic member of the City Council of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, representing the Ninth District. She was elected on Nov. 3, 2015 in the general election. Previously, she served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 200th District from 2005 until 2015.

Biography

Parker grew up in a neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia, raised by her mother; she never knew her father. When she was 11, her mother died and she was raised by her grandparents, who were both from the rural south. Her grandmother died when she was 16, which left only her grandfather, a disabled Navy veteran, to raise her. In 1990 Parker won a high school speaking contest put on by council member Augusta Clark, which earned her the chance to give her speech in front of City Council, as well as a cash prize and a trip to Africa. While still in high school, she interned for council member Marian Tasco.
Parker studied at Lincoln University and got an MS in Education. Her first job was as a high school English teacher. Marian Tesco asked Parker to join her city hall office in 1995, and she worked there for ten years, filling a variety of roles.
In 2005, she ran in a special election for state representative to fill the spot left open by LeAnna Washington, and won. She remained in that office for ten years, five of which she was chair of the Philadelphia Delegation. Her accomplishments in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives include the "Philadelphia Tax Fairness Package", a special cigarette tax, and the 2012 Act 75, which amended state law to allow expert testimony in sexual assault cases.
In 2015, Parker lost her appeal of a drunk driving conviction and began serving her sentence of three days in jail, a $1000 fine, and a 1-year license suspension.
When Tasco retired from City Council in 2015, the Democratic Party chose Parker to run as her replacement, and she won. During her time in City Council, she has led the passage of the "Philly First Home" program.
Parker is a wife and mother residing in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia.