What I wish for in 2024: Better days ahead for Philly

I was at a holiday brunch recently when an older gentleman I knew started chatting me up.

I was happy to see him again. A former high-ranking city employee, he’s been around the city a long time. We proceeded to have us a good ole time, as they say, discussing Kevin Bethel, Philly’s new police commissioner, as well as Roosevelt Poplar, the new head of the Fraternal Order of Police, both of whom he views favorably.

Then I brought up Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker.

Lately, I’ve been feeling cautiously optimistic about the prospects of the city under a Parker administration.

I was apprehensive about bringing up what I had been thinking. As a journalist, no one wants to seem like a Pollyanna, whose judgment is clouded by false optimism or naivete. But I respected this man’s opinion. I was curious to know what he thought about our incoming mayor.

“Is it naive of me to be a little optimistic for Philadelphia these days?” I asked him.

I thoroughly expected to be shot down. But instead, he said, “No, you’re not naive.”

He then went on to wax enthusiastically about Parker’s considerable background in public service, her experience being mentored by the former Councilmember Marian B. Tasco, and what that could mean for Philly.

I listened intently. Parker wasn’t my first choice for mayor during the primary, but I’ve since come around. Philly desperately needs to go in a new direction.

Mayor Jim Kenney checked out long ago. But Parker, who is scheduled to be sworn in on Jan. 2, already has leaned in, as Sheryl Sandberg would say, taking impressive steps such as creating an “intergovernmental” advisory board made up of top Democrats in local, state, and federal government. No Philly mayor has done that in recent history, and it suggests she means to live up to her campaign promise to get things done.

I like that she wants to hire more police officers. She’s right about the need for year-round schooling. I like that she has a plan in place to clean city streets; Philadelphians deserve better.

I’m also proud that the city’s 100th mayor will be an African American woman. It makes my chest swell even more as she appoints highly qualified women of color to top positions in her cabinet. Tiffany W. Thurman, a vice president with the Greater Philadelphia YMCA, will serve as Parker’s chief of staff. Sinceré Harris, a Mount Airy resident who managed Parker’s campaign, will be her chief deputy mayor of intergovernmental affairs, sustainability, and engagement.

Usually, people who look like us don’t get top jobs like that.

When I moved here in the early 1990s, former Mayor Ed Rendell had just replaced W. Wilson Goode Sr. and was trying to hype the city up and turn Philadelphia into a tourism mecca. I felt as if I had arrived in time to witness the end of old Philadelphia and the start of something new. There was a feeling of optimism in the air, something that’s been sorely lacking in recent years.

According to a recent poll, nearly 50% of Philadelphians say gun violence has “a major negative impact” on their neighborhood’s quality of life. More than 64% have heard gunfire in their neighborhood in the last year. The gentleman I spoke with at the party told me he has moved out and rarely visits anymore because of the ongoing gun violence crisis.

Philadelphians deserve better. I know that there’s only so much a mayor can do, but Parker is off to a really good start. I just hope she keeps it up.