As a first-generation college student, Parker earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Lincoln University and her master’s degree in public administration from the University of Pennsylvania.
“My life is a manual on how to turn pain into power,” she said.
Parker will inherit a town where Gun violence has killed more than 360 people this year and injured 1,161 others as of November 5.
She promised to hire 300 new police officers, aggressively target minor crimes and bring the National Guard to Kensington as part of a “comprehensive approach” to fighting crime. opioid crisis.
“We need to have a sense of order in our city,” she said. “As we do this, let us understand this: zero tolerance for any abuse of authority by our law enforcement authorities.”
Parker said she would use every legal option available to control crime, including minor offenses. She embraces the principle of stop and frisk, which she calls “Terry Stops”, a reference to the 1968 U.S. Supreme Court case that allows police officers to stop and search a person if the officer has “reasonable suspicion” that she is about to commit a crime. . This practice is controversial because evidence shows it has been used to racial profile black men.
One of Parker’s most immediate tasks will be to hire a new police commissioner to replace Danielle Outlaw, left in December. John Stanford Jr. is acting.
On the location of Sixers proposal for an arena near Chinatown, Parker said she hasn’t made up her mind but would engage with the community and review the data to make a decision.
She also proposed “year-round” schooling and a 3 percent increase in the district’s share of property taxes to get more funding from Harrisburg.
Parker wants to gradually reduce city payroll taxesand promises to expand the “Taking care of clean company corridors” program in all districts of the city.