Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, a Democrat, said Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, that she wasn't going to ruminate on the results of Tuesday's presidential election.
"We are moving forward and we are not looking in the rear-view mirror," she said.
On Thursday, Parker took time to discuss what the election could mean for the city and noted that she is staying focused on, what she said were, non-partisan issues, like finding more economic opportunities for people, addressing issues of housing and cleaning and greening the city, instead of worrying about who sits in the White House.
"We have to continue focusing on everything that we have been working on," she said.
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Asked about the effort to get voters to the polls -- which fell short as less ballots, about 708,004, were cast in Philly on Tuesday, significantly less that the 749,317 Philadelphians that voted in the 2020 presidential election -- Parker said that the effort "strengthened our resolve."
"I wish everything that I tried to accomplish in my life had come true," Parker joked. "If you come from where I come from in this city, if you're a lifelong Philadelphian, you know we never give up and I'm not going to stop trying."
She was also asked if she had concerns that the majority Democratic city might run into issues obtaining federal funding under a Trump administration.
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Parker said that would be a bridge to cross once we get to it.
"I don't know what will happen in the future," she said.
Instead, Parker said that she's not interested in playing "Monday morning quarterback" and is instead "laser focused on what's in front of us."
"As reality sort of sets in and we get prepared for what a new federal administration will look like under the Trump administration, let's let Philadelphia stay focused on doing what Philadelphia is supposed to do," Parker said. "Our people are looking for us to deliver and that's what I intend on continuing to do."
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