A prized endorsement from the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council is anticipated this morning and former City Council member Cherelle Parker is the expected recipient.
The Democrat appears to be the Council’s choice for Mayor of Philadelphia and the endorsement brings with it a windfall of funding and support leading up to the May primary and beyond.
The Council is an umbrella organization for more than 50 member local unions that work in the construction industry in the Greater Philadelphia region. The group backed Mayor Jim Kenney’s successful runs in 2015 and 2019.
Parker serves the Ninth Council District in Philadelphia, which stretches through northwest and northeast communities, including East Mt. Airy, West Oak Lane, East Oak Lane, Olney, Lawncrest, Lawndale, Burholme and Oxford Circle.
Prior to her election to Council in November 2015, she served for 10 years as the State Representative for the 200th Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where Parker made history in September 2005 by becoming the youngest African-American woman ever elected.
A graduate of Lincoln University in English Education, she also earned a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.
It remains to be seen whether the group’s vote among its membership will be unanimous, per the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Other unions have backed different Democrats. The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and AFSCME District Council 47 have thrown their support behind Helen Gym, while AFSCME District Council 33 – the largest labor union for city workers – has endorsed Jeff Brown.
The additional funding that comes with the endorsement could also prove beneficial, as the building trades council’s super PAC can accept and spend unlimited funds as long as they don’t coordinate with campaigns.
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4 Responses
Maybe some real MAGA GOP candidates will run to supply some real guts and truth to the campaign in Philly.
The flurry of endorsements are rolling in. But the conversations amongs folks on the street and folks in the boardroom goes something like…
…Too many running. Potential votes getting split in ways not helpful with a bad result looming….and…Who is the logical, most level set person to move the city?
No matter the endorsement given or money raised…the name that keeps cropping up in those conversations is Derek Green.
One wonders if his campaign can or will be able to raise their profile or raise money sufficiently off of that chatter?
Literally winning the chatter game as people begin to focus more closely…folks are watching to see how he’ll step up…
Maybe the MAGA wing of GOP will run a candidate to supply some lies and stupid heat to the campaign in Philly.
Nobody is endorsing the GOP candidates, who are sacrificial lambs in a nod to bipartisanship.