On Friday, December 20, Mayor Cherelle Parker gave her first “State of the City” address as mayor, highlighting the substantial efforts and accomplishments of her administration’s first year in office.

To begin her remarks, Parker emphasized what she came into office to do. 

“I did not run to be mayor of the city of Philadelphia so I can simply be a footnote in somebody else’s history book,” Parker said. “We wanted to use this opportunity to get things done.” 

Her campaign revolved around a mission to make Philadelphia the safest, cleanest, and greenest big city in the nation, with access to economic opportunity for all.

Public safety was listed as the Parker administration’s number one priority.

On her first day as mayor, Parker signed an executive order declaring a public safety emergency that directed City leadership to form strategies, allocate resources, and deploy personnel to address the immediate crisis.

After handpicking Kevin Bethel to become Philly’s Police Commissioner and later selecting Adam Geer as the city’s chief public safety director, the work began to work toward that mission.

In partnership with various grassroots organizations and community-based anti violence advocates, the results are starting to show some progress. 

To date, homicides have dropped 38 percent compared to 2023, while shootings are down 36 percent compared to last year.

While these numbers show a step in the right direction, the mayor stressed “it is not enough.”

“We cannot and will not rest until every neighbor in every neighborhood feels safe in their homes and on their front steps, until every child can walk to school safely, until every senior can sit on their porch on a summer night and feel safe again,” Parker said. “We will not stop until we achieve that for every neighborhood in the city of Philadelphia.”

In efforts to make the city cleaner and greener, thousands of Philadelphians stepped up to play their part.

Throughout the city, residents have taken part in organizing, cleanups, planting gardens, and working with City officials to craft solutions.

Under the Parker administration’s citywide cleaning program, over 40,000 block cleanings, nearly 5,900 vacant lot cleanups, and over 3,000 commercial corridor cleanups have taken place.

“We are done with the phrase, ‘Filthadelphia,’ and we won’t stop until we end that terrible nickname once and for all,” Parker said. 

More recently, Philly unveiled its pilot twice-a-week trash collection program that it hopes to expand in the coming months and years.

During her address, Parker also highlighted her administration’s efforts toward housing, economic opportunities, education, and much more.

She closed her remarks by stressing her vision of using every ounce of her and her administration’s experience and professional acumen to produce a sense of hope and pride in the city and its government.

As Parker looks forward to her second year in office, she also looks toward 2026 when people from all over will be visiting Philadelphia in celebration of the 250th anniversary of our nation.

“We will be on display and with each and every one of you … we plan to be ready,” she said.

To learn more about the progress made in the Parker administration’s first year in office, visit the City of Philadelphia.

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