Parker explains absence after winning Philadelphia Democratic mayoral primary
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Cherelle Parker was back on the campaign in the race for Philadelphia mayor almost a week after she missed her victory party while she was in the hospital. Parker won the Democratic primary last Tuesday.
Parker revealed the root of her dental emergency and discussed some of what a Parker administration would look like.
"Our message has taken hold across the city," she said, "but most importantly in the neighborhoods and communities [that] are closest to the pain of gun violence, neighborhood blight, struggling schools, and quite frankly, a lack of economic opportunity."
Parker said her win in the primary indicated that those communities are "now closest to the power and the message is important."
"What we did was, we ignited a belief that," Parker said, "and you would often hear me say on the campaign trail that I had the audacity to believe that Philadelphia can be the safest and cleanest big city in America."
Parker wants to "restore hope and pride back to our city again."
"I am proud to stand here as the Democratic nominee for mayor of the city of Philadelphia," Parker said.
Hospital visit
Parker said a root canal from about 25 years ago fractured. Her dentist recommended oral surgery immediately and there was no way to save the tooth. She had the tooth removed the Friday before the primary election.
She said she continued to campaign after her Friday surgery, but her body told her Tuesday night that she needed to stop. That's when she checked herself into the University of Pennsylvania Hospital.
"It was pain" that led Parker to check herself into the hospital.
Parker says she's close to 100% now.
"I needed to campaign and I did not give myself time to heal," Parker said. "So by the time the polls closed on election night, everything caught up with me and I had to stop."
Meeting with Shapiro
Parker met with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro before the news conference Monday.
The Philadelphia Democratic mayoral nominee shed some light Monday about some of the topics she spoke with Shapiro about.
Among the talking points with Shapiro were finding bipartisan support, funding initiatives, including community policing, cleaning up the city, economic opportunity and raising the minimum wage.
"We also talked about one of my children, my baby, PHL TCB, which will be the tool that we attempt -- not attempt, we will -- to eliminate the 'Filthadelphia' moniker that has such a strong grip on our city," Parker said. "We need to be picking up trash on sidewalks and on our streets and we need to do that around the clock."
Parker said sanitation pickup in the city would increase "dramatically" if she wins the general election.
"Unifying moment"
Parker called November's general election "the unifying moment here in our city."
"I don't care who you voted for. I don't care what section of the city you live in, your zip code," she said. "What your political philosophy or your ideology is, our democratic process we work through it. We now have the results and we need all of Philadelphia to unify in order to move our city forward."
Experts thought the Democratic primary was going to come down to a couple of thousand votes, but Parker won convincingly with nearly a third of the vote.
Parker would make history as the first woman and Black woman to hold Philadelphia's mayor office.
"I didn't get here alone…I'm not superwoman," Parker said. "I stand on the shoulders of some women who generations ago, they could have been standing up as the Democratic nominee for mayor were it not for their inability to raise the funds needed to compete with most of the time – men."
She will face Republican nominee David Oh in the general election. Oh ran unopposed in his party's primary.
Political analysts say Oh has an uphill battle in the race for mayor. Democrats outnumber Republicans 7-1 in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia hasn't had a Republican mayor since 1952.
The general election is Nov. 7.
