Mayor-elect Parker unveils transition plans, will name police commissioner by Thanksgiving

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Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker has officially started the process of transitioning into office.

She announced the members of her transition team Thursday morning at City Hall. She said by diversifying her transition team, she’s sending a message about her mission to see diverse representation in city government.

“This is not a Benneton ad, this is a preview of the Parker Administration,” said Ryan Boyer of the Building Trades Council who will head up the transition effort. He vowed to end the need for prospective City Hall workers to have connections to be able to work there.

Boyer told supporters and others in the room that nationally known firms will review resumes to ensure the best people are selected for positions in the Parker administration

“It’s going to be diverse: both generationally, ethically, and gender diversity,” Boyer said. “We have been working to ensure that the next mayor is set up to keep our city’s progress on track and I’m confident that under Cherelle Parker’s strong leadership, we will see great progress on our common goal of building a safe and thriving and equitable Philadelphia.”

Parker’s first major decision will be selecting a police commissioner. She said that person will be named before Thanksgiving. Parkers’ team is talking to both local and national candidates. She said a candidate from outside the city will have to be familiar enough with Philadelphia that they can find specific places, “not [someone] needing a GPS to get to 52nd and Market.”

Parker’s transition team includes John Salveson of the Salveson Stetson Group, who will help oversee recruiting new workers in the administration. Salveson is also chairman of WHYY’s board of directors.

The transition team will be broken down into a series of sub-committees:

• 2026 preparation
• Arts culture and creative economy
• City administrative services
• Commerce and economic development
• Education
• Environmental sustainability
• Fiscal stability
• Health and human services.
• Housing, planning, and development
• Immigrant and multicultural affairs
• Infrastructure and transportation
• Public Safety
• Technology
• Implementation

Parker reiterated her campaign pledge of making Philadelphia a cleaner, safer city, and said the transition work will help instill hope that has been missing among residents for some time.

“This process is to set the foundation for how we want to bring hope back to our city, and we want to begin that today,” she said. “The lift of the transition is going to be heavy.”

A full transition report is expected in the new year.

EDITOR’S NOTE: John Salveson is chairman of WHYY’s board of directors. An original version of this article omitted that connection.