What Cherelle Parker’s 50th birthday party says about the 2023 mayor’s race

Philadelphia’s mayoral primary isn’t until May, and there’s a gigantic midterm election between now and then. But it’s already time to start speculating about how the city’s political class and its powerful labor unions will line up in the race to replace term-limited Mayor Jim Kenney.

We got some clues last Friday in a back room at Rivers Casino, where Cherelle Parker — who’d been a mayoral candidate for all of two days — hosted a 600-plus person fund-raiser-slash-”Virgo party” celebrating her 50th birthday (HBD). Clout spotted a couple of the city’s union leaders mingling with more politicos than we can reasonably list in this space.

There were some Parker allies and usual suspects, including former Councilmember Marian Tasco; a couple city commissioners; ex-Controller Alan Butkovitz; and, like, half of Philadelphia’s delegation in Harrisburg.

And there were a few of Parker’s former Council colleagues, including Council President Darrell Clarke, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, and, perhaps surprisingly, Kendra Brooks. A member of the Working Families Party, Brooks’ politics are generally aligned with the lefty wing of the Democratic Party, which Parker — who wants hundreds of new cops and opposes supervised injection sites — is very much Not A Member Of.

Most of the electeds there said we shouldn’t read too much into it. No early endorsements, people just like a party. In fairness, same.

But Parker, ever a Type-A Virgo, wasn’t shy about making sure everyone knew who showed up.

First, she gave a stump speech of sorts that included veiled shots at her potential rivals in the mayoral race, including grocer Jeff Brown (”He can have all the millionaire friends he wants; he ain’t got what’s inside of me”) and Councilmember Helen Gym (”When I got to Harrisburg, I couldn’t get a bullhorn and shout people down. ... I had to do things the hard way.”).

And then she asked the officials and labor leaders to come stand with her, specifically summoning Samuel Staten Jr., of the Laborers District Council, and Ryan Boyer, who leads the politically potent Building Trades coalition.

“Ryan Boyer? Sam? Ryan Boyer?” she said into a mic. “Can you come up here with me, please?”

They were still in the audience, looking hesitant.

“I am not asking anybody for a formal endorsement!” Parker reassured, adding: “... today.”

So Staten and Boyer walked to the stage, stood next to Parker, and then raved about her.

Staten said she would “make a great mayor for the city of Philadelphia.” Boyer wished her a happy birthday and said the Laborers have “always been with you, Cherelle. Every step.”

We’ll see if they’re with her for the next one.

Not all soirees go smoothly.

The political action committee of the Building Industry Association, a development industry group, held a fund-raiser last week at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts that attracted a slew of city pols, including some mayoral hopefuls like Parker, Allan Domb, Maria Quiñones-Sánchez, and City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart.

It also attracted more than 100 people who weren’t on the guest list: protesters fighting the redevelopment of West Philadelphia’s UC Townhomes public housing complex.

Things got tense.

Scores of demonstrators managed to make it into the party on the 11th floor, chanting, “Housing is a human right,” along with some slogans that aren’t fit for Clout.

“There’s only one choice to make, and that’s the right one. And until that’s done, we will continue to make our voices heard,” one protester said. “This is not something that we wanted to do. This is something that was forced upon us, just like our move [out of the UC Townhomes] was forced upon us.”

Once again, Brooks was in a room few would expect to find her. Protesters spotted the first-term Council member clutching a drink among the sea of suits and shouted, “Kendra, stand with us!” and, “You’ve got a bunch of working families right here, Kendra!”

Brooks has an extensive resumé as a progressive activist and has often been among those chanting in similar situations. But she also has a history of being open to meeting with the other side. After being elected in 2019, she attended Pennsylvania Society, the annual Manhattan meetup of Keystone State politicos and business bigwigs.

“It’s important that I’m in rooms that the constituency that I represent aren’t,” Brooks said then.

On the day of the BIA event, Brooks and Gym issued a statement saying they “stand in solidarity with the 67 families who call the University City Townhomes home and support their efforts to keep their communities whole.”

Mo Rushdy, vice president of the BIA, said he was surprised by how Brooks handled the situation.

“Kendra Brooks was there. She was heckled,” he said. “She was one of the people that stayed until the end, even though we asked her to leave because it wasn’t going well for [her].”

GOP Senate candidate Mehmet Oz and gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano never seemed to us like a happy couple. Sure, they both have the backing of the former president, whom they appeared with together during a rally a couple of weeks back. And they say they get along.

But while both nominees at the top of the ticket have said they’re full MAGA, Mastriano has gone a little more biblical with it.

So we weren’t shocked this week to find their campaigns on opposite sides of one of the most important cultural debates of our time. Senate leaders are weighing bringing same-sex marriage to a vote, and Oz tweeted Tuesday that he’s supportive. Reasonable enough — a lot of prominent Republicans have gotten on board.

Apparently not Mastriano. Jenna Ellis, a member of Trump’s legal team and a top adviser to Mastriano, replied to the doc, writing, “Oof. Pennsylvania, please get out and show up for Doug Mastriano.”

Seems like a confirmation that Mastriano opposes same-sex marriage, a position he’s taken before, though he’s avoided answering questions about his stance during the general election campaign. That’s because he’s avoided answering questions about most things.

Ellis’ shot might also be a signal that the days of the GOP ticket campaigning together are numbered.

Oof, indeed.

Clout provides often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.