Dear John:

I chose this moment to write to you for the first time after the election, because I thought it was important for our country to hear first from Vice President Kamala Harris from the historic Howard University and from President Joe Biden.

When the Vice President spoke, I was more than moved, she shook me to my core.

I couldn't help but reflect on the fact that in a history-making, record-breaking amount of time - 107 days to be exact - we watched Vice President Harris build a campaign and carry the promise of America on her shoulders.

She did it with grace and poise and preparedness that no one ever acknowledged. And she never complained about the heavy load.

It wasn't easy. She didn't start this race at the same starting line with the same opportunity and amount of time to build her campaign that others had.

Instead, she criss-cross this nation, working hard to do what is as American as apple pie: earn the support of the American people by offering concrete plans - a blueprint - about how she would work to close the gap between the "haves" and the "have nots" in our Nation by ensuring economic opportunity for all.

Once the Vice President got to the end of her remarks yesterday, I couldn't help but think about her instructions to us, and to me as Mayor of the City of Philadelphia: to remember that now is not the time to throw up your hands in our Country. Despite the results on Tuesday, it is time to roll up our sleeves. It is time to organize, to mobilize, and to stay focused on the work.

And when President Biden spoke, he reminded us that giving up is unforgivable.

I felt as though they were very specifically speaking to our City.

We are laser-focused on the work ahead of us: today, next week, next month, next year and beyond. We have so much work to do.

Gun violence is steadily declining. Homicides and shootings are down more than 40%.

We have no time to slow down or to look backwards.

Every single day, our streets and neighborhoods are getting cleaner. We cleaned over 18,000 city blocks and commercial corridors.

We have more cleaning and greening to do in the city of Philadelphia, and we are staying focused on that work.

We need more economic opportunities for all in our City, and we know that there is no time to waste. That's why we opened up the first-in-the-nation City College for Municipal Employment last month in partnership with the Community College of Philadelphia and the School District of Philadelphia to ensure that we have stable jobs and careers available right here in city government for our very own residents.

We are moving forward, and we are not looking in the rear view mirror.

Why is this important? Because housing is important in our city. We have 30,000 units of housing to build, restore, and repair.

Already, extended-day, extended-year schooling gives students the kinds of educational enrichment opportunities before and after school that students in other school districts have.

We are not stopping now.

None of these issues are partisan issues.

These are real issues impacting the lives of everyday Philadelphians. And our job is to do what we've committed to doing from day-one, to use our intergovernmental cooperation and planning to get things done right here in the city of Philadelphia.

And no election in the world will change our focus on our commitment to getting those things done for you.

At the end of the day, you, the people of Philadelphia, sent me here to deliver a government that you can see, touch, and feel. You deserve to see your tax dollars at work in your neighborhoods. You deserve to feel it at home and with your families.

We have to do everything that we possibly can to use government as a tool to put all Philadelphians on a path to self sufficiency, no matter the zip code.

And we are going to make sure that we get this done.

Finally, we had no major incidents on Election Day. And I am very proud of every worker, volunteer, the City Commissioners, their teams, and every person who worked at their polling places and helped to conduct the safe, fair, and secure election in our city.

You honored our Constitution and our democracy.

Now, we know that we have work in front of us. We know what our mission is, and that will be our focus everyday. We will not stop for any reason, and we will deliver on our promise for Philadelphia.

Thank you, Philadelphia. The work continues!

Cherelle L. Parker