Darisha Parker wins highly contested primary for 198th District seat

It was a tight primary race between Democrats for the 198th House District seat, and an even tighter finish.

Community advocate Darisha K. Parker and Germantown native Bernard Williams were neck and neck in the four-contestant race, with Parker ultimately winning.

Parker won the primary with 3,591 votes and Williams taking second place. Williams was just 273 votes shy of winning the election.

After winning the May primary, Parker will lead the Democratic ticket for the seat in the general election, Nov. 3.

Rosita C. Youngblood, who served the 198th District since 1994, decided to step down as state representative. She endorsed Parker as her replacement. Neither Youngblood nor Parker were available to comment.

“I do believe that we won the hearts of the people for the 198th District,” Williams said. “However, I believe this is a delay but not a denial.”

When The Tribune last interviewed Parker in May, she mentioned ways to advocate for the district.

“By being elected I want people to still know that I am going to fight for funding to ensure that our schools are safer, our seniors are protected and our parks and recreation centers are preserved,” she said. “The only way that can happen now is on social media.”

In addition to Williams, Parker ran against Supreme Divine Dow and Fareed Abdullah. Abdullah ended the race in third place, and Dow coming in fourth.

“You need an individual who has been working for the past three years with the neighbors to help fight the power plant, the town watch and bring the seniors into the office to discuss resources they need,” Parker said in May.

The 198th District includes East and Southeast Germantown, Sommerville, Nicetown, Logan, Tioga, Allegheny West, Swampoodle and East Falls.

Throughout her campaign Parker strategically utilized social platforms to educate and update residents in the Northwest area on the novel coronavirus.

The virus has taken a toll on the Black community in Philadelphia, with 39% of the cases being African-American, according to numbers from local health officials. Parker went live on her Facebook page, informing residents about free testing in the Germantown area.

On her social media pages, Parker posted daily information about the virus based on statistics, new regulations, preventative methods, and updates from Gov. Tom Wolf.