Outsider Kendra Brooks learns how to play the inside game at Pennsylvania Society
After an unprecedented victory as a Philadelphia City Council candidate for the progressive Working Families Party, Brooks, the ultimate outsider, decided it was time to see the ultimate insider event.
Philadelphia City Councilwoman-elect Kendra Brooks, center, of the Working Families Party, attends the Cozen O'Connor cocktail reception at Pennsylvania Society in New York on Dec. 6, 2019.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
“It was strongly suggested and advised that I come, so I’m here,” Brooks said as she mingled at the annual gathering of Pennsylvania elected officials and political insiders in New York. “It’s important that I’m in rooms that the constituency that I represent aren’t. So it’s important that I get to know all of what makes up Philadelphia politics, so I’m here learning.”
A single mother from Nicetown who first dipped her toes into politics about five years ago as an education activist, Brooks found herself Friday night at a Midtown Manhattan cocktail party hosted by the law firm Cozen O’Connor.
Brooks did not RSVP to attend the event and was almost turned away at the door — as many others were at the crowded party — after failing to tell event staff that she was an elected official. An aide talked it over with the staff, and they were soon let in.
Guests attend the Cozen O'Connor cocktail reception at the 21 Club in Manhattan, an event for the annual Pennsylvania Society 2019, on Friday evening, Dec. 06, 2019.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Guests hold drinks and wear political buttons at the Cozen O'Connor cocktail reception at the 21 Club in Manhattan, an event for the annual Pennsylvania Society 2019, on Friday evening, Dec. 06, 2019.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Sen. Bob Casey, right, attends the Duane Morris LLP & Duane Morris Gov. Strategies reception at the 21 Club in Manhattan, an event for the annual Pennsylvania Society 2019, on Friday evening, Dec. 06, 2019.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Guests attend the Cozen O'Connor cocktail reception at the 21 Club in Manhattan, an event for the annual Pennsylvania Society 2019, on Friday evening, Dec. 06, 2019.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Meat is carved and drinks served at the Cozen O'Connor cocktail reception at the 21 Club in Manhattan, an event for the annual Pennsylvania Society 2019, on Friday evening, Dec. 06, 2019.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Guests attend the Cozen O'Connor cocktail reception at the 21 Club in Manhattan, an event for the annual Pennsylvania Society 2019, on Friday evening, Dec. 06, 2019.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
A mural of Manhattan is seen behind guests who attend the Duane Morris LLP & Duane Morris Gov. Strategies reception at the 21 Club in Manhattan, an event for the annual Pennsylvania Society 2019, on Friday evening, Dec. 06, 2019.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Raheem Ghouse, left, takes a selfie with Temple University president Richard Englert at the Duane Morris LLP & Duane Morris Gov. Strategies reception at the 21 Club in Manhattan, an event for the annual Pennsylvania Society 2019, on Friday evening, Dec. 06, 2019.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Food is passed around at the Cozen O'Connor cocktail reception at the 21 Club in Manhattan, an event for the annual Pennsylvania Society 2019, on Friday evening, Dec. 06, 2019.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer / HEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Mayor Jim Kenney is reflected in a mirror at the bar while he laughs in conversation at the Cozen O'Connor cocktail reception at the 21 Club in Manhattan, an event for the annual Pennsylvania Society 2019, on Friday evening, Dec. 06, 2019.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
William McSwain, center, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, stands at the bar at the Duane Morris LLP & Duane Morris Gov. Strategies reception at the 21 Club in Manhattan, an event for the annual Pennsylvania Society 2019, on Friday evening, Dec. 06, 2019.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
John M. Corcoran, an attorney, right, sits off to the side at the Duane Morris LLP & Duane Morris Gov. Strategies reception at the 21 Club in Manhattan, an event for the annual Pennsylvania Society 2019, on Friday evening, Dec. 06, 2019.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Councilmember Helen Gym attends the Cozen O'Connor cocktail reception at the 21 Club in Manhattan, an event for the annual Pennsylvania Society 2019, on Friday evening, Dec. 06, 2019.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Rennick Remley looks at his phone as the evening goes on at the Duane Morris LLP & Duane Morris Gov. Strategies reception at the 21 Club in Manhattan, an event for the annual Pennsylvania Society 2019, on Friday evening, Dec. 06, 2019.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
As waiters passed by toting hors d’oeuvre platters and topping off wine glasses, Brooks greeted a stream of glad-handers curious to meet the first Council member from outside the two major parties in more than a century.
“I’m an introvert," she said. “It’s a lot of people."
On the campaign trail, Brooks railed against the political influence wielded by big business interests — the same interests that dominate Pennsylvania Society. But, Brooks said, she sensed no antagonism from the people she met in New York.
“They haven’t even been pushy," Brooks said. “People are just saying, ‘Congratulations.’ And it’s been interesting. I didn’t know what to expect but people have mostly been very friendly. All I can do is be here, have a presence, make the best of it.”
