Kendra Brooks is an American politician and activist. She won a citywide at-large election in the Philadelphia City Council as a member of the Working Families Party on November 5, 2019. The Council has seven at-large seats that go to the highest overall vote-getters, two seats are reserved for a minority party. Brooks's election is the first time a representative of a minor party won a seat on the council since the creation of the modern version of City Council in 1919.
Brooks worked with children with disabilities at Easter Seals for 17 years. Due to budget cuts, she was terminated, but remained on the schooladvisory council of her children's school, and became a neighborhood and educational activist. She also worked with the Parents United for Public Education and the Our City Our Schools coalitions, is on the Steering Committee of 215 People's Alliance, and founded Stand Up Nicetown, a group committed to ending gun violence. For this activism, she was placed on Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney's nominating committee for the new Board of Education. Brooks and Nicolas O'Rourke, a pastor, worked with the Pennsylvania chapter of the WFP to fundraise and organize a get out the vote campaign for the Council race. Due to longstanding tradition, Brooks, O'Rourke, and the WFP activists faced resistance from not only the Republican Party, but also the Philadelphia Democratic establishment, as many expected the remaining two at-large seats to continue to go to Republicans. Philadelphia's seven at-large council seats are determined by limited voting, where voters casting five equally-weighted ballots for five candidates, and the overall top-five finishers are joined by the top two vote-getters from a minority party, regardless of actual finish placement as per the Home Rule Charter of 1951. Thus, for the WFP candidates, some Democratic-leaning voters would have to limit their ballots to only three Democrats to cast their votes for Brooks and O'Rourke, which rankled Democratic party leaders who saw this as an opportunity for the Republicans to gain more than the two seats allotted. Bob Brady, former United States Representative and Chair of the Democratic City Committee, called for committee members and ward leaders who campaigned for non-Democrats to be expelled from the party. Brooks was endorsed by Council At-Large member Helen Gym, Philadelphia District AttorneyLarry Krasner, Pennsylvania State RepresentativesChris Rabb, Elizabeth Fiedler, Malcolm Kenyatta, Movita Johnson-Harrell, Brian Sims, Pennsylvania State SenatorArt Haywood, and Massachusetts US Senator Elizabeth Warren. Brooks was also endorsed by the Pennsylvania chapter of Make the Road, and the Philadelphia chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America, UNITE HERE, and Sunrise Movement. Brooks and her campaign raised more money for a third-party candidate in a Philadelphia City-wide election than any previous candidate. She relied on small dollar donations as approximately two thirds of her donations were for $50 or less. In the November 5, 2019, election, Brooks came in 6th overall in the at-large race, with 55,599 votes, almost 6,000 more than 7th place finisher and top Republican vote-getter, incumbent David Oh, and over 11,000 votes ahead of 8th place Republican vote-getter, Al Taubenberger, ensuring her a place on the Council.
