Over in Southwest Philly’s 40th Ward, not everyone felt that way. I spent a few hours yesterday afternoon visiting polling places with City Commissioner Stephanie Singer, whose job is to oversee elections. At about 7 p.m., we rolled up to Patterson Elementary, where a group of young African-American volunteers were serving chicken wings, water ice, and mac-and-cheese, in hopes of enticing voters to the polls. The goal, said organizer Melissa Gray, who runs a non-profit called Adopt-A-School, was for “this smoke to get you over here.”
While Singer was elated by the concept of the cookout, Brian Keenan, the burly, ruddy-faced Committeeman for 22nd Division of the 40th Ward, didn’t share her enthusiasm. Standing across the school courtyard from the barbecue table, he began kvetching to Singer the instant he realized who she was.
The rest of the story at PhillyPost