Supporters Cheer Bass as She Celebrates Victory
The Democrat will become the next 8th District councilwoman.
By Zach Subar Email the author November 8, 2011
It was clear from all the hooting and hollering at Philly’s Platinum Grill in Chestnut Hill Tuesday night that supporters of 8th District City Council candidate Cindy Bass had gotten the result everyone had wanted.
Those supporters came together for an Election Night party that was a celebration from the time it began at 8 p.m., when polls closed. Bass will become the 8th Councilmanic District’s next representative after defeating independent Brian Rudnick in Tuesday’s election.
The East Mt. Airy resident won a hard fought primary battle in May to get the chance to represent the Democrats in the general election.
In remarks to the crowd, Bass said the result means she will be able to do something she’s always wanted.
“(That’s) to be a public servant in the truest sense of those words,” she said as the crowd cheered.
Supporters packed the entire restaurant, and when Bass arrived, they loudly made their presence felt. Council members Bill Green, Curtis Jones, Blondell Reynolds Brown and Marian Tasco were in attendance at various times during the night.
Former 8th District candidate Bill Durham also made an appearance.
Bass took time to thank her friends and supporters—she said she had forgotten to do so in her speech after winning the primary—before talking a little bit about her goals for the district.
She talked about Philadelphia’s role in the country’s economy and said the city has a major say in the way things happen across the Northeast and elsewhere.
“We do good things here in Philadelphia, and we’re going to do even more,” Bass said. “And I am so excited. And I want you to be excited.”
She said she wants to, first and foremost, focus on jobs and education as councilwoman.
Bass also said she would work with other council members to fight blight and to fight with people to make sure that their neighborhoods “are the neighborhoods that you want.”
“I cannot do it without you,” she said. “I need your support and I need your help.”
Bass will be the only freshman councilwoman on council when it convenes next year.
Brown—another female councilwoman—also spoke during the party. Bass was Brown’s campaign manager in 2003.
The councilwoman-at-large called the election result “a five-star success.” And she left the crowd with a few words of advice.
“Embrace Cindy, and encourage her, because it is not a cakewalk. It is not a cakewalk,” Brown said. “She has the right stuff, as is evidenced by the work that she did before she got here, and as is evidenced by the work she’s completed to arrive at this point. But as I shared with Cindy tonight, now, the real work begins.”
Bass’ husband, Scott, also toasted his wife before the crowd.
The incoming councilwoman will take office Jan. 1. Her campaign finance director, Joseph Corrigan, will likely stay on her staff when she transitions in to her new job.
Corrigan said he finally felt relaxed now that the results were in.
“I feel like I’ve been running for the a year,” he said, referring to the amount of time that he’s known Bass. “So now that we’re at the other end of the year … I’m just excited to have someone who’s young, and smart, and energetic, who’s really looking to get down to City Hall and make some real change and get to work and get results for the people of the 8th District.”
Tuesday night was about celebrations. A consistent line of people streamed toward Bass after she finished speaking to offer their congratulations; she reciprocated with hugs and excitement.
But Bass delivered a message to those in attendance during her speech.
“This is a job that just cannot be taken lightly,” she said.
