NEW YORK \u2014 Pennsylvania\u2019s political class schmoozed their way across Midtown Manhattan this weekend, bouncing from cocktail parties to swanky receptions organized to woo the elite ahead of a big midterm election year.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of Pennsylvania politicos made their way to New York City<\/a> for the state\u2019s annual weekend<\/a> of civility, bipartisanship, fundraising, and more than a few hangovers.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Pennsylvania\u2019s political elite return to New York\u2019s Waldorf Astoria for ritzy dinner in its 127th year<\/a><\/p>\n Four Inquirer political writers spent the weekend in Manhattan at the Pennsylvania society gathering, chatting with lawmakers and interviewing candidates inside the moody bars and penthouse parties. Here are our takeaways.<\/p>\n Maybe Shapiro doesn\u2019t need Pa. Society anymore<\/p>\n Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a> this year has hosted fundraisers in New Jersey and Massachusetts for his unannounced reelection campaign.<\/p>\n But he didn\u2019t need to make the rounds this weekend among Pennsylvania\u2019s political elite as he emerges as a top contender<\/a> for the 2028 Democratic nomination for president.<\/p>\n Shapiro traveled to New York City only to deliver his annual speech<\/a> to the Pennsylvania Society and honor former U.S. Ambassador to Canada, David L. Cohen, who received the society\u2019s top award.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Josh Shapiro has a full-circle moment at Pennsylvania Society dinner in NYC, and David L. Cohen is honored<\/a><\/p>\n Instead of handshaking and fundraising like most incumbent governors would, Shapiro has largely avoided Pennsylvania Society mingling during his time as governor. His upcoming reelection campaign did not appear to change that. <\/p>\n Instead, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis hosted a solo fundraiser for their joint reelection ticket.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of demands on the governor\u2019s time,\u201d Davis said following a speech at the annual luncheon hosted by the Pennsylvania Manufacturers\u2019 Association.<\/p>\n The 3rd Congressional District race was the talk of the town<\/p>\n Three of the candidates vying to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans had a busy weekend in New York. State Sen. Sharif Street, Ala Stanford, and State Rep. Morgan Cephas made the rounds.<\/p>\n Stanford held a somewhat star-studded fundraiser Thursday evening, hosted, according to a posted listing for the private event, by Hamilton actor Leslie Odom Jr., (who did not attend but lent his name).<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Candidates for Dwight Evans\u2019 congressional seat hunt for cash and support at the Pa. Society in New York<\/a><\/p>\n Street, the former state party chair and a longtime attendee at Pennsylvania Society, also held two fundraisers in Manhattan, fresh off his endorsement last week by former Gov. Ed Rendell.<\/a><\/p>\n Not spotted: State Rep. Chris Rabb, who is running as an anti-establishment progressive.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not really my thing,\u201d he said in a text message.<\/p>\n The Parker-Johnson relationship was a hot topic<\/p>\n Philadelphia City Council<\/a> wrapped up its final meeting of the year the day before Pennsylvania Society began, and the lawmakers gave the chatterati plenty to talk about in Manhattan, with a dramatic close to the session<\/a>.<\/p>\n One major topic of conversation in New York: What did Council\u2019s recent conflict with Mayor Cherelle L. Parker<\/a> over her housing plan mean for the unusually tight relationship between Council President Kenyatta Johnson<\/a> and the mayor?<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Philly Council votes against Mayor Parker\u2019s vision for her signature housing plan, signaling a win for progressives<\/a><\/p>\n The consensus: Mom and dad were fighting, but they\u2019ll probably patch things up.<\/p>\n \u201cDisagreements between Council and mayor \u2014 it happens,\u201d said Larry Ceisler, a Philadelphia-based public affairs executive whose firm hosted a packed party in Midtown Saturday. \u201cIt\u2019s the way the system is set up.\u201d<\/p>\n But Ceisler said he\u2019s not worried that Parker and Johnson will abandon their goal of emulating former Mayor Ed Rendell\u2019s close working relationship<\/a> with Council President John F. Street in the 1990s.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact is they\u2019re certainly in sync more than they\u2019re not,\u201d Ceisler said.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Mayor Cherelle Parker and Council President Kenyatta Johnson are trying to bring back the \u201990s in City Hall<\/a><\/p>\n Johnson, he said, likely improved his standing with members by holding firm against a last-minute amendment Parker proposed to alter Council\u2019s version of the housing plan\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n Parker and Johnson both made the trek to Manhattan, along with Council members Rue Landau, Nina Ahmad, Jamie Gauthier<\/a>, Jeffery \u201cJay\u201d Young Jr., Kendra Brooks<\/a>, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, Jim Harrity, Cindy Bass<\/a>, and Quetcy Lozada<\/a>.<\/p>\n The mayor also took the opportunity to engage in a bit of bipartisanship. She has often touted her ability to build relationships across the aisle,<\/a> despite Philadelphia being dominated by Democrats<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the PMA luncheon, Parker embraced former Gov. Tom Corbett and gave a warm greeting to Auditor General Tim DeFoor, both Republicans<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the same event, U.S. Dave McCormick<\/a> shouted out Parker multiple times during his prepared remarks. The pair have forged a working relationship <\/a>despite their partisan differences.<\/p>\n \u201cWe talk about challenges in the city that we\u2019re facing right now and the hope is that we can count on some folks as allies,\u201d Parker said of meeting with members of the GOP. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Mayor Parker\u2019s restraint with Trump is both calculation and gamble as the president escalates against blue cities<\/a><\/p>\n She added: \u201cIt\u2019s great to try to maintain those lines of communication.\u201d<\/p>\n Special interests woo Pennsylvania\u2019s political elite<\/p>\n The annual pilgrimage to New York featured swanky soirees, packed restaurants, and cocktail parties \u2014 many of which were hosted by special interest groups and corporations that have business with the government and are looking to win influence over glasses of Champagne.<\/p>\n There were the usual suspects and big law firms: Duane Morris always hosts a marquee late-night event on Friday in the sprawling Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center. Other firms including Cozen O\u2019Connor, Ballard Spahr, and Saul Ewing also hosted cocktail parties.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Top Pennsylvania Republicans are projecting relative calm amid 2026 national party panic<\/a><\/p>\n One notable newcomer to the party-hosting scene was Pace-O-Matic, the Georgia-based skill games operator at the center of negotiations over regulation and taxing of the machines<\/a>. <\/p>\n The company, which has spent millions on political contributions and lobbying, threw a cocktail reception Thursday night at an Italian restaurant, which was attended by a sizable contingent of state lawmakers. <\/p>\n Legislators have yet to agree on how to regulate and tax skill games,<\/a> which remain entirely unregulated and untaxed.<\/p>\n But solutions seemed possible at the Pace-O-Matic party, as Central Pennsylvania Republicans and Philadelphia Democrats milled about the bar in an unlikely alliance.<\/p>\n Another bipartisan event \u2014 this one in a sunny room atop the vintage Kimberly Hotel \u2014 was hosted by Independence Blue Cross and AmeriHealth Caritas, both insurance companies that have Medicaid contracts with the state.<\/p>\n Lawmakers often credit the weekend of partying in New York City as a time for civil conversations in a neutral territory that ultimately benefit a philanthropic cause at the Pennsylvania Society\u2019s annual dinner.<\/p>\n But Rabbi Michael Pollack, who leads the government accountability group March on Harrisburg, said the civility seems to only come when special interests are footing the bill.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely embarrassing that our legislators can only interact with each other when a lobbyist sets up a playdate for them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A Christmas budget ballad by DJ Ward<\/p>\n Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward debuted a new hidden musical talent on stage at the annual bipartisan Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry breakfast: she can write a Harrisburg holiday hit.<\/p>\n \u201cI did live in Nashville for six years and no one discovered me,\u201d she joked, before launching into a three-minute-long budget ballad, set to the tune of \u201cDeck the Halls.\u201d<\/p>\n Ward (R., Westmoreland) debuted her song after an ugly budget battle that lasted 135 days<\/a> and ended just last month. Punctuated by fa-la-las, she called out each of the top leaders who were in the closed-door budget talks. <\/p>\n Ward is among Shapiro\u2019s top critics. The two had hardly spoken since 2023, until Ward joined in-person budget negotiations at the end of October. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Gov. Josh Shapiro says national Democrats folded in the federal shutdown, while he stayed \u2018at the table\u2019 for Pa.\u2019s late budget deal<\/a><\/p>\n During those negotiations, Ward has said Shapiro gave her a special heart-shaped cookie to break the ice<\/a>. And it appears she\u2019s not yet letting that go, dedicating a moment in her song to the encounter:<\/p>\n Mr. Shapiro give me a break <\/p>\n You know you gave me that heart cookie cake<\/p>\n Why are you saying that you didn\u2019t do it?<\/p>\n