Brown a ‘Pragmatic’ Candidate For DA’s Race

MEDIA–The Delaware County Democratic candidate for District Attorney may be new to the political world, but for M. Kendall Brown, the race for the historically Republican-held seat has little to do with politics.

The 54-year-old mother of two made it a goal to attend law school following a college internship as a lobbyist on Capitol Hill fighting for legislation to protect children and families. After graduating with honors from the University of Virginia's law program, Brown moved to Delaware County in 2001 to be closer to her mother who lived in Wilmington, DE.

Brown prides herself in her “no nonsense” personality and believes it brings something to the table for the upcoming election.

“I'm a very pragmatic person,” Brown said. “When I see something that needs to be done, I do whatever it takes to make it happen.”

Her determination helped her when she made the transition from being a single mother to a law student. During her final year at law school, she prosecuted in Culpepper County, Va., which she considers a vital experience that would help her should she be elected as the DA.

In recent years, Brown started her own business, Eclatante Event Designs, an “expert niche filling” event and design firm. Her small business began in Media and after significant growth over five years, moved to downtown Philadelphia. Owning and operating her own business has given Brown insight into what business owners deal with on a daily basis, including how crime affects business operations.

“As a result of owning a small business, we had to deal with some business crimes,” Brown said. “I learned a lot on how businesses are affected by crime.” 

But business and politics are a bit different from each other. Much to Brown's chagrin, the race for the District Attorney position has become political.

“I really want to make it clear that I'm not a political person,” Brown said. “I don't see the DA's office as being political.”

She says that the more she learns about how the courthouse is being treated, the more she realizes that issues plaguing the District Attorney's office have to do with political control, and that those issues “cannot help but affect it.”

Despite her claim, the Democratic candidate is attempting to win a position that has been held by Republicans for 15 years. Media attention has recently been directed toward the fact that Brown is currently an inactive member of the bar, that is, she does not currently practice law. 

Brown admits that she does not currently practice, but that her paperwork to become an active member is close to being completed. Her reasoning behind her transition out of active law practice is, as usual, a pragmatic one.

“The reason why is that we decided the business was my focus,” she said.

As she waits for her license to become active again, Brown is shifting her focus to issues facing Delaware County.

“We have serious crime issues in Chester,” she said. “And gun violence is unquestionably an issue. It has to be our primary focus.”

Though she may be facing a myriad of issues as Delaware County's District Attorney, Brown remains committed to the community first and foremost.

“I'm honestly doing this out of a true desire that an entire community can be given a fair shot at jobs and justice,” she said. “It's a goal, and (currently) it doesn’t even seem like it's on the radar.”