Lately, celebrities have been flocking to our neighborhood. From an impromptu photo op and singalong with Martin Sheen and Melissa Fitzgerald of West Wing fame to an invitation-only coffee and conversation event with former fictional vice president and president, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Locals Coffee in Wyndmoor has garnered a celebrity turnout everywhere between jaw-dropping and worthy of an elbow-nudge.

On Monday, dozens of invited guests gathered at Locals Coffee in Wyndmoor to hear Eva Chen, director of fashion partnerships at Instagram and Emily Tisch Sussman, Tony-nominated producer and host of the award-winning podcast “She Pivots” moderate a conversation about what a Harris-Walz win would mean for American democracy.  Their featured panelists were three-term Congresswoman Madeleine Dean and Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award-winning actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

It seems our particular corner of Philadelphia hasn’t drawn any of Trump’s celebrity supporters, which isn’t surprising given that our Northwest Philadelphia neighborhoods tend to skew overwhelmingly liberal.  On Monday, Locals Coffee was standing-room only as mostly Democratic women voters and a smattering of men gathered together to sip lattes and listen to a real-life politician and one who played a politician on TV. 

Emily Tisch Sussman began by asking Louis-Dreyfus, whose mother and stepfather lived in the Philadelphia area for roughly a decade but who now lives in California, “What made you decide to come to Philadelphia to have this conversation?”

“I'm going to state the obvious,” Louis-Dreyfus told the assembled crowd. “Kamala Harris has to win this election. She has to. I have been just doing anything and everything I can so that I don't have any regrets, and to help move the needle. I'm a big-time Democrat. I have been my entire life. But frankly, even if I weren't a Democrat, I would be saying this because in addition to turning the page on the chaos and the vulgarity and the hatred of what Trump represents, we have not only an opportunity to do that, which is a must, but we have an opportunity to elect the first-ever woman president. Please let it happen. Please.”  

A lifelong Democrat and patriot and the star of the award-winning, seven-season “Veep,” Louis-Dreyfus made it clear that, even though she portrayed a fictional vice president and president, she’s just an everyday citizen who happens to be able to leverage her influence in service of her values.

Although there are many things about this particular election cycle that feel amplified and despite the palpable tension in the air, Louis-Dreyfus has a long history of engaging in politics.

“I grew up in Washington, D. C.,” she reflected. “Politics was sort of in my backyard. I went to school with Susan Ford, Gerald Ford's daughter. For Halloween, she dressed up as Goldilocks and dressed her secret service up as the three bears.”

Likewise, Congresswoman Dean found her way into politics at age 18.  After Chen asked her about her political-origin story, and Louis-Dreyfus weighed in that “Maddy has a great story,” the congresswoman told the assembled crowd, “When I was 18 years old, not yet registered to vote, a local township commissioner, who was the father of my high school classmate, said he would like to come visit me one night at our family home. And he and his wife came to the house and said, ‘We have an idea. We think you should run for office.’  I was 18. I said ‘Yeah, sure. What would I run for?’ ‘Committee person.’ I didn't know what that was and I naively said ‘sure.’ I also didn't realize I was going to be taking on an incumbent committee person, so I naively said I would do it. I was very excited to do it and made myself a little pamphlet. And knocked on doors… The very first time I voted in an election, I voted for myself, and I won.”

Shortly after winning that 1978 election, Dean met a newly elected committeeman, P.J. Cunnane.  The two have been married for 40 years.  Cunnane was in the crowd, smiling and supportive, along with the congresswoman’s brother.

“Who knew? Canvassing might get you a husband,”  Tisch Sussman quipped.

Despite the levity, there was an urgency to the conversation.

Each of the political advocates who came to Locals spoke about how they see their support for the Harris-Walz campaign as urgent - for themselves, for future generations and for United States democracy.

“This is the first presidential election since Dobbs,” the congresswoman reminded the crowd. “And to a woman, we're offended. Everything's on the line for women. If they can take away our ability to determine our own healthcare, our futures,  if they can take away our dignity… It’s horrifying to see the young, 18-year-old woman whose mother had to take her to three different ORs only to be rejected for care and die. Everything's on the line. If they can take our lives, everything's on the line.”

It’s difficult to imagine that an 11th hour, invitation-only coffeehouse event would sway any undecided voters, especially considering that those who attended were sporting Harris hats and t-shirts and proudly chanting “We’re not going back!” Yet, the event wasn’t intended to convince anyone, but, rather, to initiate an ongoing conversation.

“We are on the precipice of something so magnificent. We have no idea,” Louis-Dreyfus opined.  

Are we? Perhaps. We’re also dealing with societal fractures and division, particularly in a battleground state like Pennsylvania.

The congresswoman spoke about the ongoing need to bridge national and local political divides. 

“I have confidence that this conversation isn't going to end with a victory,” she said. “We're going to win. We’re going to do that. But we’re gonna have to continue to talk. We’re going to have to continue to use our words for the power of good, for the power of decency. And so, when this is all said and done and we have Madam President and Coach as our vice president, we’re all going to have to stay at it. It's going to be on every one of us to bring about healing and a return to decency and a return to speaking to one another more kindly. Some simple steps to continue to use our words to heal.”

As she turned her attention to what it might take to bridge the political divide post-election, Louis-Dreyfus reflected, “I think there's a lot to be said for listening.  Because when you really authentically listen, you learn something and you are understood as listening.  I think a lot of people don't feel heard. That I certainly understand.  And I think to hear them, there's value in that. I think you can open up a door to it. It doesn't mean you're gonna change everybody's mind, but it does mean you find a way to connect. I mean, we are all citizens after all, and it's unfortunate how we become divided, but it certainly doesn't have to be that way.”

Chen, who brought her 9-year-old daughter to the event, to sit quietly with a chocolate chip cookie, and assemble Harris-Walz buttons, seemed hopeful about the role future generations might play in bringing more civility back to democracy. And, as far as hope goes, let’s keep our fingers crossed that Northwest Philly draws more celebrity appearances, because of course that’s what’s important.