By STEVE SHERMAN, for The Philadelphia Tribune; Published May 6, 2023
https://tinyurl.com/3mdkwkek
PHILADELPHIA – While he wasn’t born rich, there’s no doubt that Philadelphia real estate mogul Allan Domb is currently the wealthiest person running for the Democratic Primary nomination for Mayor in less than two weeks.
Domb has invested $7 million of his own money into his current run for office.
You might ask yourself why a multi-millionaire would want to head a city like Philadelphia.
When asked, Domb – who owns and rents real estate in some of the most prestigious buildings in Center City, most notably Rittenhouse Square where he lives – immediately points to a quote by the late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” – Winston Churchill
“When I got into real estate, I invested in the city and the city invested in me,” said Domb, 68, a divorcee who was born in Jersey City and raised in Fort Lee.
After getting a degree in marketing at American University, Domb came to Philadelphia in 1976 to manage a Phelps Time Lock Service office. Unsatisfied with the compensation he was receiving from Phelps, he became a licensed realtor and invested heavily in Philadelphia real estate.
In 1990, he became the youngest president of the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors and he led the organization again from 2013 to 2015.
There came a point, he said, where he decided he wanted to give something back.
A former City Councilman, Domb says he’s had his eye on a mayoral run for years, even running the idea by campaign guru Neil Oxman before his time on Council.
Domb says Oxman told him running for mayor back then would be a mistake, adding that he should instead run for City Council if he wanted to learn about government. He did just that, earning an at-large seat in Council, serving from 2016 until 2022, resigning in August to run for mayor.
“He (Oxman) was right” admitted Domb “I learned a lot in seven years (on City Council).”
Now, he’s knee deep in a crowded field featuring eight Democratic candidates. Domb says he’s the only one with experience in both business and government. The candidate says he decided to run for mayor because of what he calls a lack of leadership in Philadelphia.
“This race is all about one thing – leadership,” stated Domb. “Who can check their ego at the door and focus on the outcomes and bring everyone together, whether they’re Democrats or Republicans to get to the right results this city deserves.
“I’m the only one with experience in both business and government who has the ability to bring people together around the table and get them to solve our biggest problems.”
The most significant issues facing the city currently, Domb says, are public safety, good paying jobs and education. A majority – nearly 90 percent – of Philly voters agree that gun violence is at the top of their agenda in this election.
Domb says, if elected mayor, on day one, he will declare a crime emergency and declare a public health emergency in Kensington. He says those in criminal justice need to arrest 1,700 to 1,800 of the most violent offenders and that there’s a need to prosecute illegal gun violations more aggressively.
“We have people out there with 10, 15, 20 gun violations and they’re still on the street,” said Domb. “And the next time they shoot, it’s deadly.”
“Nicholas Elizalde, the 14-year-old young man who was killed in Roxborough – that group (the alleged perpetrators) had 15 to 18 prior gun violations.”
Domb – and many other candidates – say retail theft is out of control. He says 70 percent of the retail theft is being committed by less than 30 people.
“It’s a lawless situation with no accountability,” he says. “We need to hold people accountable for these crimes.”
A recent study found that in 2022, retail thefts increased by 52 percent in Philadelphia, auto thefts by 30 percent, and commercial burglaries by 40.
“I’m (running for mayor) because I love this city,” said Domb. “I’m heartbroken over what’s going on and I know I can provide that leadership that we desperately need.”
Domb says the uptick in crime can be correlated to police staffing shortages. He wants to triple the amount the city spends recruiting new police.
In order to study police hiring efforts, he says he assembled a public safety team in September 2021 consisting of some of the most significant members of law enforcement at local, state and federal levels. After “eight or nine meetings” it was determined that the city’s residency requirement – installed in 2020 – was a huge roadblock. Shortly after those meetings, he says, the Kenney administration waived the requirement.
Officially, that happened April 7, 2022.
Domb points to his accomplishments during his seven years on City Council, including his sponsorship of the Wage Tax Relief Bill, which became law in 2020 despite a veto by Mayor Jim Kenney. The former Councilman says the bill reimburses 60,000 families $800 to $1,000 a year.
“That’s real money we put in people’s pockets,” he says.
When Domb entered City Council in 2015, a big budget issue was uncollected real estate taxes, most of it owed by out of state landlords. Domb says after two other methods he came up with failed, he suggested the city to use a method called sequestration. Letters went out, he said, to the delinquent landlords saying unless they brought their taxes up to date, the city would direct their tenants to send rent checks to the Department of Revenue.
The scheme worked, says Domb, and brought in more than $100 million in funding to help city schools and government. Domb also donated his Council salary to help with school funding.
On the other hand, Domb says business taxes in Philadelphia are too high. And that stops some of the best employers from setting up shop within city limits, he says. Of the top 20 employers in Philadelphia, only three fall within the private sector and they are Comcast, American Airlines and Allied Barton Security.
“Minneapolis has 28 corporate headquarters and we have three – three,” Domb says incredulously. “The other 17 are eds-and-meds and they don’t have to worry about the taxes.
“We chase all the taxpaying businesses out of the city.”
Smith-Kline, Rohm & Haas, Mothers Work and Radian Group have all moved on toward more tax-friendly pastures, says Domb.
In 2021, Domb sponsored a bill to lower wage and business taxes in Philadelphia. While that bill was defeated, he and two others from Council pushed through legislation in 2022 that lowered both the wage tax and the business income and receipts tax (BIRT), albeit only slightly.
The combined state and local tax on businesses in Philadelphia is 15.9 percent, Domb says, adding that in cities such as Boston and Chicago, the combined tax is under 10 percent. In Atlanta, it’s below five percent, he says.
Business taxes in Philadelphia are especially detrimental to prospective Black and Brown business owners, says Domb, and that hasn’t changed.
“In 1972, the Reverend Leon Sullivan was quoted as saying in an Inquirer article saying we only have two to three percent black-owned businesses and we need more,” he said. “We haven’t moved the needle in 50 years.”
Domb says he was also instrumental in helping restaurants devise ways to survive the Covid-19 Pandemic, leading city legislative efforts to aid restauranteurs in establishing outdoor dining facilities or ‘streeteries.’
But Domb – who owns Schlesinger’s Deli and a large financial interest in Steven Starr restaurants in the city – has also received criticism for this, with some saying he’s only looking out for his own interests.
He’s also been criticized with regard to the city’s 10-year tax abatement program. In 2019, when Domb was running for reelection in Council, an activist group – 215 People’s Alliance – conducted protests calling for his political ouster, saying he has a vested interest in maintaining the 10-year waiver on new and rehabilitated properties. The group reported a study it says it found that buildings managed by Domb’s real estate brokerage received over $12 million in abatements.
Domb contends he hasn’t benefitted from the abatement as much as people say, pointing to the fact that the tax cut goes to property owners, not his real estate agency.
While Domb introduced a bill in 2019 to lower the tax waiver to eight-and-a-half years, Council member Cindy Bass wanted to eliminate the abatement entirely. Council eventually passed legislation that decreases the waiver by 10 percent each year on all residential buildings erected or rehabbed after Jan. 1, 2022.
If elected mayor, Domb says, he’ll put all of his business interests and real estate holdings into a trust to be owned by his son. He says he’ll recuse himself from any city legal matters including signing legislation that would benefit either himself or the trust.
For the past year, the candidates have been lining up endorsements. Opponents Cherelle Parker, Helen Gym and Jeff Brown have built significant coalitions centered around Philadelphia’s politically active unions. Rebecca Rhynhart has the support of former Philly mayors John Street and Michael Nutter as well as former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell and Parker just received a nod from Maria Quinones-Sanchez, who dropped out of the mayoral race in April.
Meanwhile, Domb – who has received the support of Philly Forward, a Political Action Committee that says it leads efforts to fight for quality of life issues in the city – hasn’t been endorsed by any unions. This candidate says that means he’s not beholden to anyone.
“I’m in a unique position because I am totally independent,” he says. “When you start getting endorsements from (various) groups, they’re going to expect things down the road.
“I have the ability to work with all these groups. I can work with the teachers, I can work with the building trades and I can work with them on a level playing field.
“By the same token, they don’t owe me and I don’t owe them. My goal is what’s best for the city.”
A recent poll, spawned by election watchdog Committee of Seventy, is reporting that the race is a virtual tie between Domb, Parker, Rhynhart, Jeff Brown and Gym.
Domb says the support he’s receiving is widespread.
“Philadelphia is in dire straits right now,” stated Phanerrica Muhammad, a realtor who lives in Fairmont. “When I look at the candidates, I think Allan is the strongest one.
“I don’t think the city needs another career politician.
“I think we need someone who has political experience and also someone who has a strong business acumen and understands the role of economic development and how that plays into creating opportunities for the city and making it a place that people want to come to.”
Maleek Jackson, who operates a boxing and fitness gym in Northern Liberties, says he’s committed to putting Domb in the Mayor’s Office because the candidate has helped him grow an anti-violence program – the Azzim Dukes Initiative – he started a couple years ago in memory of his younger brother Azzim, who was shot and killed in 2010 at the age of 17.
“We care about the same things within the same community of people,” said Jackson. “We need someone in office who’s going to fight for the city.”
Five days a week, Jackson trains students from E.M. Stanton Middle School, where Azzim once attended, in the art of boxing. Classes are meant for inner city youth whose parents face financial hardship and are aimed at getting kids off the streets. Jackson says he has received no support for the program from the Kenney administration, nor any of the $150-200 million the city spends on anti-violence programs.
A financial watchdog during his time on Council, Domb says a significant portion of the money the city spends on anti-violence is wasted. That will change if he’s elected mayor, he says.