Jimmy Dillon

Jimmy Dillon
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
from the 5th district
In office
June 7, 2022 – November 30, 2024
Preceded byJohn Sabatina
Succeeded byJoe Picozzi
Personal details
Born (1979-01-15) January 15, 1979 (age 47)
Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Notre Dame

Jimmy Dillon (born January 15, 1979) is an American politician who was a Democratic member of the Senate of Pennsylvania. He was elected to represent the 5th senatorial district on May 17, 2022, in a special election to replace incumbent Democrat John Sabatina. He was formerly a School District of Philadelphia grant compliance monitor.

Early life and education

Dillon was born on January 15, 1979, in Northeast Philadelphia. He is a graduate of Holy Ghost Prep and the University of Notre Dame, where he played Division I basketball.

Pennsylvania State Senate

In 2021, Democratic State Senator John Sabatina was elected as a judge on the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia and resigned his seat on December 31. On January 10, 2022, Democrats selected Dillon's older brother Shawn as their nominee. Shawn later withdrew from the race after facing a legal challenge due to missing candidate filing paperwork and was replaced on the ballot by Dillon, a School District of Philadelphia grant compliance monitor.

A special election was held on May 17; Dillon won with 54% of the vote. He was sworn in on June 7, 2022.

On September 24, 2024, Dillon was criticized for multiple posts containing racist and homophobic slurs uploaded to the X account of his basketball coaching business, Hoops 24–7, several years ago. The posts referred to a basketball player using a racial epithet and told a porn star to "come party with [them]."

He was defeated by Republican Joe Picozzi in 2024.

References

  1. ↑ "Special election slated for Pennsylvania 5th Senate district". AP News. January 8, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Brennan, Chris (April 4, 2022). "Northeast Philly ward leader drops out of special election for state Senate". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  3. ↑ "November 30, 2022". Senate Calendar. Pennsylvania General Assembly. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Waring, Tom (May 15, 2022). "Candidates continue to stump as election day nears". Northeast Times. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Senator Jimmy Dillon". Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  6. ↑ Brennan, Chris (January 7, 2022). "Democrats in Northeast Philly face off for a special election, with more to come". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  7. ↑ Waring, Tom (January 11, 2022). "Dems pick ward leader Dillon for Senate special election". Northeast Times. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  8. ↑ "2022 Pennsylvania State Senate - District 5 Election Results". May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Senator Jimmy Dillon Sworn in to Serve the 5th Senatorial District". Pennsylvania State Senate. June 7, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  10. 1 2 "Pennsylvania State Senator denies posting racist comments online". ABC27. September 24, 2024. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  11. ↑ Chang • •, David (September 25, 2024). "Pa. Democratic Sen. Jimmy Dillon denies writing racist, homophobic tweets". NBC10 Philadelphia. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  12. ↑ McGoldrick, Gillian; Orso, Anna (November 7, 2024). "Republicans flip Northeast Philly state Senate seat, which Democrats called 'the most embarrassing part' of the election results". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 8, 2024.