Jimmy Dillon

{{short description|American politician}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Jimmy Dillon

| image = Jimmy Dillon Basketball.jpg

| state_senate = Pennsylvania

| district = 5th

| term_start = June 7, 2022

| term_end = November 30, 2024

| predecessor = John Sabatina

| successor = Joe Picozzi

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1979|1|15|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Democratic

| education = University of Notre Dame

| spouse =

| children =

| residence = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

| website =

}}

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.{{cite news |title=Special election slated for Pennsylvania 5th Senate district |url=https://apnews.com/article/elections-pennsylvania-philadelphia-senate-elections-special-elections-09f405387eeec7c6de243a45c507e17a |access-date=8 May 2022 |work=AP News |date=January 8, 2022}} He was formerly a School District of Philadelphia grant compliance monitor.{{cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/state-senate-special-election-shawn-dillon-withdraws-20220404.html|title=Northeast Philly ward leader drops out of special election for state Senate|date=April 4, 2022|access-date=May 18, 2022|last=Brennan|first=Chris|website=The Philadelphia Inquirer}}

Early life and education

Dillon was born on January 15, 1979, in Northeast Philadelphia.{{cite web |page=1 |work=Senate Calendar |title=November 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204005415/https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/SessionCalendars/CurrentCalendar.cfm?txtType=PDF&Chamber=S&CalendarTypeId=2&IsMarked=N&SessInd=0 |archive-date=December 4, 2022 |url=https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/SessionCalendars/CurrentCalendar.cfm?txtType=PDF&Chamber=S&CalendarTypeId=2&IsMarked=N&SessInd=0 |publisher=Pennsylvania General Assembly |access-date=29 November 2022 |format=PDF}}{{cite web|url=https://northeasttimes.com/2022/05/15/candidates-continue-to-stump-as-election-day-nears/|title=Candidates continue to stump as election day nears|last=Waring|first=Tom|date=May 15, 2022|access-date=May 18, 2022|website=Northeast Times}}{{cite web |title=Senator Jimmy Dillon |url=https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/Senate_bio.cfm?id=1936 |website=Pennsylvania General Assembly |access-date=29 November 2022}} 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.{{Cite web|last=Brennan|first=Chris|date=2022-01-07|title=Democrats in Northeast Philly face off for a special election, with more to come|url=https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/democrats-northeast-philly-special-election-state-senate-20220107.html|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-07|website=The Philadelphia Inquirer|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107104548/https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/democrats-northeast-philly-special-election-state-senate-20220107.html |archive-date=January 7, 2022 }} 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.{{Cite web|last=Waring|first=Tom|date=2022-01-11|title=Dems pick ward leader Dillon for Senate special election|url=https://northeasttimes.com/2022/01/10/dems-pick-ward-leader-dillon-for-senate-special-election/|access-date=2022-01-12|website=Northeast Times|language=en-US}}

A special election was held on May 17; Dillon won with 54% of the vote.{{cite web|url=https://www.pressconnects.com/elections/results/race/2022-05-17-state_senate-PA-40317/|title=2022 Pennsylvania State Senate - District 5 Election Results|date=May 17, 2022|access-date=May 18, 2022}} He was sworn in on June 7, 2022.{{cite web|url=https://pasenate.com/senator-jimmy-dillon-sworn-in-to-serve-the-5th-senatorial-district/|title=Senator Jimmy Dillon Sworn in to Serve the 5th Senatorial District|date=June 7, 2022|access-date=June 8, 2022|website=Pennsylvania State Senate}}

On September 24, 2024, Dillon was criticized{{Cite web |date=2024-09-24 |title=Pennsylvania State Senator denies posting racist comments online |url=https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania-politics/pennsylvania-state-senator-denies-posting-racist-comments-online/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=ABC27 |language=en-US}} for multiple posts containing racist and homophobic slurs uploaded to the X account of his basketball coaching business, Hoops 24–7, several years ago.{{Cite web |last=Chang • • |first=David |date=2024-09-25 |title=Pa. Democratic Sen. Jimmy Dillon denies writing racist, homophobic tweets |url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/politics/pennsylvania-philadelphia-democratic-sen-jimmy-dillon-denies-writing-racist-homophobic-tweets/3979929/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=NBC10 Philadelphia |language=en-US}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania/joe-picozzi-wins-jimmy-dillon-state-senate-20241107.html|title=Republicans flip Northeast Philly state Senate seat, which Democrats called ‘the most embarrassing part’ of the election results|date=November 7, 2024|access-date=November 8, 2024|website=The Philadelphia Inquirer|last1=McGoldrick|first1=Gillian|last2=Orso|first2=Anna}}

References

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