Allan Domb

Domb was born in 1955 in Jersey City, New Jersey, the second son of Edward Domb and Betty Schlesinger Domb.[1] Domb's father and grandfather worked in the embroidery business.[1] The family relocated to nearby Fort Lee, New Jersey, soon after Domb's birth. Domb and his older brother, Peter, embarked on a series of odd jobs from a young age, shining shoes, shoveling snow, and mowing lawns.[2] He graduated from Fort Lee High School in 1973 and started college at American University in Washington, D.C. Domb took evening classes there and worked full-time selling security systems for Phelps Time Lock Service in Hyattsville, Maryland.[2] He graduated in 1977 with a marketing degree and continued to work for Phelps, being transferred to Philadelphia to manage the company's office in that city.[2]

To earn extra money while managing the Phelps office, Domb earned a real estate license at Temple University.[2] As the real estate business became more profitable, he quit the security business job and sold real estate full time, opening his own office in 1983.[2] Domb specialized in real estate near Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square and soon became well known among property buyers and sellers in that neighborhood.[1] He was elected president of the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors (GPAR) in 1990, the youngest president that organization had ever elected.[3] After success in real estate sales, Domb expanded into real estate development in 1999, and worked with restaurateur Stephen Starr to develop restaurants in Philadelphia.[4]

Domb in 2016

Domb was again elected president of the GPAR in 2013, by which time he had acquired the nickname "Philly Condo King."[2] In his second term as GPAR president, he worked with Mayor Michael Nutter and the city government on ideas to collect delinquent property taxes and attract new residents to the city.[3] He also worked with City Council President Darrell L. Clarke to determine the market value and ultimate disposition of some of the city's inactive school buildings.[5] Even after entering politics, Domb remained active in the real estate business, purchasing a 19-story office building in April 2016.[6]

Nutter was term-limited, so the office of mayor would be open in the 2015 election. Domb, a registered independent, was said to be "testing the waters" as a possibly independent or Republican candidate for mayor.[7] Instead, in May of that year, Domb announced he would run as a Democrat for one of the city's seven at-large council seats.[8] Pledging some of his vast personal wealth to the cause, Domb described his goals in office: "We will talk about collecting taxes from out-of-state landlords and using that money to fund our schools. New job training programs. And partnering with our universities to mentor our children."[8][9]

In the primary election that month, Domb placed third, winning one of the five Democratic nominations.[10] In the general election in the majority-Democratic city, Domb again placed third, earning a seat on the council.[10] In office, Domb continued to search for solution to the city's large number of tax-delinquent properties.[5]

Domb resigned from City Council on August 15, 2022, as prelude to an expected run for mayor in 2023.[11] On November 15, 2022, he declared his candidacy for the Mayoral race.[12]

• List of members of Philadelphia City Council since 1952

• "Previous Election Results". Resources & Data. Office of the Philadelphia City Commissioners. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
• Adelman, Jacob (April 18, 2016). "Domb buys 1525 Locust for $17M". Philly.com. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
• Featherman, John (January 18, 2015). "Is 'Mayor Domb' in Philly's future?". Philly.com. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
• Kerkstra, Patrick (May 5, 2015). "Allan Domb Throws Big Bucks Into Council Campaign". Philadelphia. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
• Otterbein, Holly (May 10, 2015). "It's Official: Allan Domb Is Running for Council". Philadelphia. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
• Platt, Larry (March 25, 2016). "Has Allan Domb Lost His Mind?". The Philadelphia Citizen. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
• Rooney, Shannon (April 10, 2013). "Property Profiles: Condo King Allan Domb". Philadelphia. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
• Rothschild, Barbabra (March 31, 2015). "Real Estate Mahoffs: A Developing Story". Jewish Exponent. Philadelphia. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
• Van Zuylen-Wood, Simon (October 11, 2015). "Allan Domb: The Condo King". Philadelphia. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
• West, Tony (November 24, 2015). "Allan Domb Wants His Council Career To Make Philadelphia Great". Philadelphia Public Record. Retrieved May 11, 2016.