Philly Councilmember Isaiah Thomas says big primary win feels something like vindication

For Philadelphia City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, winning the Democratic primary election with more votes than any other Council candidate on the ballot was bittersweet.

“I can’t help but think about the person who couldn’t vote for me this Tuesday,” Thomas said, referring to his mother who died earlier this month, just days before the May 16 primary.

But even in the throes of grief, Thomas accomplished a commanding win. He came in first place in a field of 27 contenders, despite a low ballot position, and is poised to win a second term in the November general election.

Thomas became just the second at-large City Council candidate since 1987 to receive more than 100,000 votes in a Democratic primary. His 107,315 votes in the unofficial tally means he likely finished just shy of the 108,604 votes that former City Councilmember Helen Gym won in 2019 when she ran for reelection. Gym, a leader of the city’s progressive movement, ran for mayor this year and came in third in a crowded primary field.

Turnout was higher this year than in 2019 given the competitive mayor’s race, so while Thomas captured 13% of the vote, Gym won 16% in 2019.

Still, Thomas said in an interview that he sees his win as something of a vindication. He has spent months defending his signature piece of legislation, Philadelphia’s “driving equality” law, which reclassified some low-level traffic violations with the goal of reducing racial disparities in traffic stops.

Philadelphia was the first major U.S. city to ban some so-called pretextual stops, a tactic that law enforcement agencies have encouraged as a means of searching cars for illegal guns or drugs. Some critics have suggested the law has made the city less safe, but Thomas has vigorously defended it.

“I 100% see this as an endorsement of driving equality,” he said of last week’s election.

» READ MORE: See the full Democratic primary election results here

But he said the result is also indicative of his ability to build a coalition, noting that while some progressive supporters like his racial justice work, others — like moderate Democrats — support his advocacy for lowering business and wage taxes.

Thomas, a longtime youth basketball coach, unsuccessfully ran for Council twice before he was elected in 2019. At 38, he’s among the youngest members of Council.

Going into his second term, Thomas said his top priority is public education, citing crumbling schools, six of which closed this spring due to environmental hazards. He said stronger schools are an anti-violence measure, and that having a more robust pipeline to jobs could help the city address a widespread short-staffing problem across the municipal government.

Thomas currently chairs Council’s education committee, and said he intends to seek another leadership role.

What he ends up with could depend, in part, on who is the next Council president. Darrell L. Clarke, the current president, is retiring at the end of the year. At least three incumbents — Kenyatta Johnson, Curtis Jones Jr., and Mark Squilla — are angling for the job.

Democratic primary voters nominated five candidates for the seven-member at-large slate. Republicans nominated five as well, and the GOP will battle members of the liberal Working Families Party in November for the two at-large seats that are effectively reserved for minor parties.