'Condo king' Allan Domb files petitions to run for Philly City Council

Center City "condo king" Allan Domb, who U-Turn earlier reported was potentially eying a mayoral run, has filed today with the County Board of Elections to run as an at-large candidate in this year's City Council race, according to a statement that Domb's campaign emailed me this afternoon.

Domb, previously an independent, became a Democrat in mid-January.

Domb told me that he would be represented by longtime election attorney Gregory Harvey. The campaign indicated it turned in just short of 3,000 signatures in the filing.

In a prepared release, Domb said, "I am running for City Council because over the last 35 years, I've seen how far Philadelphia has come and I know how far we can go." He added, "I know that to solve some of Philadelphia's most pressing problems, it's going to take more than just having big ideas. It's going to require knowing how to accomplish big things -- which is what I do for a living. Throughout my career, I've never been afraid to dream big -- that's how you achieve big things."

Among other goals, Domb plans to use his background as a real estate broker to discuss tax collection from out-of-state landlords and how he intends to use that money to fund local education.

Domb founded Allan Domb Real Estate 35 years ago and is a partner in the Starr Restaurant Organization. He also serves as president of the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors.

Domb's PAC filing was first reported by politics blog Citified.

It's well known that Domb has brokered and developed some of Center City's most expensive properties and that Domb has the resources to self-fund his campaign. However, in what is expected to be a very crowded field of at-large candidates in the Democratic primary, it's expected that Domb is also going to garner the financial support of many of his clients and stakeholders.