Councilmember Isaiah Thomas says he ‘fundamentally’ disagrees with Mayor Cherelle Parker’s housing plan
The Council member’s critical comments came at a crucial juncture for the mayor’s signature H.O.M.E. proposal.
City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas said Wednesday he “fundamentally disagree[s]” with Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s plan for the city to issue $800 million in bonds to support her signature housing proposal, the first instance of a Philadelphia lawmaker publicly opposing the plan.
“I just want to put on the record that I’m adamantly against $800 million,” Thomas said at a Finance Committee meeting as Council finagled final details of the city budget. “I think that that is not the direction that we should be going in right now.”
Several Council members have previously voiced concerns about Parker’s Housing Opportunities Made Easy, or H.O.M.E., initiative. But Thomas’ comments were the most forceful to date, and they came at the legislative eleventh hour.
Council scheduled a full day of committee meetings Wednesday, the deadline for bills to get preliminary approval if they are to pass before lawmakers adjourn for summer recess on June 12. Parker has asked Council to consider the H.O.M.E. initiative alongside her $6.7 billion budget proposal and tax plans for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
As the hearings unfolded in Council chambers Wednesday, legislative and executive staffers spent the day negotiating behind closed doors over the budget and housing packages, with the goal of reaching deals on both matters that could receive committee approval Wednesday night. The Finance Committee recessed Wednesday afternoon without taking a vote on the bond authorization, but it was expected to reconvene for final votes.
Other members, including Council President Kenyatta Johnson, have praised Parker’s housing plan, and it is unlikely a majority would vote against a major initiative to tackle one of the city’s most pressing issues. But if other lawmakers share Thomas’ concerns about H.O.M.E.’s price tag, it is possible they will scale back the size of the bond authorization.
Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson, who chairs the Finance Committee, said it was “a robust hearing.”
“I’m appreciative of Councilmember Thomas’ questioning at the hearing today and all the questions that were raised around historical context of borrowing for plans and projects of this size,” she said in an interview. “I am philosophically in alignment and agreement with the goals of the H.O.M.E. plan. I may not be in agreement of $800 million.”
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Thomas noted that Philadelphia is beset by a variety of challenges — including education, poverty, gun violence, and SEPTA’s funding woes — and that he is unconvinced that housing is the policy area that alone deserves this kind of attention.
“I don’t see us pouring a billion dollars into those [other] crises,” Thomas said. “I’m hoping that the admin is open to a dialogue around possibly approving a part of [the $800 million] now, because you have folks like me who are skeptical about the entire concept.”
Thomas’ critiques crystallized long-simmering concerns from some lawmakers about the cost of Parker’s plan, which would result in annual debt service payments of at least $65 million, and questions over whether it is wise to spend so much money when President Donald Trump has threatened to reduce federal funding to cities.
“Noting that we have never spent $200 million in one year for any of these programs over the historical life of the city, why is there a rush on borrowing $800 million?” Gilmore Richardson asked during the hearing.
If Council approves the housing bills, the Parker administration plans to issue $400 million in bonds this fall and another $400 million two years later. The borrowing costs to city taxpayers would amount to more than $500 million over two decades.
The Finance Committee includes several members who have expressed skepticism about Parker’s debt-financing plan, and the vote expected Wednesday night was seen as likely a more significant hurdle for the mayor than the full Council vote that would take place next week, if the legislation advances.
Progressive Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier and Rue Landau, who are not on the finance panel, attended the committee meeting to speak in favor of H.O.M.E.
“I don’t always agree with the mayor on philosophical issues or ideological issues,” said Gauthier, who represents much of West Philadelphia and chairs the housing committee. “But I am squarely behind her on this. … We will not get to where we want to be from a housing perspective if we don’t make a bold investment.”
Gauthier said Philadelphians needs to address the loss of unsubsidized affordable housing in the city, displacement of lower-income residents in redeveloping neighborhoods, and the challenges of paying for repairs for lower-income homeowners.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Finance Director Rob Dubow, a top Parker appointee who bore the brunt of Thomas’ criticisms, downplayed the exchange as “healthy back-and-forth” and “all part of the process,” adding that he was confident the H.O.M.E. bond authorization was on track for approval despite Thomas’ comments.
Despite his full-throated condemnation of the plan during the hearing, Thomas told reporters afterward that he had not yet made a final decision on how he will vote on the bond bill.
“I can’t even say where I’m at definitely right now, but I think that there’s a lot of questions,” Thomas said.
Thomas said that he was not encouraging his colleagues to vote for or against the bill.
“I am 100% not whipping votes,” he said.