Troubled state Sen. Jimmy Dillon (D-Philadelphia) finds himself in hot water yet again as social media posts surface featuring the use of the “N” word, as well as other problematic phrases.
Dillon entered the state Senate in a 2022 special election after the sitting Democrat senator was appointed to the bench. His brother Shawn was going to fill the vacancy, but was bumped from the ballot after he failed to file documents required under the state’s ethics laws. Party insiders then picked Jimmy to replace Shawn.
With his first general election looming, Dillon’s past is becoming part of the Senate District 5 race. First came reports of Dillon having an outstanding arrest warrant from the state of New Jersey for failure to pay his fines for traffic offenses and failure to appear in court.
Now, the 45-year-old Democrat is facing questions about social media posts from a decade ago using problematic language under his @Hoops24_7 Twitter handle.
“This n*gga really a 7ft two guard,” Dillon posted on Twitter (though without the asterisk.) “He playing like he is on tour with And1.. Unguardable.”
The Hoops24_7 is a reference to “a basketball academy that helps children learn everything from fundamentals to elaborate skills,” according to reports. Dillon is a ward leader and operates the Hoops 24-7 Basketball Academy.
In another post, Dillon wrote, “@JonDaBB got 2 parties.. Need that n*gga on board for the facility .. Big Hoops 365 staff meeting on a Friday night…”
Dillon also used “gay” as an insult in one message.
“@Jessejane you know who will be in the house,” Dillon wrote. “Jesse, @Jon daBB and tell him to stop being gay and take off work and party with us.”
There were also some unflattering references to Asians.
“The revelation of Jimmy Dillon’s past use of the N-word is unsettling,” said PA SRCC Executive Director Cody Harbaugh. “Let’s be clear, this was not a teenager making a mistake or a single comment taken out of context. This was a grown man in his 30s casually using the N-word and making disgusting jokes repeatedly on his social media. We can only wonder what Jimmy Dillon is saying behind closed doors if this is the kind of language he’ll post publicly for the world to see.
“And African Americans aren’t the only ones subject to his offensive slurs and remarks. Dillon has made disparaging comments about the LGBT and Asian communities,” Harbaugh said.
DVJournal reached out to the Dillon campaign late Monday night. Soon after, the tweets were deleted from the account.
Dillon is facing off against 28-year-old Somerton resident Republican Joe Picozzi.
Meanwhile, Republicans continue to press their case against Dillon.
“Based on his past actions, the residents of Northeast Philadelphia have serious reason to question Jimmy Dillon’s ability to be an unbiased legislator who represents all people in the Northeast,” Harbaugh said.
“His behavior is disqualifying, period. We call on Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa and the Senate Democrat Campaign Committee to swiftly condemn Jimmy Dillon and his use of vile slurs and remarks.”
