Alan L. Butkovitz (born April 15, 1952) is an American politician from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he served as the

City Controller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level execut ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

from 2006 to 2018. He was also a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1991 to 2005.

Early life and education

Butkovitz was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family and is a 1969 graduate of Overbrook High School in Philadelphia. He graduated from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

in 1973 and earned a J.D. from

Temple University School of Law The Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law is the law school of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls about 530 students. Student body Admission for fall 2019 entering class was highly comp ...

in 1976.

Early career

Butkovitz graduated from

and earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from the

. Prior to holding elected office, Butkovitz was an Philadelphia attorney handling civil, criminal and environmental coverage cases. He was a partner of Gold, Butkovitz & Robbins P.C. In 1980, he won a first amendment case in U.S District Court Third Circuit that opened up the

Mummers Parade The Mummers Parade is held each New Year's Day in Philadelphia. Local clubs (usually called "New Years Associations" or "New Years Brigades") compete in one of five categories (Comics, Wench Brigades, Fancies, String Bands, and Fancy Brigades). ...

to women, minorities, and new entrants.

Pennsylvania General Assembly

Butkovitz served 15 years representing the 174th legislative district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Butkovitz led a three-year bipartisan investigation into violence in Philadelphia public school that led to creating the Office of the Safe School Advocate, the first of its kind in the nation with the authority to fight for victims of school violence and monitor the School District of Philadelphia’s compliance with the Safe Schools Act. During his first term, Butkovitz fought against his party's leadership to successfully repeal a tax requiring senior citizens to include

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

, pensions, and veteran's benefits as taxable income. In November 2005, he was elected Philadelphia City Controller and resigned his legislative seat effective December 31, 2005.

Philadelphia City Controller

Butkovitz won the 2005 Democratic Primary Election for Controller with 96% of the vote over John L Braxton. He went on to win the General Election, taking 72% of the vote in a three-way race. During his 2009 re-election campaign, Butkovitz faced Braxton and Brett Mandel in the Democratic Primary and claimed victory with 42% of the vote (a 12% margin over 2nd place Braxton). He defeated Republican Al Schmidt in the General Election, taking 72% of the vote. Butkovitz again faced two Democratic Primary opponents in 2013 - Mandel and Mark Zecca. In a primary where nearly $1 million was spent, Butkovitz was victorious and took 61% of the vote (a 30% margin over 2nd place Mandel). He defeated Republican Terry Tracy in the General Election by taking 82% of the vote. Butkovitz ran for re-election in the 2017 primary against Rebecca Rhynhart. Butkovitz lost in an upset to reform minded Rhynhart, 58%-41%.

Ward leader

Butkovitz is Ward Leader of the 54th Ward Democratic Executive Committee. Butkovitz ran in the 2019 Democratic primary for mayor against incumbent

Jim Kenney James Francis Kenney (born August 7, 1958) is an American politician who is the 99th Mayor of Philadelphia. Kenney was first elected on November 3, 2015, defeating his Republican rival Melissa Murray Bailey after winning the crowded Democratic ...

. He finished third in the race, taking 8.75%.

References

External links

Office of the Controller, City of Philadelphia, Controller Alan ButkovitzAlan Butkovitz for Philadelphia City Controller
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butkovitz, Alan Living people Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Politicians from Philadelphia 1952 births Temple University alumni Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni Jewish American state legislators in Pennsylvania 21st-century American Jews