48 Facts About Helen Gym

Helen Gym was the first Asian American woman to serve on the Philadelphia City Council.

Helen Gym was first elected to Council in 2015 and served until 2022, when she resigned to run in the Democratic primary of the 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election.

Helen Gym was born in Seattle, Washington, and raised in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio.

Helen Gym's parents were born in Korea and immigrated to the United States in the 1960s.

Helen Gym's father was a computer engineer who worked for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.

Helen Gym's mother worked in the food services department at Ohio State University.

When Helen Gym was growing up, the family attended the Protestant Korean Church.

Helen Gym attended the University of Pennsylvania and majored in history.

Helen Gym described her time in college as a time for learning that she is "an all-or-nothing kind of person"; she was on the dean's list one semester while she was on the verge of academic expulsion in another semester.

Helen Gym graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1993.

In 2000, Helen Gym led a campaign called the "Stadium Out of Chinatown Coalition" against the construction of a baseball stadium north of Chinatown, due to the fear that it might result in gentrification of the area.

Helen Gym has worked as a grassroots community organizer in Philadelphia and has been involved in education reform in the city since 2006.

Helen Gym is a member of the editorial board of Rethinking Schools and one of the founders of The Philadelphia Public School Notebook, a nonprofit, independent, free news service.

Helen Gym co-founded a charter school in Chinatown called the Folk Art Cultural Treasures School.

Helen Gym has organized in opposition to state-sponsored, predatory gambling.

In 2020, Helen Gym made a cameo on Netflix's Queer Eye to advise a young activist featured on the show.

In November 2015, Helen Gym was elected to the Philadelphia City Council as an at-large member.

Helen Gym's campaign was supported by labor leader Johnny Dougherty and IBEW Local 98.

Helen Gym ran on a platform of housing reform and education.

Helen Gym said that she was inspired to run in order to ensure that Philadelphia's communities have an equal voice to wealthy entities and lobbyists.

Helen Gym proposed a fair standard of living, especially for schoolchildren, and to combat hunger, lack of housing, and poverty.

Helen Gym authored Fair Workweek legislation which established regulations pertaining to scheduling of work for hourly workers.

Helen Gym stood by fellow councilmember Bobby Henon, who was indicted for political corruption along with labor leader Johnny Dougherty in 2019.

Helen Gym supported Henon's candidacy for majority leader of the Philadelphia City Council.

In 2018, after it became public that Helen Gym received the tickets, she amended her financial interest report to include the ticket.

Helen Gym joined Republican and moderate Democratic members of the City Council in 2019 to block a bill that would have required pharmaceutical sales representatives to register with the city and have their gifts to doctors be tracked.

Philadelphia Magazine speculated that Helen Gym's decisions could have been influenced by the fact her husband Bret Flaherty, is an attorney for AmerisourceBergen, a pharmaceutical company.

Helen Gym was criticized for not recusing herself from the vote because of a conflict of interest.

Helen Gym organized protests to oppose the closure of Hahnemann University Hospital in 2019.

In 2022, Helen Gym opposed the City Council's agreement to reduce wage and business taxes.

Helen Gym opposed reducing the Business Income and Receipts tax.

Helen Gym said the tax money could have been used for the fight against violence.

Helen Gym has proposed a city-wide wealth tax, which critics contend would encourage wealthy residents to move out of the city.

Helen Gym has argued that libraries are an investment in the youth and can be vital to combating violence.

Helen Gym opposed Mayor Jim Kenney's 2020 budget proposal that would increase police funding by $14 million.

Helen Gym supported the Driving Equality Bill in 2022, which prohibits police from pulling over cars for various traffic violations including broken taillights and outdated registrations.

In 2022, Helen Gym authored legislation that was passed to address the matter of ensuring clean drinking water in Philadelphia schools.

On November 29,2022, Helen Gym resigned from Council in an anticipated run for the Democratic nomination in the 2023 Philadelphia mayoral election.

Helen Gym's candidacy has been endorsed by a number of teachers unions including the American Federation of Teachers and organizations including the Working Families Party and the University of Pennsylvania Young Democratic Socialists of America.

Helen Gym's candidacy was endorsed by national politicians including Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Helen Gym has proposed a number of progressive ideas including guaranteed jobs for those under the age of 30, city-funding for block parties and funerals and a city-wide therapist program.

Helen Gym has released a $10 billion plan for improvements to Philadelphia public schools.

However, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Helen Gym has not laid out a plan for how she would fund these programs and she has been non-committal on if she would change the city's tax structure.

In January 2023, Helen Gym condemned the Union League for gifting Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis an award.

Nutter criticized Helen Gym for co-founding a charter school in 2005, but while on the City Council opposing the opening of new charter schools in primarily Black neighborhoods.

Nutter accused Helen Gym of self-aggrandizing for how she talked about herself during the debate.

The Editorial Board expressed apprehension at Helen Gym saying "I think there are significant dollars that are currently available, but we don't have a commitment or a plan right now" when speaking on how she would fund her guaranteed jobs plan.

Helen Gym was handcuffed and detained in 2021 at the Pennsylvania State Capitol while protesting alongside education advocates.