PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt is leaving his post to become the president and CEO of the election watchdog organization Committee of Seventy.
Schmidt, who is the vice chairman of the bipartisan Board of Elections, had already decided not to run for another term when he was thrust into the spotlight during the 2020 election.
He became the defender of Philadelphia’s elections against baseless charges of fraud by the Trump campaign — and, consequently, was thrown into the crosshairs of some unhinged believers in the former president’s lies.
Still, he would not have stepped down early, he said, if the job at Committee of Seventy had not opened.
“It just seemed like a natural fit,” he said. “It’s a way to continue to serve the citizens of Philadelphia and to combat the kind of disinformation and misinformation we’ve seen that threatens to undermine our democracy.”
Indeed, his colleague, City Commissioners chair Lisa Deeley, said she can’t think of a better fit.
“He is full of integrity and he really appreciates the electoral process and is really an advocate for free and fair elections,” she said. “He operates always from a position of fairness, not from a partisan position, and I think that really makes him unique in this world.”
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The current Committee of Seventy head, David Thornburgh, who has led the group since 2014, announced in July that he would be stepping down and taking a different role within the organization.
Schmidt will begin as CEO in January.
Mayor Jim Kenney gets to appoint Schmidt’s successor. Those close to the commissioners are advocating for Schmidt’s assistant, Seth Bluestine.