Penrose Hollins to run for NCCo. Council President

With incumbent Chris Bullock demurring on reelection, Karen Hartly Nagle was briefly alone in the race to become the next County Council President. No longer:

Hollins said he was motivated to seek the council president seat after an outpouring of encouragement from residents made it feel like a “duty.” “It was unbelievable how many people were encouraging me. It is something I wanted to,” Hollins said. […] Hollins said the president’s position is not one of great power, but can motivate council to be a strong counterbalance to the influence of the executive branch.

“I believe the citizens deserve to have a strong executive branch and a strong legislative branch. It is important we have those dual branches of government for oversight,” Hollins said.

Hollins is the council’s longest-serving member having first taken office in 1990. He also previously held a Wilmington City Council seat in the early 1980s and previously ran an unsuccessful campaign for council president. […[ Hollins is retired following a 30-year career as a research technician at DuPont’s Experimental Station near Wilmington. He spent five years as a medic in the U.S. Army and is a founding member of Canaan Baptist Church on Del. 9, south of Wilmington. Hollins also serves on the Board of Directors for the Wilmington Hope Commission, a community revitalization organization.

County Executive Tom Gordon is so far running unopposed for a fourth term (though his terms are nonconsecutive since Chris Coons served between 2004 and 2010), though there was some talk of former Chief Administration Officer David Grimaldi entering the race earlier. Half of the County Council seats are also up for election.