Let’s be honest: Mike Purzycki only represents people who come to Wilmington to build their already huge fortunes, but who don’t live here. People of substantial economic means who offend easily. People who apparently are offended by panhandlers. Not the circumstances that lead to the need to ask for money, but the people in such dire circumstances who have the nerve to ask the elite for pocket change.
Oh, Purzycki doesn’t come right out and say so, but his entire term has been devoted to fulfilling the dreams of Buccini/Pollin, regardless of how that impacts people who live in the City. Mayor Mike, of course, passes the buck:
Experts in the intersection of law and poverty said the practice is unusual, inhumane and ineffective. In an interview last week, Wilmington police Chief Robert Tracy stood by the practice. Mayor Mike Purzycki said he trusted the judgment of his Police Department and the courts.
In Buccini/Pollin World, the buck doesn’t stop with the mayor, and the bucks keep flowing into his campaign coffers.
Thankfully, and talk about two breaths of fresh air, incoming senators Darius Brown and Tizzie Lockman aren’t buying this inhumane doubletalk.
Senator Brown:
Incoming Sen. Darius Brown said panhandling points to “a systemic failure of education, criminal justice, health care and the economy.”
“We didn’t get here overnight, and we won’t fix it overnight either,” he said in an email. “But poverty isn’t somebody else’s problem, it’s our problem.”
Senator Lockman:
“To see people essentially being treated as blight is something I find to be alarming,” said Lockman, whose district covers downtown Wilmington. “It says something concerning about our values as a city, and as a state, that I think we need to reflect on.”
If they don’t already realize it, Brown and Lockman will soon possess levers to force changes in this policy. Levers with dollar signs attached. I encourage them to use those levers and, of course, to encourage a humane challenger to Buccini/Pollin’s mayor. One challenger. Not five or six.