Wilmington Mayoral Debate on Public Safety
Last Thursday evening, there was another debate among the Mayoral candidates for Wilmington (except the current Mayor — who apparently does not think he needs to explain or be accountable for his dismal record in this area). This one was focused on public safety and was sponsored by the News Journal and WHYY and held at the Grand. There have been quite a few debates/ public forums for Mayoral candidates in the last month or so, reflecting the very high interest in this race around town. It is a perfect situation for the kind of retail politics that Delaware is famous for and is a perfect setup for all of the organizations around town who feel that they need to work at supporting the public conversation. What you know from talking to people at these events is that there is a great deal of sensitivity about the crossroads Wilmington seems to be on and a great deal of motivation to try to choose someone who will move the City in a much better direction. Public safety is a very large issue — but it is almost always entwined with discussions on education, re-entry, jobs. This is important, I think, because it indicates that many of the most interested voters in Wilmington understand that public safety is a complex issue and that city government has not been a good leader in addressing these issues. While reducing shootings and other criminal behavior is a priority, Wilmingtonians seem ready to hear about long-term prevention strategies as well.
Mayor Williams extends his track record of working to get Wilmingtonians to fall for his usual okie doke — this time running away from a venue where he might have to defend his poor record. Remember that it was his promises on improving public safety that was the whole foundation of his run for Mayor. It seems that the Mayor has no intention of participating in debates this round — he claims that he doesn’t get enough time to respond to criticism. Right? Mayor Williams can’t participate by the rules, so he takes his okie doke ball, goes home and files for the office as a way of getting some attention. Any questions on why the hard stuff isn’t getting done in Wilmington?
Anyway, this debate focused entirely on the public safety question in Wilmington. Again, all of the candidates support some version of community policing (with only Young, Kelley and Cabrera offering any visions of what that might look like). The night’s questioning started out with a very interesting question asked of Eugene Young and Norm Griffiths — and that was whether or not you were scared when you saw police lights in the rear view mirror (the questioner said he was). Young noted that he has lots of relationships with WPD officers, so he isn’t especially fearful, but understood those who do. Mainly because they don’t have the kinds of relationships that enhance respect and understanding and that is what he wants from community policing. Griffiths said he wasn’t fearful (he’s an ex-cop), unless he is violating some traffic law, but he would likely be fearful in another jurisdiction. The next interesting question was posed to Mike Purzycki on how to scale up the work of the Hope Commission. While he’s very proud of how this group has evolved, he was uncertain if it could scale up because of the personal nature of the programs. He did want to see the program extended to the rest of the state and noted that re-entry programs were very cost effective in relation to the cost of imprisonment. Bobby Marshall was asked this same question and got lost in his answer. He wandered through a discussion of a Wilmington Trade School, his Work a Day, Earn a Pay program and public money to do public works projects. He was refocused on the question and pretty much said that the state has to provide more funds and support. Young got in this conversation by noting that there are already alot of organizations doing good work in this area. People don’t know about these organizations and there needs to be re-entry coordination to help people to connect to the resources that exist.
Gregory was asked what the city could do to impact the circumstances that led to the Howard High incidents. He had a litany of programs that he rattled off, accompanied by better law enforcement and then he went into a better WPD management team. It was pretty clear that he was throwing a bunch of answers at this. Maria Cabrera set her tone for the evening by forcefully reiterating what people are feeling (parents, especially) and then her solution was to hold people accountable with no plan to do so.
A question to Norm Griffiths on a Metro PD, had him responding that having the NCCoPD in the city on a periodic and focused basis was a good idea, bit as an ongoing operation. He thought that the collaboration between the NCCoPD and WPD was often difficult because the NCCoPD didn’t know the city — but that Wilmington had the resources to police the city, they just needed to be used better. Kevin Kelley thinks that there can be shared resources on shared problems — gangs, homicides. He wants to change the WPD leadership to one more focused on delivering solutions that may work. Cabrera did a long story about how her son witnessed a crime and didn’t want to report it and how a neighbor to the young man who was recently shot has camera footage that he won’t turn over, nor will he speak to the WPD. She talked about strengthening relationships and when asked how that gets done, she responded with what I like to call the “police cuteness” — basketball coaching, running man challenges as well as sitting at the table together. Theo Gregory forgot the question (partially because Cabrera went on and on and didn’t seem to answer the question until late, but still). His answer was to be an Ambassador for the city (?), changing the culture of the WPD and creating an office at the French St building where people could come to report problems.
Kevin Kelley was asked what 3 items from the WPSSC report that he would implement — Community Police, the Crime Center (open it up to everyone), greater accountability for everyone (leading by example, changing the culture). Cabrera pointed to Philly as a good predictive policing model and again talked about an old deployment plan developed by Bud Freel and Kevin Kelley (and a consultant) that would put officers routinely in the same area so there is some continuity of problem solving. First, it would be good to make sure that the people who came up with this got credit and even better to talk about how this gets implemented — the last time this was on the agenda, the WPD got more officers and more equipment, but the neighborhoods did not get the level of policing they thought they were signing up for. She does have a plan — she didn’t really answer how much of the WPSSC report she’d implement — and noted that her selected Police Chief was already reviewing this plan. The media present didn’t follow up on this interesting bit of info to ask who that person was. Gregory took a page out of some old Management 101 book to say that he would have a plan, he would stick to the plan, put in a good management team, and followup. But not much on the WPSSC document. Young wants to make sure that as many sworn officers are doing real police work as possible — getting IT and HR and other functions that could be at least partially in the hands of civilians. He also notes that much like the Philly effort, it is important to have better training in de-escalation, crisis intervention. Kevin Kelley notes that the mayor has to have a real plan and that has to be executed. He also notes the there needs to be things for young people to do. Purzycki notes that the WPSSC doesn’t criticize the Mayor’s various plans, but does criticize their execution. Griffiths wants to hire a good Chief and also hire good leadership for the rest of the departments. Marshall wants to put cameras in the front and back of cars and implement body cameras. He would engage Lou Schilliro to hire a new Chief.
The next question was also very good — asking Young about how to change the culture where the idea that “snitches get stitches” is more important than getting the bad guys off of the streets. Young noted that the people critiquing the folks who won’t talk don’t live in these communities where the danger is quite real. He says that you change this by getting officers more engaged with residents and residents with officers and building more trusting relationships. He also notes that WPD officers will still come to the door of someone who called an incident in even tough the caller told the dispatcher that he didn’t want anyone at the door. That’s a training issue, but it is tough to create trusting relationships where this still happens. Purzycki answered this question by pivoting to root causes — educational attainment, employment, etc. Kelley interestingly called on ministers and preachers to step up — he noted that they frequently disappear after Sunday and can be a more stabilizing force in their communities. Gregory went off on a tangent on how the Feds (he kept reminding everyone that he was a Federal prosecutor) know how to protect snitches. Here I think he missed the point. Cabrera wants to put substations in neighborhoods again, put more cops on corners and house cops in vacant houses. Marshall wants to change the culture of the WPD and hire a Chief outside of the WPD.
Fireworks erupted when candidates were asked how they would create a productive relationship with City Council around Public Safety issues. Gregory started off by talking about how he operates the current council (weekly, bi-weekly meetings, working together) but this is difficult with a Mayor who isn’t committed to this level of communication and who is afraid to face what people may say. Griffiths notes that there are potentially seven City council vacancies upcoming so a new council will need to work together and probably needs some training. Purzycki was asked what kind of relationship he has with Council and he said he had none. People don’t get along because there is no unifying vision. Kelley has 20 years in Council and noted that no one fro the RDC ever went to a Council meeting. Purzycki shot back with the question — Why should I? Young noted that we all live so close to each other, but we are so far apart. It was important to pick your priority issues and get Council, NCCo, city delegation on the same page in order to make the achievements wanted. Gregory jumped in to say that he always talked with everyone (including some percentages of time he spends with folks — but he did not explain how all of his communication failed to include his Finance Chair in the discussions of the budget “compromise”). Marshall complained that after he got $750K for the new WPD Data Center that he was not invited to the grand opening.
Fireworks were generally avoided in the question about the AGs conclusions on the McDole shooting. There seemed to be consensus that this situation should have been handled better, with more references to more community policing, better training of officers and agreement that the Feds should certainly review the case. Purzycki largely avoided the question by pivoting back to economic change. Eugene Young was the only one who discussed a review and revision of the WPD Use of Force policy, referencing the rewrite and update of the Philly PD policy after a DoJ review.
There were fireworks around the question of how can you assure voters that you have the experience to tackle crime? Young focused on bringing a new perspective to the table — one not part of the city’s musical chairs and one that is in a position to challenge the current culture to change and who can attract some of the best and brightest to work on ideas to improve the city’s safety. He reminded people that tackling crime is about better policing AND about rethinking criminal justice issues. Theo Gregory was asked if this was enough and he said No. He responded by saying that there were nuances to government in the city that were vital and you also need to know the history and you need time to get these things. Young made the point that the only mayor who has a statue erected to him in town is one for Tom Maloney who was 29 when elected. Age doesn’t dictate the impact you can have and he pointed out that Wait Your Turn politics is how we got to this place of crisis. You also can’t make a big effort to attract millennials to town and then tell them that they can’t be mayor. Good ideas are good ideas no matter where they come from. Purzycki said in the private sector for a job like this, Young’s resume wouldn’t get past the door. And then he noted that the 131 years of “experience” on the dais had their hands on the wheel as the city declined. Cabrera criticized Purzycki and the RDC — that they spent lots of money, never reached out to the rest of the community (and she said that there are few black and brown people working in the restaurants at the Riverfront) and that we have to elect someone with common sense. Gregory chimed in to say he was not part of the problem, the current Mayor is. Kelley reiterated the need for change and that people already call him the Mini-Mayor because he has a reputation of fighting for the people. Young ended this exchange by noting that this is still all about our neighborhoods and our kids. He runs a non-profit and comes to the table with a larger vision and some experience in pulling people together to get a larger problem solved. Age is not a prequalifier for affecting change.
The Cattle Call:
Who’s Competitive:
Eugene Young — He continues to prove that he is serious and belongs at the table. The fact that he has a 360 degree view of improving public safety is a definite plus and a strong signal on changing the public safety status quo. He’s embraced the management recommendations of the WPSSC and released his own Public Safety Plan for Wilmington that reflects this 360 degree view.
Kevin Kelley — to his credit, he has been pretty much on the same message since 2012. I wasn’t sure whether to include him here or in the Rethink category — Kevin speaks specifically about deployment numbers and locations which hints to me that he would also micromanage the WPD. We definitely want Community Policing and improved service, but his specificity doesn’t leave much room for a Chief to do a job, right? He does get the issues and does have a broader solution. Kevin connected better with this audience than Ezion Fair, but he still isn’t quite on his usual game in these venues (that I have seen).
Who Needs to Rethink Their Strategy:
Mike Purzycki — Economic development and root causes are fine, but people need to feel safe on the streets. The Riverfront and Market St have had focused policing for a few years now, so maybe he doesn’t know this isn’t the same across the rest of the city. The dismissal of anyone having to go to City Council from RDC was very telling — even though RDC has asked for city support of some of its projects, they could presume everyone would line up for them. They didn’t need to explain themselves or ask for support in person, because why wouldn’t the council support them? You can see here how the Riverfront is a symbol of how the rest of the city got ignored to make the Riverfront go. The Hope Commission has been controversial, but I think has been more focused of late — it is a mistake not to be able to talk about scaling up this kind of work.
Who Needs to Drop Out:
Bobby Marshall — seriously, I am not sure why he is in now. He sounds as though he is running for his current job rather than Mayor of Wilmington. Personally, it is appalling to me that he wants to criticize this Mayor on Public Safety when he (and McDowell) would not stand with the rest of the Wilmington delegation to twist the Mayor’s arm into implementing the WPSSC recommendations. Would not do it. Instead, he went off to find $750K to throw at the WPD for a Data Center. A needed Data Center, but I doubt that anyone knows if this was well done and certainly the Mayor dissed Marshall at the opening. So Marshall’s plan to be the hero of this Data Center is thwarted AND the WPSSC isn’t well implemented. Marshall should be disqualified just based on that.
Norm Griffiths — I think he held his own better here, but still had no ideas to put on the table. He didn’t automatically agree with everyone as previous, but he still didn’t have anything to add to the conversation.
Maria Cabrera — She won’t file. And she is becoming the Donald Trump (as a friend observed) of this race. Lots of passionate button pushing in the house, but little in terms of policy or new ideas in evidence.
Theo Gregory — Not much here except it is his turn. Gregory went out of his way to own the mess of a budget that passed and just based on that he should disqualify himself. Why he wanted to help own it is anyone’s guess — especially since what passed as “compromise” is an elaborate kicking of the can down the road. There was no leadership in evidence here, just rearranging of the deck chairs. I’m also going to observe that while he is rattling off the programs and the offices he wants to implement, he hasn’t done much to queue up a budget that might have some room for that. And he displays every bit of the Wilmington Leadership Deficit — instead of figuring out how to make the current resources work better for Wilmingtonians, he wants to recreate that capacity. More turf building that Wilmingtonians will pay for and won’t be accountable to you, either. *This* is the kind of thing that won’t get your resume through the front door.
Dennis Williams — if you can’t be bothered to debate your opponents and deal with your own promises and track record, you don’t deserve re-election. Period.
Tags: Eugene Young, Featured, Kevin Kelley, Maria Cabrera, Mayor Dennis Williams, Mike Purzycki, Norman Griffiths, Sen. Bob Marshall, Theo Gregory
thanks for this, cassandra.
Cassandra–great post. Here’s my question: Are you saying that only Young and Kelley are viable as candidates, or are you saying that you view them as the only two candidates who have demonstrated that they could be successful mayors?
That’s a good question. I think that right now I am making this list as an alternate Cattle Call — who seems viable as a candidate, who needs to rethink and who needs to drop out. There’s alot of opportunistic energy focused on this race and I want to call that out.
But I do think that the Young and Kelley would be in the top tier for Mayoral success too. Young is the genuinely progressive candidate, I think, and comes to this from being up close to progressive change (Cory Booker and his non-profit work), Which also gives him a better rolodex, I think. He would be able to reach out to great staff with great ideas (you should see his campaign staff) and a commitment to changing the world. Or at least Wilmington. That said, I do think that where Kelley was the candidate to beat back in the fall, I do think that some of his support has eroded. How much, I don’t know.
I saw Mike Castle at the Memorial Day parade yesterday with what looked (from perhaps 10 feet away) suspiciously similar to a Mike Purzyki for Mayor button on his lapel. So if anyone needed another reason to disqualify the Buccini Pollin candidate, there you go. I, personally, didn’t need another reason.
Castle was strolling along with James Spadola, Republican candidate for State Senate (D-1). If you needed another reason to disqualify Spadola he was a Newark cop.
If anyone can actually confirm that Castle has either officially or unofficially endorsed “gentrifying Mike” Purzyki please do.
Purzycki has adopted that blue & green color scheme so favored by Castle R’s during his heyday. Gee, wonder who’s doing his signs. Charlie? Charlie?
Excellent blogging, Cassandra. Thanks for doing this.
No idea who Castle is supporting, but Purzycki was courting a roomful of Rs and Is a week or two back according to his FB page.
An unimpeachable source has confirmed that Castle has a Purzycki sign in front of his house.
Mike Castle was indeed sporting a Purzycki sticker at yesterday’s parade. Additionally, Mike Castle’s wife is the leader, or a leader, of Republicans for Purzycki, a group that had encouraged city Republicans to switch parties in order to vote for Purzycki in the fractured primary. That she was unable to convert her own husband likely made her overtures to other (R)s less than convincing. The centerpiece of Purzycki’s strategy is to get a substantial portion of the City’s 5,000 Rs to switch parties and vote for him. Seems to me the best way to get Republicans to vote for you in the primary is to, you know, run as a Republican. If I were a Republican, I’d be asking why he wants 5,000 of us to switch when one of him could have switched.
I wish he’d have run as an R, frankly. My guess is that he surveyed the scene and concluded his own best shot was getting a few thousand votes in the primary. But in doing so, he’s put the City at risk for another Williams term when he could have been a bulwark against Williams in the general.
Is it possible to figure out how many city residents switched parties by the deadline? This could be an accurate predictor of Purzycki’s success. If there were more than 3,000 switches, he’s a force to reckoned with. Fewer than 1,000 and I’d say he has no shot.
There was an effort among a number of activist voters to encourage Wilmington R voters to switch to be able to vote against Williams. I think there is a way to get that number and will look into it.
But I’m with you on why wouldn’t he have switched. I noted the last Mayor race, that the Rs had an excellent shot with the right candidate. They still might, but they have to take the field in some credible way.
Eugene should relocate to Newark, NJ and follow in Bookers steps. His resume isn’t sufficient to be Mayor in this war zone.
So lets get this straight–Mike Castle is supporting both Donald Trump and Mike Purzycki….????? Crazy. Mike needs to just retire. I forgot, the voters already did that for him..
I was actually glad the the current mayor was a no-show. The others had time and space to make their case….or not.
Young has to be the presumptive favorite based on the energy he brought to the room and the number of pre-planned shots the others were taking at him. He needs to work on his closing statement. I thought Purzycki’s was much stronger and invoked the fear factor in a direct shot at Young. He will need to have a better answer to that – he has a target on his back now.
I was also impressed with Kelley. His statement on community policing and relating it to the McDole shooting was memorable.
There were people in the audience mocking Gregory (counting out loud the number of times he mentioned he was a prosecutor) which I thought was classless. He was the only one (I think) who mentioned the WEIC and re-doing the funding formula for poverty-stricken kids which I expected to be a much bigger issue.
I might flip/flop Purzycki and Kelley but Young is the person to beat.
Also wanted to say I thought the questioners and moderator did an excellent job – short, relevant to the point questions then got out of the way.
Not only is Kelleys plan the best offered he as always thinks of the whole picture by bringing the fire department into the discussion.
Kevin Kelley will win the Primary. Kevin hustles, is visible, accessible, the voters like him and that’s what counts. He’s the man to beat.
Mike Purzycki has no chance of winning the Primary Election. Most of his supporters either can’t vote for him because they live outside the city or they’re R’s.
Eugene Young – sounds good but when the dust settles on Primary day he’ll give a concession speech. Young’s best attribute and largest issue is his youth. Older D’s decide the Primary and they either don’t know him or he’s insulted them.
Gregory, Griffiths, and Williams; each still have a shot.
Predictions: Marshall and Cabrera drop out. They’re both campaigning for the jobs they already have. Running for mayor gives Cabrera more exposure than a council race does, and Marshall gets his name in the paper in an off year for the 3rd District Senate seat.
Irwin, smart analysis. Right on
@I.F. Shouldn’t you be writing under the byline “Jane Doe?” 🙂
I’m a Eugene Young man myself, but I don’t mind KK. He’s earnest, affable and energetic. You can tell the guy sincerely cares about the city.
Question: You say Young has insulted older Democrats in the city. How did he do this?
Excellent piece Cassandra! I believe you summed it up about right, especially on who should drop out, and your incites on Kelley and Mike P. are spot on.
Keep up the good work.
Ditto to this question by Dorian: “You say Young has insulted older Democrats in the city. How did he do this?”
Can you prove this? I have heard no such thing.
Maybe by “older Democrats” he means “self-interested hustlers who line their own pockets while pretending to represent their constituents.” I’m sure he’s insulted those people.
This press piece linked from Purzycki’s website provides some insight as to how he’d govern. The writer lives in Greenville and is a Wilmington landlord. Note how he boasts Purzycki went around the City and cut down trees in a city owned park because his landlord friend was annoyed at having to look at it when he went to the train station (likely one of the few times this fellow comes downtown):
http://townsquaredelaware.com/2016/01/04/riley-purzycki-can-save-wilmington/
“I called my friend Mike Purzycki, he’ll fix it.” You’re going to be hearing a lot of that from the exurban rentier class if Purzycki gets voted in. The landlords that create headaches for City residents in all areas except the mansions on Kentmere Parkway are pulling for this guy.
And despite Purzycki’s predictions in the article that the City wouldn’t notice what happened, the result in fact destroyed some significant public artwork in that park. All because his friend from Greenville didn’t like looking at the park while going to the train station. Destroying public art without authorization at the direction of your wealthy exurban friends isn’t something these people want to hide… in their world it’s a boast!
Anon & Pandora – Yeah, I didn’t want to make assumptions regarding what Fletch was referring to. Perhaps Mr Young actually said or did something specifically that rubbed people against the grain. It happens. But I suspect what Anon wrote. He is just insulting the shitstem. He didn’t make a name for himself doing favors for people as a member of city council. He didn’t make Messers. Buccini and Pollin bales of cash. He didn’t go through the proper channels and he isn’t connected in the way some of these clowns are connected. Plus Young had the sheer audacity to run for mayor before his 40th birthday.
Speaking of doing favors… “Gentrifying Mike” Purzycki is absolutely not what this city needs. Although there will be a new Starbucks at 6th & Market.
I read the link. I must have missed the parts about cutting down trees and destroying artwork. You have a link for that?
Yeah I didn’t see the story referenced either, although I think I know the park being cited. Directly across from the Bus Station. There was a stone/concrete sculpture installation there but all of it was ripped out about two years ago. Whether Gentrifying Mike was behind it or not I haven’t a clue.
What bothers me most about Purzycki is his platform amounts to “building a wall” around the Riverfront and certain parts of Market Street. It just strikes me as, “Elect me as mayor and I’ll protect my interests.”
As far as the Riverfront… I have mixed feelings. It’s okay, but I only tend to go there to meet suburban friends – it strikes me as the suburban view of a city. Now, I’m not saying that the city shouldn’t welcome suburbanites (it should!), but the Riverfront is like the Disneyland version of the city experience. Frankly, the huge parking lots kill the city vibe. We need less of that.
The parking lots support the business model of the Riverfront. Without the parking lots, no Chase Center and no ballpark. Without the Chase Center, no hotel. There aren’t enough city residents or city workers with income to support any of this stuff.
The huge parking lots are the draw. City people learn to live with the nightmare that is city parking. Suburbanites despise it. In that regard, it’s not a suburbanite’s idea of the city; it’s the suburbs in the city.
Purzycki is running in a way that makes it clear that the biggest thing behind his candidacy is his twisted arm.
Ask and ye shall receive. Google street view looking towards the Wilmington train station in 2012:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7379506,-75.5503888,3a,75y,231.91h,77.06t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sCd2chaYJ-4gaH7HwD5IHcg!2e0!5s20151101T000000!7i13312!8i6656
View from the same location in 2015, after the park has received the RDC treatment, at the request of the author of the previously linked article (and, according to the author, without authorization from the City):
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7379604,-75.5504128,3a,75y,231.91h,77.06t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sSzExJ-1oddMN7cly7iiK4Q!2e0!5s20151101T000000!7i13312!8i6656
Note missing sculpture (and trees).
Pandora – It strikes you that way because that’s what it is.
I’m actually with you guys here. I have no problem with the Riverfront per se. Even the large car parks, etc. because they are necessary (like puck said). Also, it wasn’t technically “gentrification” since it wasn’t converting or infiltrating a working/poor neighborhood. It was building something from nothing – which is fair enough as far as it goes. But the idea that that is the blueprint to fix the economic and safety and drug trafficking problems we have is nonsense. It just gives affluent white people a new place to have a $150 dinner. It solves nothing.
The only older Wilmingtonians that Mr. Young has insulted were on the debate stage; and that was only after he was attacked. I have yet to hear a divisive message from him on age. I think we have seen more of that directed at ×sv youth from the old gaurd of Wilmington. The “wait your turn crowd” is extremely offended at the audacity of these new leaders. The Keith James gentleman who was quoted in the Journal really came to the defense of Young just as I overheard many others when the debate ended. I happen to know for a fact that many of the young politicos and volunteers in and around Wilmington (White and Black) have refused to help people like Mike Purzycki and some of the other candidates; no matter how much cash is being offered. Im a little too old to be a millinial, but I am so happy to see these honey badgers like Eugene Young, Bryan Townsend, and their circles shake the establishment at its core.
During the debate I did think, “Well, if Purzycki & Co. are wound up and feel like they need to confront Young in this fashion then Young is doing something very right.”
The only Older D’s that may have ben insulted by Eugene are the ones who told him to wait his turn, to have that advice ignored. This is the other thing in Eugene’s favor — applying for this job because it needs some vision and new ideas and competence, not because he’s next in line.
I’m way too old to be a millennial, but ^^^^^This ALL Day.
Dorian,
Purzycki and Marshall hate each other, but since Marshall is an empty suit at the debates Purzycki doesn’t have to take many shots at him. Purzycki is going after Young because he’s infiltrating the small base of voters Mike has in the 8th Council District. You can’t get blood from a turnip, Mike.
If you design for everyone to drive, then what will you get? Congestion.
Eugene suggested at the first debate at the Grand that Purzycki (and others) needed to be replaced in their positions with younger people because he’s (they’re) old. This lead to discussion at the Devon that Eugene suggests we should be replaced at work with younger people. I like Eugene, but yes, he has insulted older folks. I’ve heard this talked about at church too.
but the Riverfront is like the Disneyland version of the city experience.
It’s not even a very good Disneyland version. Compare the Wilmington Riverfront to Providence (much less the Baltimore Inner Harbor). Don’t get me wrong though, I like to spend time there and it’s a decent effort to reclaim that part of town, but let’s remember that it also got to where it is by living through the failed Outlet Store venture.
The Riverfront was a priority investment in the City and at the State level. There was lots of private investment and plenty of that was leveraged off of public funds (either directly or indirectly). This is a great thing for the City, but this does not provide much in terms of a solution for other parts of the city that need development help. I was in a meeting where Purzycki specifically pooh-poohed the idea of low-income artist housing in Quaker Hill/West Downtown. This development is specifically different than the Riverfront (and a proven pathway to stabilizing some neighborhoods) and yet he couldn’t see that. How you approach stabilizing the Hilltop vs the Northeast vs WCC is going to be different for each location. A strong and vital and business-friendly city needs to address multiple problems — and many of those problems will not have a rush of private investment that make it all easier. It also needs someone who will be committed to making the government work for its citizens, which given the city’s current conditions might be the harder job.
Great Read. It is a definite must read for all Wilmingtonians. Recommendation is right on point as well.
“[Theo Gregory] was the only one (I think) who mentioned the WEIC and re-doing the funding formula for poverty-stricken kids which I expected to be a much bigger issue.”
It’s an issue that the mayor of Wilmington has exactly zero (0) influence on. Talking about things he can’t do anything about is what Theo has always done best.
@pandora, who wrote:
“Public safety is a very large issue — but it is almost always entwined with discussions on education, re-entry, jobs. This is important, I think, because it indicates that many of the most interested voters in Wilmington understand that public safety is a complex issue and that city government has not been a good leader in addressing these issues.”
Good. Now they must understand that city government has a hard time leading on these issues because it has neither the money nor the power that would make leading on the issues possible.
The city has police, but no prosecutors, so it cannot implement any kind of plan to reduce incarceration without outside approval. It has no jails or prisons, so any re-entry to society programs must be undertaken at its own expense, unless it can convince state lawmakers to undertake the task. Indeed, any programs it could implement would need funding — and that could only come from the state, which already demonstrated its lack of interest in these issues.
Bobby Marshall’s performance at this debate helps illustrate the problem: The city’s General Assembly delegation can do little beyond bringing in a bit of money for capital projects, because they lack power as well.
The wide-range solutions like the ones you’re talking about therefore will come about only if more progressives can get elected to the General Assembly. The role city leadership has to play is to look responsible with money. That rules out pretty much the same group Cassandra ruled out for other reasons, except perhaps for Norm.
The leadership the city can and should offer is moral: The General Assembly must do these things if it really means all the crap it says about how important Wilmington is to the state. It is, but I think most lawmakers say that because they think they have to; they do almost nothing to indicate they mean it. A healthy city would improve the state’s general standing in almost every area, so state lawmakers must be made to understand that they will do well by doing good.
I think the best person to make this case is Eugene Young.
Now they must understand that city government has a hard time leading on these issues because it has neither the money nor the power that would make leading on the issues possible.
This is true to some extent. The city certainly has limited power of what I’ll call its social issues. But it does have the power to better advocate for its interests in Dover.
This is one of Wilmington’s long-standing leadership deficits. Wilmington has little control over what happens with schools, but its Mayor and leadership should be beating the drums for better treatment of the City’s kids. The Mayor (and City Council) should be in the business of filling up a Park and Rec bus (or two) with parents and haul them off to School Board meetings. Rita Landgraf at DHSS is a genuine ally who would be delighted to sit at the table to figure out how they might help to provide better support to city residents (and kids) that need it. We already know that Matt Denn’s efforts to support more focused policing are being rebuffed. There are funds via grants available at the Fed level to help address some issues and the City of Wilmington is legend for not being proactive in applying for those. There are alot of re-entry programs throughout the city and it seems clear that the availability of these programs is pretty opaque at all levels.
None of that gives the City any more power, but the City doesn’t take advantage of the resources already available to it to help address some of these issues. Some of this is about pulling the people who can help you together at a table and figure out how to get a problem addressed better. The City is good at getting to Dover and asking for money, but is not good at team-building and problem solving across all of the resources available to it. Just taking the step of knitting together the available help to get a problem addressed would be a 100% improvement. It is limited, but it is better than what we have now.
Age aside, what specific experience does Young have that prepares him to be mayor? He’s a very good candidate and a likable guy but I just can’t see what puts him ahead of Kelley as far as being an actual mayor.
AQC, let’s make a couple of substitutions.
2016 becomes 2008.
Young becomes Obama.
Kelley becomes Clinton.
Mayor becomes president.
The Democratic nation took a chance then.
The outcome might not have been what was envisioned, but many would take a similar chance again.
If a certain type of experience was my top priority in evaluating and supporting candidates I’d argue for Williams. That experience test slices in many directions. Gentrifying Mike has loads of “experience” as well…
Obviously Young is weaker if you prioritize experience in city government compared to Kelley. However this particular comparison isn’t my top concern. I’m looking for a competent, qualified and motivated person, but also someone who can start fresh. Like a reset. I’m quite tired frankly of the same people with the same friends.
That being said, I like Kevin Kelley, and totally understand someone supporting him. I personally am going a different direction. That’s all.
I know people hate doing math, but unless history misguides us, about 10,000 votes will be cast in the Democratic primary for mayor, about 5,000 for black candidates and 5,000 for white candidates. If there are more white candidates, a black one will one, and vice versa. And the more candidates there are, the more likely Dennis Williams is to be re-elected.
Young’s biggest problem is the presence of Theo Gregory in the race. If there’s someone out there who wants to ensure a brighter future for Wilmington, that someone ought to put up the cash to give Theo a secure job where he can’t hurt anyone or break anything. He only stays in government because he can’t get a real job.
I can tell you from first hand experience that Young’s supporters are extremely diverse and he has support in every city neighborhood. That alone makes him very different from the other candidates.
If you look at the flip side of that, he has no home-district base of support. He’ll need votes from every district (although it cracks me up that a “city” the size of Wilmington is so parochial).
I’m not saying he can’t win, but history is what it is. I’ll revise the analysis after he changes that history.
There hasn’t been this type of pressure on a one-term incumbent in 40 years. So while it is true that Young doesn’t possess the natural neighborhood base of Baker or Sills and Williams, he has done the work to develop very strong support in neighborhoods west of 95. Anonymous’ analysis is historically true, but this one looks quite different than anything in the last 3 decades plus.
Just as an aside, the very first thing Eugene Young said to me (after hello and a nice word about Pandora), was that the parochial nature of Wilmington was a big obstacle to change in his view (to Anonymous’ point). He said something to the effect of (paraphrasing)… Wilmington is the size of NYC neighborhood. We do ourselves no favors with this type of fortress-neighborhood thinking. He was very clear months ago that working from a starting point of one particular neighborhood as a home base of support was no longer tenable.
Of course he would say this since he didn’t have one! But it doesn’t make him incorrect in his analysis though…. The people of Cool Springs, Forty Acres, Hilltop, Little Italy, Riverfront, Eastside, etc… are all neighbors. We’re in it together.
Agreed that there is a good chance of recordbreaking turnout in this year’s primary. My experience around town is that people who didn’t pay much attention to city politics, let alone participate, are getting involved.
i believe the initial post here refers to young having a rolodex filled with names and numbers of nonprofit groups. wouldn’t a rolodex filled with people who would invest money in wilmington be more useful? yeah, some of it would go to make rich people richer. but business investment could also benefit people who really need the help. the things people here want (including public safety) cost money. the city is strapped. good intentions (combined with inexperience) might not be enough.
Some of it would make the rich richer? 🙂 Purzycki and Buccini Pollin built an entire fucking neighborhood with a ballpark, a dozen restaurants, an IMAX cinema, a hotel, a convention centre, a market, etc., etc…. yet where’s that money? Do you really think more corporate investment is going to yield different results? Personally I don’t.
i believe the initial post here refers to young having a rolodex filled with names and numbers of nonprofit groups.
You would “believe” wrong. Recall that Eugene came in second on the NCCo Chamber’s straw poll of the Mayor’s race. That’s not a non-profit. You don’t get the kind of fundraising he has accomplished with a rolodex filled with non-profits, either. What *is* true is that Eugene’s rolodex is filled with people who are engaged with making change across the spectrum. Some are private sector folks, some are political consultants working to get political change in some high profile races. One of Eugene’s projects is to help gets books to kids in the city — he is partnered with the United Way and a private donor to get more than 5K books in the hands of kids. Some of that rolodex comes from working for Cory Booker, who you can imagine attracts a great many people who are interested in disruptive change. In office, Eugene will be able to attract the kind of staff that will be key to better ideas and better problem-solving at the city. Private investment happens because it can make money — and often with cities like Wilmington, taxpayers have to contribute to that bottom line to make projects go
NCC Chamber of Commerce isn’t a non-profit organization? That’s surprising, but if it’s not it certainly includes many non-profits among its member entities.
sorry, cassandra. thought i saw that on this site. i still don’t think it’s a bad idea to have people with access to actual power (and money) running the show for change (assuming they would use the influence to help solve the real problems in wilmington). if young really does have access to these things, then ok. but i wouldn’t want to see him voted in just because the idea of a young mayor tight with nonprofit groups make some people feel good.
“i still don’t think it’s a bad idea to have people with access to actual power (and money) running the show for change (assuming they would use the influence to help solve the real problems in wilmington).”
Yeah, that hasn’t happened – which is a big part of the problem.
i still don’t think it’s a bad idea to have people with access to actual power (and money) running the show for change
The problem here is that you assume that the city is one big development project waiting to happen. Power comes from being able to mobilize people to a vision or task and getting that done. I don’t care how much money you have access to, you are not going to get BPG to fix the city’s health care cost issues, retirement fund issues or even the WPD leadership issues. In many ways, Purzycki is making a version of Williams’ argument from 2012. This time, you are being asked to believe that (highly subsidized) development success translates to being successful in running a government.
That said, Eugene worked for Cory Booker, who certainly be credited with jumpstarting Newark, NJ change narrative. They still have a long way to go, but Booker certainly beat back the corrupt old guard who were satisfied with the status quo to create space for the city to start its change. That’s an excellent training ground — around someone who was open to ideas about revitalizing a city and who prioritized social justice as part of that revitalization where he could. Not to say that Booker’s Newark tenure did not have its issues, but he a walking classroom on changing governing. Then there’s the kids — candidates are talking about issues faced by Wilmington’s youth and Young created an organization that has been helping to coach kids through middle and high school and on to college. So he has hands on knowledge of the issues kids face and has some success in pulling together supportive resources to get them launched off successfully. This means that he already has good relationships with people at a number of levels who can be brought together to start dealing with issues around education and social support that often fail these kids. Social services is not exactly the city’s business, but he’ll know who to reach out to in order to create a better support system for those who need it.
Eugene Young was a campaign aide of Booker’s, correct? I’m not trying to downplay Young’s efforts, but a campaign aide is quite different from legislative aide. Young and others live and die by Young’s relationship with Booker. If Booker and Young are so close why didn’t Booker take Young with him to DC? Too many generalities about Young and Booker and not enough substance. In general, too many generalities about Young period.
And I’m not trying to downplay Kevin Kelley’s good work for the city over the years, but he didn’t have the influence with power brokers and/or charisma to keep Montgomery out of the race last time, and didn’t finish all that far ahead of him.
Competent, yes, which would have made him 10 times better than the incumbent. But inspiring, no, which makes him the wrong man for this election. Young’s supporters perch in much higher places than Kelley’s do.
I feel it’s time to weigh in on this healthy debate. The issues comes down to two areas leadership and who can win.
Let’s start with leadership versus managers . Leaders have a vision for change and inspire people to follow to change from the status quo to an improvement that is significant.
There are a few managers in this race but who inspires people? Leaders hire managers to make sure the garbage gets picked up and the snow is plowed. A leader is able to walk in any community or ion to a corporate board room and all parties feel a sense of comfort .
Changing the status quo . Let’s start with this campaign . Eugene has forced other candidates to change how they campaign. Why ? His leadership has caused all of the others to react to a radical change on how people organize, communicate and develop public policy.
That is leadership ; when opposing candidates Are now door knocking, trying to use social media , thinking about developing policies.
What happened to the good old days when it was your turn ? All you had to do was hire a few community workers , Throw a community party in the park and spread around some street cash?
Let’s talk about who can win. Eugene is clearly in a short period of time earned a base of support. What is truly remarkable is regardless of who voters support other then Eugene, he is almost always the second choice regardless of who their first choice is.
As we get closer to the election voters will see that keeping Williams out is their first goal. Joining the Young movement is the unifying option that is most logical .
Paul, Eugene will do I fine job campaigning thanks to your money (directly or indirectly). Eugene seems to be a great person as an individual and for our city but, but September 13th will come and go. I hope Young isn’t ruined because of other’s agendas.
anonymous, Al Gore couldn’t get Ralph Nader out either. In the same way Calistro argues, ” Eugene, he is almost always the second choice regardless of who their first choice is,” those who voted for Montgomery would have otherwise been Kelley’s had Montgomery not been on the ballot. Anyway, we’ll see what happens.
Irwin
Young will be fine . He totally control s his agenda and that’s why I support him. My contributions in time and money pale by comparison to others . I am just proud to be able to help