Wilmington will have new leadership come January - including Mayor Mike Purzycki. But he’ll have to work alongside a mix of new and old city council members to get anything done.
Purzycki said Tuesday public safety will be among his top priorities as mayor, calling for a new command structure not just in public safety but also in the City of Wilmington.
“Clearly we’re going to work together on public safety, on housing, on revitalizing some of our neighborhoods," Purzycki said. "But it’s going to take a cooperative effort of members of council to try to build a consensus rather than confrontation. And I have no doubt we’ll be able to do that.”
Purzycki led Wilmington’s Riverfront revitalization efforts, which new council president Hanifa Shabazz supported.
But said now that the city has built up a income stream from businesses and residences on the Riverfront, it’s time to focus on creating greater economic opportunity for residents elsewhere, like at the Port of Wilmington.
She's also advocating for a greater focus on inner-city neighborhoods.
“We now need to take and put money into our human stock so that we can address our many social issues, our ills that we have – do some healing, put some fresh paint somewhere, add some flowers," Shabazz said.
Shabazz is excited to work with a new City Council and Purzycki to help create a new vision for Wilmington.
But she added trying to get everyone on the same page before work begins is the place to start.
“I just think we all need to come together and come up with a – what do we want Wilmington to look like? Who is and what is Wilmington?" she said. "And once we agree on what that is let’s everybody roll up their sleeves, do their work in their particular role and make it happen.”
Shabazz’s vision for Wilmington includes making more of a destination on the East Coast – giving it a ‘big city feel.’
