Wilmington City Council has seen a major turnover in its membership, with six new faces taking office this month.
Delaware Public Media’s Megan Pauly recently sat down with each newcomer to discuss the issues they’d like to address.
Republican at-large Councilman Ciro Adams says public safety is what compelled to run for Wilmington City Council.
“The public safety issue permeates everything," Adams said. "Whether it be walking the kids from their home to the school busses, whether it be the perception of going downtown at night.”
Wilmington has already seen over a dozen shootings since the New Year, and eight homicides. Last year, there were 127 shootings and 21 homicides.
As an accountant and business owner, Adams says last year he reached a crossroads: either leave the city or get more involved in offering solutions to the violence.
“So why should I take a spot in the city of Wilmington?" he asked. "f I wanted to stay in Delaware I could be in Hockessin, Middletown or elsewhere and not have to address these problems as an employer, my employees would feel much safer.”
Adams stresses he wants to address the underlying causes of crime to attract more businesses to Delaware, instead of creating more of what he calls “unsustainable” government jobs.
Adams sees community policing as one possible solution, but agrees with the CDC’s 2015 report on city violence that this is a multi-faceted problem that requires a variety of responses.
A task force met several times last year to discuss how to implement the CDC’s recommendations. Their report is expected Friday.
However, he says gun control is not the answer.
“Whether you have a gun or not, it’s going to be that value system whether or not you pull that trigger," Adams said. "It’s not the gun that’s causing that problem.”
He wants the city to focus on identifying at-risk kids at a very young age and intervening then with the necessary programs and support.
