Former Gov. John Carney is officially sworn in as the mayor of Wilmington alongside newly elected members of Wilmington City Council.
Carney is Wilmington's 58th mayor, succeeding Mike Purzycki who served in the position for two terms.
Carney served as Delaware's governor for eight years, focusing on statewide economic development and fiscal responsibility, raising educator pay and creating Opportunity Funding to better support low-income students and multilingual learners and signed dozens of pieces of legislation to improve gun safety, affordable housing investments and climate change solutions.
While Carney looks back on his gubernatorial tenure — as well as his time as Delaware's lone Congressman — fondly, he says he's looking forward to taking a more hands-on leadership approach during his time as chief executive of the First State's largest city.
“As governor, obviously, I represented the people of the City of Wilmington in a different kind of way. Now it's a very intense– it's personal, it's down on the ground, it's in the community, and I like that frankly," he said.
In his inaugural address, Carney reflected on his achievement as governor to create the Wilmington Learning Collaborative in an effort to provide targeted support to city schools. As mayor, he plans to keep education at the forefront of his plans.
"After decades of infighting and bureaucratic disagreements, we finally have everybody at the same table working in partnership to support our city's children, and I'm committed to using the power of the mayor's office to bolster these efforts," Carney said. "I feel battle tested in this fight, and it's time to make some hard decisions."
Carney says he will prioritize removing the Christina School District from the City of Wilmington and hopes to raise the third grade literacy rate to at least 50%.
He also spoke on improving the city's 311 service and the responsiveness of City Hall to community needs, diminishing the amount of vacant housing while promoting homeownership and more affordable rental units, reducing crime and homelessness rates and uniting Wilmington's diverse neighborhoods.
Carney stepped down as governor on noon Tuesday, prompting Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall Long to be sworn in as acting governor for the next two weeks.
Governor-elect Matt Meyer stepped down from his role as New Castle County Executive after eight years, and his successor Marcus Henry was also sworn in on Tuesday.
The Wilmington City Council welcomed three new members to its ranks while swearing in Ernest “Trippi” Congo as Council president for a second term, marking his 16th year as a member of Council.
District 1's Coby Owens is among the newly elected Council members. He defeated incumbent Vincent White, who was appointed to fill the vacant seat following the death of Linda Gray, and challenger Thea Lopez in the primary election. He ran unopposed in the General Election.
Christian Willauer will serve as the new representative for District 5 after defeating incumbent Bregetta Fields in the primary election.
Alexander Hackett fills an open at-large seat, which was previously held by Albert Mills for two years. Latisha Bracy, James Spadola and Maria Cabrera all retained their at-large seats.
Other incumbents who will remain on Council include:
- 2nd District Council Member Shané Darby
- 3rd District Council Member Zanthia Oliver
- 4th District Council Member Michelle Harlee
- 6th District Council Member Yolanda McCoy
- 7th District Council Member Chris Johnson
- 8th District Council Member Nathan Field
DaWayne Sims was also sworn in for his third term as Wilmington treasurer.
