Wilmington City Council passed a resolution Thursday seeking a charter change to restrict political party changes mid-term.
The city charter states “not more than three candidates for councilmen-at-large shall be nominated pursuant to law by any party or political body,” which is often interpreted to guarantee the minority party one seat.
Alexander Hackett sponsored a resolution to prohibit lone at-large minority party members from switching to a majority party during their term.
Wilmington residents elected Councilmember James Spadola for the second time in 2024 as a Republican. Spadola changed his party affiliation to align with the Democratic Party in October.
“I made the loudest, boldest protest I could against Trump to point out I became a Democrat…” Spadola said. “So to think that we would want to limit somebody from following their conscience and be dishonest and not transparent with the public about where their heart and their values lie is concerning to me.”
At this point, all four seats are filled by Democrats, and Hackett said that’s a problem.
“Our council colleague, I've seen him in the community doing great work,” Hackett said. “I think a lot of people showed up here tonight and spoke about how great of a man he is today. But this is not about the man. This is about the action.”
Councilmember Chris Johnson concurred, saying Spadola is a great legislator but took part in an unfair process.
Some Councilmembers, including Maria Cabrera and Johnson, said this is a murky argument and the city charter is not clear enough.
“I do agree that [we should] let the state decide what they need to do on this, let them take this matter into their hands,” Cabrera said. “... It's a gray area, but it's done, and obviously we're moving forward. Yeah, the state should definitely do something about it. But I can understand Councilmember [James] Spadola’s reasoning for wanting to change.”
Council President Trippi Congo sent Spadola a letter earlier this year, requesting Spadola reverse his party affiliation change or risk having his seat declared vacant.
Spadola shot back with a video response and a letter from a lawyer address to Congo, arguing Congo’s warning and any further attempts to vacate Spadola’s seat go against the city charter.
Spadola added at Thursday’s meeting that resolution sponsor Alexander Hackett ran as an Independent in 2020, lost and changed his party affiliation to Democratic shortly after.
“I switched because of my conscience,” Spadola said. “He switched out of convenience, but now he wants to shut the door on future Democrats.”
The resolution passed 9-1 with one present and two absent.
If a lone minority party member in an at-large seat attempts to switch their affiliation to a major party, they will be forced to forfeit and vacate their seat if the General Assembly approves the change. Even if the resolution wins support in Dover, Spadola will not have to step down because of retroactivity protections.
