Several Wilmington City Councilmembers sought to override Mayor John Carney’s veto of a proposed affordable housing trust.
The effort needed nine ‘yes’ votes but failed 8-5. Those against largely stated they were in support of an affordable housing trust as long as it’s executed correctly.
Councilmember Latisha Bracy was a ‘no’ vote but said she’s willing to work to make sure this measure is pushed across the finish line as soon as possible.
“It doesn't have to take a long time,” Bracy said. “The Councilwoman that had her veto in two weeks was introducing a new piece of legislation. Not only did that pass, it was signed immediately. So I know we can do this. I just think we need to do it the right way.”
Darby made her plea to her colleagues last week to override the veto, saying her proposed trust would be a permanent tool to deliver needed affordable housing that benefits city residents.
“A housing trust fund isn't successful because it starts with millions of dollars. It's successful because it creates the legal framework to receive and grow housing investments over time. If the concern is that the fund needs more revenue, then our next policy discussion should be identifying additional revenue sources, not rejecting the framework altogether.”
Carney delivered his veto June 18, citing several concerns.
“Although I share Council’s commitment to expanding affordable housing opportunities, this ordinance does not create a functional or effective mechanism for doing so,” Carney’s statement read. “Instead, it establishes a structurally weak advisory committee that duplicates existing bodies, including City Council’s housing committee.”
Several Councilmembers said ordinance sponsor Shané Darby needed to increase communication with other Councilmembers and Mayor Carney’s administration.
“What I'm saying is my opinion… is, that once the veto was issued, walk across the hall, figure out the same way you were talking to Daniel [Walker] before, talk to Daniel, and figure out how do we fix this, and how do we get this passed,” Bracy said.
But Darby and several other Councilmembers argued that was done, including several conversations with the Mayor’s Deputy Chief of Staff Daniel Walker.
An earlier draft of Darby’s resolution had mention of inclusionary zoning, but taking Walker’s advice, Darby said she separated the two matters.
Darby said she also tried to meet with Carney and his team.
“I emailed them twice – they ignored my emails,” Darby said. "There's nothing I can do to force the administration to work with me after reaching out twice.”
Councilmember Coby Owens said he didn’t understand the lack of support for moving ahead with the trust.
“I am thoroughly confused right now because I've heard my Council colleagues say tonight, ‘oh, well, there's no funding associated with this, so this is an issue,’” Owens said. “But when there was an amendment to put the funding up before the structure was ready, that got voted down. Now the structure is ready to be put up, now people don't want to support that.”
Councilmember Nathan Field was among the ‘no’ votes.
“There's something here in this ordinance that is worth pursuing, but I personally am not willing to override the Mayor's veto tonight unless there are far more conversations and efforts to bridge the gap between the Mayor and the sponsor,” Field said.
Several members of the public attended the Council meeting and voiced their support for the housing trust.
