One of Wilmington City Council’s at-large members is making a run for council president.
Councilwoman Rysheema Dixon announced her candidacy in a tweet Monday morning.
Dixon was elected to Wilmington City Council in 2016 and is also CEO of her own community development consulting business she founded in 2011.
Dixon is campaigning on the promise of “Uniting Wilmington.” She says she will create a culture of collaboration between council members and the Mayor’s office.
“We have huge challenges to overcome, but I think there are tremendous opportunities between the administration and the City Council to work together—and better for the community,” she said. “And I think that is easily done by communication as well as making sure that, you know, we push back too on the issues we feel strongly about as the body of Council.”
Public safety is among the issues facing council recently with the city’s police academy being held up by Council for its lack of diversity and legislation drafted to fund police body cameras.
Dixon says it’s important for Council to work together to create “holistic” policies.
“I think in some cases we’ve been able to do some of that work, but I think because of some of the conflicts that have happened over the course of City Council that we haven’t been able to successfully do that,” she said. “And that hinders the community to be able to get what it deserves.”
Dixon was instrumental in creating a “healthy communities” subcommittee last summer to include tenants, landlords and homeowners in the conversation around revising Wilmington’s housing code. She touts this as a means to create equitable upgrades to all areas of the city.
She gives credit to current Council President Hanifa Shabaaz, who has served in that role since 2004 and is the Coucil's first female African-American president, but Dixon adds she feels she can better serve the community as council president.
No candidates have officially filed to run for the office according to the Delaware Department of Elections website.
