TACKLING WILMINGTON'S #1 CHALLENGE: THE INTERSECTION OF RACISM, INEQUALITY & POVERTY 

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The murder of George Floyd in Minnesota saddened me on so many levels. It also strongly reinforces my commitment to working together with residents from all 4 corners of Wilmington to build a safer and more prosperous city for everyone.
 

That’s a fundamental reason why I’m running for City Council as I've been saying since the beginning of my campaign. 

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On one hand, a District representative's formal job description is to deal with standard municipal problems in their territory. Things like pot holes and park benches...

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The way I see it though,  the poverty and inequality that exists in many other areas of Wilmington are also fundamentally “8th District problems.”

Everything in our City is connected.  If one neighborhood struggles, its problems spill over into others. 

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"What do you have to offer in building a more equitable Wilmington?"
 

I spend my days working in the construction industry on the City’s underprivileged East Side. One of my duties is a project to relocate the company I work for down the street to another section of East Wilmington. This entails an environmental clean up of a section of land near Riverside Housing Project that will serve as our new location.

 

Through my "Day Job" experiences I have detailed knowledge of the sections of Wilmington that need help the most. And I also have a strong understanding of the types of blue-collar jobs and companies that are most likely to move there to create a more equitable local economy. 

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Here's 3 ways I'll apply this to helping build a fairer Wilmington: 

First, I’ll use the platform and influence of the position of 8th District representative to support any and all economic development initiatives in underprivileged neighborhoods.

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Most new companies to Wilmington are “white collar” and move to the Riverfront or downtown. 

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What about our “Rust Belt,” the former manufacturing centers which have been left so far behind in the post-industrial era? 

 

Seeing more prosperity in these areas has long been a goal of mine. 

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Here's just one example. 

 

In early 2019, I planned and hosted an event titled “Thriving in a forgotten corner of Wilmington.” The goal was to counter negative stereotypes about under-privileged areas of our city that make new economic activity there less likely.

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Second, I’ll be a cheerleader for critical projects such as the new Teen Warehouse and REACH Riverside, aimed at the full-fledged revitalization of the Riverside Housing Project.  I’ve toured the sites. I’m incredibly impressed with the staff. The more that residents of the 8th District know about these initiatives and root for their success, the better.

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Third and possibly most importantly, I’ll work as hard as I can to create a more connected city.  We lack a sense of shared community and purpose between residents from different backgrounds. 

 

We don't know each other. 

 

I believe that most of our problems become easier to solve where there is a stronger sense that we rise and fall together as one group.