On Tuesday, January 7th, John Carney was sworn in as the 58th Mayor of the City of Wilmington at the Chase Center on the Riverfront. The new Mayor outlined his goals for the City in his inaugural address, including:
- Supporting City children through the Wilmington Learning Collaborative
- Promoting home ownership and affordable renting
- Keeping communities safe
- Encouraging economic development and supporting small businesses
- Improving service delivery through 311
Read Mayor Carney’s remarks below:
“To Council President Congo, members of City Council, and Treasurer Sims, it’s an honor to be sworn in alongside you.
To the many city employees here tonight, thank you for your willingness to serve and the work you do for our city. I look forward to all the good work we’ll do together.
And to my wife Tracey, and the larger Carney family who are here tonight, thank you for supporting me in what I promise will be the last elected office I seek!
Since I announced my intention to run for Mayor, I can’t tell you how many people – many of them in this room tonight – have told me they think I’m crazy. And to those of you who haven’t said it out loud, I know it’s what you’re thinking! So, for anyone out there still worried about my sanity, let me take a moment to try to explain.
Thirty-eight years ago, my brother Mike and I bought one side of an old duplex on W. 19 th Street. We couldn’t get a loan, so my Dad had to go in on it with us.
During the day, I worked for Senator Biden and coached lacrosse at St. Mark’s High School. At night and on weekends, Mike and I worked on the house.
I’d go for runs around the Brandywine and up to Rockford Park. We’d listen to Irish music and talk politics over beers at O’Friels. I took a job with then-Governor Tom Carper, and part of my job was to work with the Sills Administration to help support city finances and invest in the Port of Wilmington.
It was a pleasure to work with Art Boswell and Mayor Sills, who had been my Master’s Degree thesis advisor at UD. Yes, Delaware is a small place.
Eventually, Tracey and I had two boys, and some of my happiest memories are coaching their basketball and flag football teams in the city recreation leagues.
I have truly loved living in Wilmington. I met lots of good folks in my neighborhood and in gyms all over this city who love living here too.
A lot has changed in Wilmington since my early days here – most of it for the better, though I still miss O’Friels.
But the heart of our city is still the same.
Neighborhoods full of character and community.
A city small enough to walk to work, but big enough to support a vibrant arts and entertainment scene.
And beautiful parks to enjoy in every neighborhood.
A city with a rich history, and a bright future.
It’s a city I believe in, because I’ve seen what a full and beautiful life it can offer its residents.
At the beginning of this school year, we cut the ribbon and opened the new Maurice Pritchett Sr. Academy on the east side. It’s the first new school built in the city of Wilmington in nearly half a century. Getting it funded and built was one of the central efforts of my time as your Governor.
Many of you were there that day as well. And with the sound of the school’s
Marching Band in the background, together with generations of proud East Side families, it was impossible not to feel a sense of excitement.
A sense of optimism.
A sense of momentum.
That’s what I want to talk about tonight.
Thanks to the hard work of this City Council and the leadership of Mayor Purzycki, all across this city you see neighborhoods coming alive.
In Riverside – Imani Village. Building on the energy of the Warehouse, Reach Riverside, and Kingswood, thanks to Logan Herring and his team. Vacant houses are being re-developed in Quaker Hill, West Center City, in the lower Hilltop and all over the East Side. And new affordable homes are being built in Southbridge. And investments at Hicks Anderson and parks across the city are making for stronger and better communities in all these neighborhoods.
In my neighborhood, the Triangle, the lights at Abessinio Stadium light up the night sky. I often wander down and watch from outside the fence when Howard or Salesianum are playing.
There are more city athletes using that stadium today than I’ve ever seen in my four decades living in that neighborhood.
The same is happening with the excitement of the Blue Coats at the Chase Fieldhouse. Riverfront East, is poised to breathe new life into the Southside. And the new library and new housing is creating momentum on North Market Street.
In downtown Wilmington, Market Street is almost unrecognizable, with its new restaurants and hotels. New residents are living downtown in what used to be daytime-only office space.
And for the first time since the Great Recession, employers like Incyte and new efforts like the Bridge are making Rodney Square their home.
My job as your Mayor is to work with all of you to build on this progress.
And to lift up those who still feel left behind.
To be sure, there is much work to be done. And many challenges ahead.
I spent the summer knocking on close to 11,000 doors in each of your districts.
There’s no better way to get to know every neighborhood and to talk to the people who live there.
I heard what you hear.
Young people with not enough to do.
And longtime residents not sure they can weather another surge of crime.
Streets in disrepair, with overgrown trees, and trash.
A shortage of affordable housing.
A rise in homelessness – seen in vacant houses and empty lots across the city.
Parents whose children have moved away, hoping to convince them to move back home and start a life here.
And of course, parents and employers alike, all frustrated, at the state of our city schools.
These will be my areas of focus as your Mayor.
Creating more affordable housing.
Jobs and opportunities for all city residents.
Continuing the drop we’ve seen in violent crime.
And using the bully pulpit of the Mayor’s office to demand more for our children’s education.
The truth is, all these issues are interconnected.
Addressing any one of them alone won’t move our city forward.
We’ve got to link arms and address them all at once.
But almost more important than what we do, is how we’ll do it.
We’ve got to work together. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years of public service – it’s that you only make progress when you work together.
Our efforts to improve city schools, is a good example.
As Governor, after dozens of community meetings and hours of knocking on doors across the city, we earned the support of each city school district to create the Wilmington Learning Collaborative.
After decades of infighting and bureaucratic disagreements, we finally have everybody at the table, working in partnership to support our city’s children.
I’m committed to using the power of the Mayor’s office to bolster these efforts. I feel battle tested in this fight. It’s time to make some hard decisions.
We’ll refocus the Parks Department on the academic needs of our children – after school, on the weekends, and in the summer months.
We’ll continue targeting vacant housing and neighborhoods where crime is too high. Instead, working with our local non-profits and churches, we’ll promote home ownership and affordable rental housing. Our children can’t succeed if they don’t have a safe place to rest their heads at night.
We’ll focus on good jobs for city residents. And improving access to social services for those who need a little assistance to get by. Again, how can our children succeed if their parents are struggling to make ends meet?
I heard loud and clear that residents expect 311 and City Hall to be more responsive. I’m committed to improving how we deliver services for folks who need help, especially for our seniors.
I want to thank our Transition Committee, led by Kevin Kelley and Doneene Damon, for coming up with concrete proposals to accomplish these objectives. I’m excited to get to work.
And we’ll do all this in partnership with non-profits, community centers, and churches.
You will see my team and me at neighborhood meetings and community gatherings.
I will continue to be a visible presence.
And I’m committed to being a strong listener, as we work together to make our city stronger.
And of course, we must make progress while still being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars. Much of what the city has been able to achieve these last few years came from federal and state funds that are running out.
It may require tough decisions, but I am determined to continue the Purzycki Administration’s sound fiscal management. We owe that to our constituents who entrust their hard-earned dollars to us.
Let me close with this.
When Bill Clinton kicked off his campaign for the Presidency in 1992, he said he was running, “to create a better life for all who will work for it. And a better future for the next generation.”
He said “it’s government’s responsibility to create more opportunity. And the people’s responsibility to make the most of it.”
To my colleagues on City Council, if we hold up our end of the bargain, I believe the people of Wilmington are ready to make the most of the opportunities we help create.
Let’s commit together tonight, to engage with each other and the people we represent.
To listen.
To have compassion.
To be creative.
To be relentless.
To create opportunities – for the people we are elected to serve.
Let’s build a better future, on a strong foundation, of outreach, public participation, and civic engagement.
What a privilege it is for me to become your Mayor – just as Wilmington is poised to take off again.
And so, I want to thank you to the people of Wilmington for putting your trust in me. Let’s get to work.”
To find a copy of the transition report, click here.
