WILMINGTON — John Carney, Wilmington’s next mayor, said he spent weeks knocking on close to 11,000 doors in the city. What he heard was that they want a city that works for them.
That overlaps across many categories, like reducing red tape for businesses, a safer community space and more investment in neighborhoods. Right on New Year’s Eve, Carney released a report that outlined how he would address the broad-ranging issues he heard about through four priorities: managing resources, economic growth, building resilient and safe communities and improving community wellness.
Carney officially resigned as Delaware’s governor at noon on Jan. 7, seven hours before he would be sworn into office as Wilmington’s next mayor. Carney inherits a Wilmington that has rapidly changed in the last decade through revitalization efforts, accelerated by the ever-evolving dynamics of hybrid and remote work, rising housing costs and rents as well as a steadily growing population.
But he also sees a city that has limited its efforts to the Riverfront, downtown and the Riverside neighborhood, leaving areas that have been overlooked in other commercial corridors. Case in point, the transition report highlighted Wilmington’s poverty rate of 23.2%, well beyond the national poverty rate of 11.1%.
“Revitalization efforts in Wilmington should be as inclusive and expansive as the city itself,” he told the Delaware Business Times in an email. “Wilmington has so much potential, but it’s clear that we need to make sure the benefits of revitalization are felt in every part of the city.”
To that end, Carney plans to develop an economic strategy for Wilmington, which would cover all neighborhoods as well as improving access to training and jobs with livable wages. He would also establish the Mayor’s Economic Development Roundtable to bring business leaders as well as nonprofit and government officials together to create a single vision of the city’s future.
Carney told DBT that while on the campaign trail, he heard business owners talk about reducing red tape in order to help the 14,000 registered businesses thrive there, as well as creating programs to help develop the next generation of workers.
According to the Wilmington Office of Economic Development, financial services still make up the bulk of the city’s job base at 11,500 employees as of 2023. Leisure and hospitality had grown the most in the past decade at 27%.
“There’s a real desire for job training programs that are aligned with the needs of today’s economy, particularly in tech, health care, and trades,” Carney said. “We need to ensure our schools and training centers are preparing the next generation of workers and that Wilmingtonians have access to good-paying jobs right here in our city.”
Carney has also prioritized expanding after-school and out-of-school programs to provide academic support and other learning opportunities to ensure that Wilmington’s children can reach their full potential.
As for the mayor’s economic round table, Carney seems to be taking a page out of the playbook he used in the early years of his governor’s administration. In 2017, the Delaware Economic Development Working Group unveiled its new strategy for attracting and retaining businesses through a public-private partnership. The end result was the Delaware Prosperity Partnership.
In Wilmington, Carney said the roundtable was a collaborative forum where all stakeholders would come together to discuss challenges and possible solutions to drive economic growth for the city.
“[This is an] idea I’m excited about because it brings together key stakeholders to ensure that our economic strategy reflects the needs and aspirations of all Wilmingtonians,” he said.
The final priority for economic development focuses on streamlining permits, inspections and zoning promises to give clear guidance on the next steps so an entrepreneur can get a business up and running.
Among Carney’s other priorities is to improve city resources and investing in roads and addressing vacant properties. He also would improve Wilmington 311, a service Mayor Mike Purzycki started as a centralized system to serve residents who saw issues out in the city that the government should be able to address, ranging from maintenance issues to potholes to nuisance properties.
While Wilmington 311 had some successes, Carney said there was room in improvement for the response time for a ticket, and residents often complained they never received updates on the request they filed. He also would like to integrate more technology to track the tickets to provide real-time updates, as well as improve accessibility options for people with disabilities and those who speak a different language.
In his action plan, Carney also highlighted the need to build safer neighborhoods and would plan to establish a citywide Council on Homelessness with local organizations to help provide one centralized location for services. He also would redesign the Neighborhood Planning Councils, when needed, to better reflect residents’ priorities and improve coordination with city services.
As Wilmington has built a reputation as a more affordable city compared to Philadelphia, New York City and Washington D.C., it’s driven more people to move here and work hybrid jobs. But it also has the potential to raise housing costs in Delaware’s largest city and price out longtime residents.
That means Wilmington will continue to invest in affordable housing development and preservation, as well as working with nonprofits on housing projects. The Wilmington Housing Authority will continue to be leveraged to work to catch up with the long list of people seeking affordable housing options with the supply.
It also means Carney, who has served in both federal and state government as well as had a hand in shaping how Delaware allocated $100 million in affordable housing initiatives, will start tapping into funding programs outside city limits. Delaware programs such as the Housing Development Fund and the Downtown Development District will also go a long way, as well as the continued work with the Wilmington Neighborhood Conservancy Land Bank.
“As Wilmington becomes an increasingly attractive place to live due to its proximity to larger urban centers, we need to be mindful of how that growth affects our community,” Carney said. “One of the things I’m particularly focused on is ensuring that we have a range of housing options—especially affordable housing—for our residents. Our focus needs to be on the working families and long-term residents who call Wilmington home.”
