A bill to stop nepotism in Wilmington City Council posts is headed to the full council next month. Wilmington Councilman James Spadola introduced the legislation Monday night in the council’s Finance & Economic Development Committee. The ordinance would prohibit members of the council from hiring close relatives of current council members. “We should set up good guardrails for the employees …
Latisha Bracy, a former aide to multiple United States senators, has been selected to fill a vacant at-large seat on the Wilmington City Council. The seat was held by Councilwoman Loretta Walsh, a Democrat, who resigned in October and passed away later that month. Sixteen qualified candidates submitted applications to the Wilmington City Council Committee of the Whole, which is …
Wilmington City Councilwoman Linda Gray died suddenly Monday night after a brief fight with pneumonia. She was 73. Prior to joining City Council in 2019 to represent the 1st District, Gray served as a magistrate court judge and as president of the Brandywine Hills Community Association. Mayor Mike Purzycki announced Gray’s passing Tuesday morning. “Wilmington is again mourning the loss …
Longtime Wilmington City Councilwoman Loretta Walsh has died. She was 73. First elected in 1985, Walsh served on City Council until 1997 and again from 2004 until Oct. 6 of this year, when she resigned citing health concerns. Prior to entering public office, Walsh became the first woman to serve as chief deputy in the New Castle County Sheriff’s Office. …
Longtime Wilmington City Councilwoman Loretta Walsh will resign in October, she announced Wednesday. Walsh, who served as an at-large council member for 30 years, cited poor health as the reason for her resignation. “I love this city so much, and I am so proud to have been both a participant and a leader in helping to shape and grow Wilmington …
Photo/City of Wilmington Wilmington City Council members must hand over all email, phone and text records from Jan. 2021 to March 2022 in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by one of their own. Councilwoman Shané Darby, D-District 2, submitted the FOIA request because she says a group of seven city council members have been holding private …
Photo/Getty Images Business leaders are lining up in opposition to a proposed ordinance in Wilmington that would require service industry employers to provide two-weeks notice of work schedules and compensate employees when changes occur. The measure, sponsored by Council Member Shané Darby, D-District 2, aims to provide more schedule stability for hourly workers at retail, hospitality and foodservice establishments with …
LEFT TO RIGHT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT TRIPPI CONGO, MAYOR MIKE PURZYCKI, POLICE CHIEF ROBERT TRACY The mayor of Wilmington and the union that represents the city’s police officers are pushing back against the City Council president’s claims that the department is failing to promote diversity and morale within its ranks. After leading the City Council to a Jan. 20 vote of …
Around Christmas of 2019, a Black male detective in the Wilmington Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division was given a trophy by his white male supervisor with an engraved message that reads, “Whitest Black Guy in the Office Award.” The trophy has been openly displayed on the detective’s desk since it was presented to him, according to City Council President Trippi …
Chief Robert Tracy/Wilmington Police Department A petition expressing support for the Wilmington Police Department has gathered more than 600 signatures after the Wilmington City Council on Thursday passed a “vote of no confidence” in Chief Robert Tracy. The vote happened after a nearly three-hour-long Public Safety Committee meeting Tuesday during which Tracy and others defended the department’s practices amidst claims …
