Wilmington City Council's unexpected pick for vacant seat may resolve feud

A new candidate for the Wilmington City Council empty seat managed to garner seven supporting votes at a committee meeting Friday night, setting the stage for an end to the vacancy controversy that has overshadowed the city's legislative body since November.

Council members voted to recommend Linda Gray to the seat. She will undergo another round of approval at a full City Council meeting Thursday.

Gray, who said she spent 20 years as a probation and parole officer and later served as a Delaware magistrate judge, was an unexpected pick to some watching the meeting.

Previous discussions surrounding the vacancy revolved around nominating Subira Ibrahim, the 1st District neighborhood planning council president who was favored by several council members and who was supported by a group of residents at a 1st District meeting in December.

The recommendation was made after the committee interviewed eight candidates publicly and took public comments, then sent residents and reporters out the door to deliberate privately. 

Gray, who had left the meeting by then, seemed to be the candidate who garnered just enough support that she could be voted out of committee. Council members after the vote indicated they used a ranking system during deliberations to determine the top three candidates in their view. 

After Councilwoman Michelle Harlee made a motion to nominate Gray, the candidate was initially one vote short of a majority, which would have constituted a defeated motion and precipitated another do-over of the selection process.

Yolanda McCoy then changed her vote to support Gray, explaining to reporters afterward that "it was not that Ms. Gray was unqualified, and I didn't want to have to do the process again."

McCoy said her first pick was Ibrahim, but she said it was clear she would not have the majority of votes.

The selection process has been debated at length in Council, which has effectively split in half over the vacancy.

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There was controversy over the previous process, in which a selection committee picked by President Hanifa Shabazz chose a nominee after private interviews.

After that candidate was defeated on the floor, Councilman Sam Guy made several attempts, with the support of members Vash Turner, Trippi Congo and Bob Williams, to nominate Ibrahim directly to the council floor. 

This month the process was amended to include a public meeting with all members in the selection committee, leading to Friday's meeting. Eight of the original 12 applicants agreed to return; seven showed up to be interviewed in public.

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In her interview, Gray said she is a longtime president of the Brandywine Hills Community Association and a member of the 1st District neighborhood planning council. She cited tough decisions she had to make as a judge, such as whether to incarcerate a defendant or take children out of a home, as proof she has the temperament to serve on the council.

Answering the question of how to approach a choice between raising taxes or cutting city jobs, she said she would need to know the specific scenario to "figure out an equitable way."

"You have to have compassion for the people whose taxes may have to be raised, and accountability that the city will have adequate funds to perform its duties," she said.

Some residents were still unsatisfied on Friday, saying during public comment that they ultimately preferred a special election for the vacant seat. City law does not allow for a special election under the circumstances; it calls for an appointment by a majority of the council.

Deon Wilson criticized council members for deliberating privately.

"I want to hear the debate," he said. "Everyone in the city wants to hear the debate. This City Council has no credibility in the city ... Let's have an open and fair government."

The committee voted on making deliberations private early in the meeting. Congo and Williams objected. 

After the meeting, Shabazz defended her support of private deliberations, saying council members would be unable to discuss their opinions on candidates freely before the public.

"I didn't think with the open session we would get the honest opinions of council," Shabazz said. 

She said she will support Gray before the full council. 

"There were many good candidates," she said. "We were trying to get one that fit all of the consensus of all members of the committee."

Voting in favor of Gray were Harlee, Shabazz, Williams, McCoy, Bud Freel, Loretta Walsh and Zanthia Oliver. Rysheema Dixon and Congo voted no. Guy attended part of the meeting but was not present for the vote. Turner and Ciro Adams were absent.

Contact Jeanne Kuang at jkuang@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2476. Follow her on Twitter at @JeanneKuang.