Another vacancy is coming to Wilmington's divided City Council

Wilmington City Councilman Bob Williams will resign from office this summer, leaving another vacant seat for his divided colleagues to fill during this term.

Williams, the 7th District councilman representing neighborhoods in the westernmost portion of the city such as Little Italy, Union Park Gardens and Westmoreland, is moving to the Newark area to be closer to his son's new school. 

A nurse who had spent 20 years as a Wilmington police officer, Williams was first elected to the City Council in 2012. He is the council's public safety committee chair.

"I gave 26 and a half years of life to the city," he said Thursday after his colleagues announced his departure on the council floor. "I have no regrets other than that I didn't finish this term."

He expects to leave in July. The move will create a second vacant seat for council members to fill this year, five months after the appointment of Linda Gray to the 1st District seat ended weeks of fighting that split the council in half. 

The filling of the 1st District seat represented a power struggle in the council over whether to appoint a candidate friendly to Mayor Mike Purzycki and Council President Hanifa Shabazz, or to their critics. 

In that battle, Williams largely took the side of the critics.

OPEN CONFLICT: Wilmington City Council ends weeks of fighting, finally fills open seat

He's been vocal in his opposition to several moves by the Purzycki administration, such as the cutting of firefighter positions two years ago and the attempt to sell a historic Forty Acres firehouse to an apartment developer.

In 2017, Williams pushed for the city to adopt a registry of gun offenders, which many criticized as being too harsh on those who have already served time. The measure failed to be brought up for a vote.

Most recently, he cast the sole vote outside of sponsor Bud Freel's to advance to the council floor the administration's signature measure to more aggressively fine vacant and blighted properties.

It was the third time that legislation has been introduced before this council, and the first time it was voted out of a committee. Freel has since held the legislation for the summer, lacking the necessary votes in the full council. 

The controversial measure has led to a debate over whether the city's approach to blight should be penalty or incentive driven.

BLIGHT BILL: Wilmington's blight bill controversy explained

Williams said he voted for the bill to "allow the whole body to vote it up or down."

"It has a lot of very good components," he said, praising the inclusion of higher city registration fees for rental properties, which has drawn an outcry from landlords. "The good landlords, bless them. But the bad landlords are going to continue to squeeze every bit of juice they can. They're making money off poor folks and aren't reinvesting [in the city]."

When Williams leaves, the newly amended process for filling vacant seats will be used to replace him, the council's chief of staff Marchelle Basnight confirmed. 

Applicants from the 7th District will be interviewed in a public hearing by the full City Council, which will vote on a nominee and then vote again to approve the nominee.

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

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