‘He was a visionary’: Former Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki has died

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Former Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki is being remembered as a visionary leader who helped lead the transformation along the banks of the Christina River. The area that was once home to shipbuilding and other industrial uses that contaminated the soil is now literally home to hundreds of residents.

Purzycki has died at the age of 80.

“Mike was warm, kind, passionate, loved his family, and was devoted to his faith,” said U.S. Sen. Chris Coons in a statement. “He was a visionary, leading the reimagining and rebuilding of the Riverfront, and he was a capable and compassionate person.”

Current Wilmington Mayor John Carney shared personal memories of his time with Purzycki, who was leading Wilmington while Carney was governor. They first met while Carney and his wife Tracey were working for then-U.S. Sen. Joe Biden while Purzycki was on New Castle County Council.

“I didn’t have a big brother, but Mike came awfully close. He was someone I looked up to and respected both as a colleague and as a friend,” Carney said in a statement. “Tracey and I have often said that Mike had range. He was a natural leader, a great athlete, a talented singer. He was tough with a wonderful sense of humor.”

After 20 years at the helm of the Riverfront Development Corporation, Purzycki was narrowly elected Wilmington mayor in 2016 after winning an eight-person Democratic primary by less than 300 votes.

Purzycki was re-elected in 2020 after winning 43% of the vote in a three-way contest in the Democratic primary and running unopposed in the general election. He took his second oath of office virtually just days after undergoing emergency coronary bypass surgery.

“If you don’t have a vision for where you want to be you’ll never get there so I think you really have to believe in what your objective is and I do,” Purzycki told WHYY News in 2016. “I’m a big dreamer.”

Those dreams were most evident in Purzycki’s work as leader of the Riverfront Development Corporation, where he oversaw the transformation of the former shipyards into a thriving residential district with hundreds of apartments, multiple hotels and restaurants.

The Riverfront took the national stage in 2020 as soon-to-be-President Joe Biden accepted his party’s nomination during the online Democratic National Convention hosted at the Chase Center on the Riverfront. And even more people around the world were introduced to the site in November, when Biden once again brought the international spotlight as the Riverfront hosted his election victory celebration.

“Fewer people have had a more profound and enduring impact on the City of Wilmington than Mike Purzycki,” said a joint statement from a group of state senators who represent Wilmington including Sens. Dan Cruce, Darius Brown and Senate Majority Whip Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman.

“Under his leadership at the Riverfront Development Corporation, the long-forgotten marshes along the Christina River were transformed into a vibrant hotspot that has since attracted businesses, young professionals, and athletic teams who now call our riverfront ‘home.’”

Purzycki also served as a mentor for up-and-coming state leaders including Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride.

“I routinely relied on Mike for honest advice and guidance. He wouldn’t always tell you what you wanted to hear, but he’d always do it with his infectious smile,” she said in a statement posted on social media. “His determined leadership — both confident and compassionate, wise and humble — inspired so many to help him realize his vision of a more vibrant Wilmington.”

Before joining the Riverfront Development Corporation, Purzycki served on New Castle County Council in the 1980s. He graduated from the University of Delaware, where he was a standout receiver on the football team. He then signed an NFL contract with the New York Giants in 1967 before an injury cut his dreams of a pro career short after a few months.