Delaware Gov. John Carney becomes Wilmington’s next mayor

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This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Delaware Gov. John Carney will be the next mayor of Wilmington, the state’s largest city. He captured more than 53% of the vote over former state Treasurer Velda Jones-Potter with all precincts reporting.

Because there is no Republican candidate in November’s general election, Carney is the de facto mayor-elect, replacing outgoing Mayor Mike Purzycki, who decided not to run for re-election.

Carney is leaving statewide office next year after serving two terms as governor, two terms as lieutenant governor and three terms as the state’s lone representative to the U.S. House. Carney said in a victory speech to staff and supporters that his campaign probably knocked on more than 10,000 doors during the campaign.

“But at the end of the day, it’s that individual family living on a block somewhere across the city that we work for to make sure that their life is better, that they enjoy Wilmington more than ever,” he said.

Jones-Potter was appointed state treasurer in 2009 and served about two years before losing her bid for a full term. She previously worked for DuPont and MBNA.

Jones-Potter said she was discouraged with the result.

“It’s disappointing that we as a city are still looking at more of the same,” she said, “that we are not going to see people in our city have the kind of opportunity that they should.”

Wilmington residents, including Ramanda Chapman, gave different reasons for casting their vote. Chapman said she voted for Jones-Potter because she believed in her vision for the future of the city.

“I would like to see better choices made with the available funding and transparency in that and to have more community members and citizens involved in those decisions and choices and not just corporations or those that would benefit financially,” she said Tuesday before polls closed.

The mayoral candidates have expressed their views on several issues facing the city in previous months, including in an August forum hosted by the Rotary Club of Wilmington.

Carney said during that event he was running because he cares deeply about the city.

“I thought long and hard about what to do next as my term as governor comes to an end, and I really decided that I could have a bigger impact on the issues that I care about as mayor of Wilmington than I could going back to Washington, D.C.,” he said. “We’ve been knocking on doors all over the city, and it’s really confirmed my choice to take a career in public service.”

Jones-Potter said she entered the race because she wants all Wilmington residents to have a better quality of life.

“In recent years, there has been a significant focus on infrastructure and building and development and it has not equitably provided for investment and care of our neighborhoods and our communities, people within our community,” she said.

“So I am looking forward to creating a better balance between our infrastructure and growth and development.”