Mayor Williams - It's NOT Wilmington's $. Ante Up or Get Out!

By Elizabeth Scheinberg

It's hard to have compassion for Wilmington's Mayor Williams. Especially when you know he doesn't want it. But, we can't ignore the plight of poverty and violence that has ensnared Delaware's largest city. I swell with empathy for the children of Wilmington, the innocents in the game of politics that threatens their safety.

And, so, on this last day of 2015, I think it's only fitting to remind Mayor Williams that the money being offered by A.G. Matt Denn is a gift. It's not his money to turn down. It's not his money to place conditions upon. It's not his money whine or cry about. It was earned by the economic casualties of bad mortgages who lost their homes and haven't seen a penny for their pain.

This money was stolen out from under innocent families across this state who will never benefit from the settlement that brought these funds here. It's there money. And you spit at them every time you complain about the one restriction that the AG and Dover has placed upon this money.

In particular, Williams is worried about a sentence in the summary of the committee’s vote that says once it has reviewed a report by a public safety consultant, “the Joint Finance Committee will determine whether it should recommend to the full General Assembly any changes to the City of Wilmington’s unilateral authority to oversee police operations within the City of Wilmington or any such other measures as it deems appropriate.”

Mayor Williams, Wilmington's children (young and old) are dying. The State is offering you additional funds and foot patrols and an analysis of policing in the city. Yes, that analysis could spur the legislature to make changes to Wilmington's policing authority, but really, does that matter when your city is dying.