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Wilmington City committee seeks stronger ties with state legislators, lobbyists and sister cities
Summary
At its June 3 meeting, the Wilmington City Intergovernmental Committee discussed a strategic plan that would formalize a City Council legislative agenda, strengthen coordination with state legislators and city lobbyists, and pursue recurring intergovernmental meetings and grant opportunities.
The Wilmington City Intergovernmental Committee on June 3 discussed a proposed strategic plan that would sharpen council coordination with state partners, city lobbyists and sister‑city programs, presenters said.
"The chair wants to strengthen collaboration with the city's lobbyists and coordinate communication between council and state partners," said Elijah Simmons, chief of staff for Wilmington City Council, presenting priorities developed with Dr. Kendra Brunfield Nangna, legislative research and policy director.
The plan lays out two central themes: relationship building among levels of government and a unified legislative agenda to guide advocacy in the Delaware General Assembly. Presenters urged establishing recurring meetings with state delegation leadership, engaging state legislators before local bills are introduced, and improving transparency around charter or legislative changes that affect city operations.
Vice Chair Christopher Johnson and several councilmembers emphasized widening outreach beyond state legislators to include county and federal representatives and the school board. Johnson argued that a dedicated council lobbyist would help ensure council priorities receive distinct advocacy, noting the FY27 budget currently lacks funding for a council lobbyist. "I think a lobbyist for council is a little bit better for us to have our own," Johnson said, pointing to past sister‑city agreements, including one he referenced with Doha, as potential partnership paths.
Councilmembers also discussed using the intergovernmental committee as an instrument to advance other committees' goals, hosting joint committee hearings with bodies like the education committee, and developing a more unified council voice on shared high‑priority resolutions rather than disconnected proposals.
The presenters framed the strategic priorities as a starting point: staff will gather further feedback, pull out specific objectives, and propose reasonable timelines for implementation. The committee moved on to other agenda items; the plan will be refined with member input before any formal adoption.
The discussion also covered grant and resource development, where members proposed hiring or contracting for grant‑writing capacity and distinguishing grants requiring mayoral sign‑off from council‑led opportunities.
