ABOUT
My wife, Kate, and I live on the west side of Wilmington in Union Park Gardens. She is a native Delawarean, but I am a Delawarean by CHOICE. When neighbors ask why it is me running for office and not her, I like to joke that it is because converts are the most fervent believers. Now, I have no idea whether that is true, but it gets laughs. I am always trying to make people smile because I believe that kindness and warmness are very valuable. I am originally from Philadelphia. I became a Delawarean in my twenties when I graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in economics and then I stayed in Delaware to get my Juris Doctorate from Widener University. I married and began my career trying civil rights cases in Wilmington. I represented the City of Wilmington and its employees in complex litigation matters in District Court, the Delaware Supreme Court, and the Court of Chancery. I drafted Wilmington’s first ever body-cam legislation and comprehensive firearm control legislation. In 2017, I served as deputy legal counsel to Governor John Carney. I served as the criminal justice advisor for all substantive criminal justice/judicial reform efforts in the administration. I also drafted key economic growth, education, and cybersecurity legislation. I am now a partner at a Wilmington firm where I specialize in civil rights litigation as well as wrongful death and personal injury matters.
As a community organizer and civil rights attorney, I try my best to obtain justice for those whom the system has failed. But after ten years of fighting for justice in court I realized that my efforts were not enough. Wilmington’s problems require more than just good attorneys, they require changes to the law. So in 2019 I threw my hat in the ring to represent Wilmington’s vacant 7th district. Thankfully, the city council appointed me. For the past year I have used my leadership position to promote citizen leadership. I do this because I know that the systemic issues within the city cannot be fixed by government alone, they must be tackled collectively. Together we must fight for justice on every street and in every home. With the community’s help, I am rebuilding civic associations across Wilmington so that we have leadership on every street corner.
Our neighborhoods face very daunting problems: lack of job opportunities, underperforming public schools, and rampant crime and drug abuse. Though my candidacy does not offer a panacea to these problems, I believe that the bold progressive agenda I am offering will make a difference. WE can turn the tide on our community’s suffering. One thing you should know about me is that I am an activist, not an ordinary politician. I fight for justice (criminal, economic, racial and reproductive), and I do not back down. I have spent years litigating against voter suppression. I am in favor of fines and fees reform. I am working to end cash bail, the War on Drugs, and sentencing schemes that force folks to succumb to plea bargains. I am committed to ending mass incarceration, the New Jim Crow. With your support, I will work hard to reform the systems which inhibit the citizens of Wilmington.
Please join me in the fight for a better Wilmington. Elect me to Wilmington’s City Council for a second term, and together we will rise!