Tag Archives: Eric Papenfuse

Burg View: A Debt Paid

Harrisburg city hall (file photo)

A decade ago, Harrisburg, Pa., became a national poster child for financial disaster.

By next week, the city will be, essentially, debt-free.

On Tuesday, City Council passed a resolution authorizing the payment of $8.3 million to its bond insurer, Ambac Assurance, freeing Harrisburg from the stranglehold of debt that led it, back in 2011, to the brink of municipal bankruptcy.

I feel that this occasion should not pass without some recognition of just how remarkable an accomplishment this is.

I won’t bore readers with the ins and outs of how Harrisburg got into this mess, except to say that the city went on a reckless spending spree spanning decades under the longtime administration of former Mayor Steve Reed. By 2010, the city, with some 50,000 residents, had a debt load north of half-a-billion dollars.

The city paid a huge price to dig itself out. That price included state receivership, the sale of the troubled city incinerator (just as it finally got fixed) and, the unkindest cut of all, the long-term lease of the city’s valuable parking assets.

Despite these measures, Harrisburg was left with a massive debt load that many doubted it could ever repay. Now, it has, retiring the final piece of $26.5 million in forbearance liabilities it incurred after defaulting on bond obligations during the financial crisis.

The Papenfuse administration deserves a share of credit for this accomplishment, as, in 2021, it reached a critical deal with Ambac that lessened the burden. Successive city councils and the city controller also watched the bottom line, and the Williams administration, upon taking office in January 2022, made paying off the remaining debt a high priority.

Credit also should go to an entity I often criticize—the commonwealth. Indeed, the state should have looked more carefully and critically as Reed-era spending ran amok in the 1990s and early 2000s. But, in the end, it facilitated a financial recovery plan, played a key role in monetizing city assets, and, later, led by state Rep. Patty Kim and Sen. John DiSanto, extended the city’s extra taxing authority to provide a longer-term financial solution.

So, where to now? Unfortunately, Harrisburg’s hangover from its fiscal crisis isn’t quite over. It still has to exit Act 47 (the state’s program for financially distressed cities), settle litigation over the ill-advised, reckless incinerator financing and regain access to the credit markets, to name a few priorities. And, unless something is done to slap Park Harrisburg (and its out-of-state asset manager) into reality, the skyrocketing cost of parking remains a real threat to the long-term viability of downtown.

Having said that—we should pause for a moment to relish this accomplishment. I vividly recall the long, difficult nights, a dozen years ago, that I spent in city council chambers, wondering if Harrisburg had any future at all. I’m now confident that that future, while challenging, is a bright one.

Lawrance Binda is publisher/editor of TheBurg.

This editorial has been updated.

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Burg Blog: New Year, New Mayor

Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams speaks at Monday’s swearing in.

On Monday morning, Wanda Williams was sworn into office as the 39th mayor of Harrisburg.

Since then, a number of city residents have asked me what we might expect of the new administration.

My response has been twofold.

First, I said that, on some level, we don’t know what to expect. Every new administration—local, state, national, whatever—is something of an unknown. It will be several months before we can begin to assess how the mayor goes about her job: how she implements her priorities, how she manages the city’s workforce, how she relates to City Council.

If I remember correctly, I said something similar eight years ago and even wrote a column assessing the Papenfuse administration six months in.

Having said that—Williams is not an unknown quantity, as Eric Papenfuse, a newcomer to elected office, was back in 2014. Williams has served on council since 2006, including two terms as president. To some extent, Harrisburg is what it is today because of decisions she’s made and legislation she’s backed. Therefore, I don’t expect a major departure in direction, though some change is certain.

And that brings me to the second part of my response.

At her swearing in, Williams told us exactly which policies she would emphasize. During a brief, seven-minute speech, she outlined four priorities:

  • Enrichment opportunities for youth
  • Affordable housing
  • Better roads and bridges
  • Improving the city’s dysfunctional, aged sewer system

In my opinion, these are right on point. Harrisburg, of course, has many needs, but a mayor, faced with financial and other constraints, needs to prioritize. These four areas, in particular, stand out as vital and within the reasonable domain of city government. Success in these will require sustained focus, funding and effort throughout her term.

In a way, Williams is fortunate as she assumes office, with the city in strong financial shape. In addition to having money in the bank, Harrisburg has $48 million waiting to be allocated from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), with perhaps even more money coming from other federal and state programs, including the recently passed federal infrastructure bill. Cities always face tough challenges, but I would argue that the wind currently is at Harrisburg’s back, strongly.

It remains to be seen exactly how Williams will go about allocating funds and implementing her priorities. In her speech, while discussing affordable housing, she mentioned helping residents achieve “the American dream.” I translated that to mean that she would try to encourage homeownership, an effort that I strongly support.

For ARPA-financed projects, the administration will need to move quickly, as the window to use those funds expires in just a few years. So, I expect we’ll know more soon about how that money may be allotted.

In her speech, Williams didn’t mention one other item that I expect will be a priority for the new administration—what to do with the city’s long-term debt.

Last year, the Papenfuse administration and Williams (backed by other city officials) had a prolonged dispute over how to retire the city’s remaining general obligation bonds. Papenfuse wanted to refinance them over 10 years, while Williams advocated paying them back more aggressively.

In the end, Williams’ position won out. Harrisburg made a large pre-payment in November, but didn’t refinance the rest, leaving the city with a debt load of about $19 million. The new administration and council, as one of their first acts, now will reopen the 2022 budget, which should offer insight into just how fast they can—and will—settle most or all of the remaining debt.

Near the end of her short inaugural speech, Williams said, “Now is the time to turn away from politics and focus on the real work that we must do together.”

Absolutely. For too long, Harrisburg has had mayors who’ve taken things too personally and made the job too much about themselves. Going forward, this city needs a healthy dose of “we” among its top leadership.

Lawrance Binda is co-publisher and editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

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Inauguration set for new Harrisburg mayor, council at Whitaker Center on Jan. 3

Mayor-Elect Wanda Williams

With the new year will come new executive leadership in Harrisburg, as Wanda Williams will be sworn in as mayor on Jan. 3.

The inaugural ceremony will take place at Whitaker Center, 222 Market St., Harrisburg, at 10 a.m. The event is free to the public.

Williams will replace incumbent Mayor Eric Papenfuse, who served for the last eight years in office. In November, Williams claimed victory overwhelmingly in the general election, despite Papenfuse’s attempt to win re-election through a write-in campaign.

Williams, the current Harrisburg City Council president, will be the 39th mayor of Harrisburg.

Harrisburg City Council members will also be sworn into office. They include Ausha Green and Shamaine Daniels, who were re-elected, as well as newcomers Ralph Rodriguez and Jocelyn Rawls. Council will reorganize, vote on a new council president and assign committee members at a Jan. 3 meeting at 12:30 p.m.

City Controller Charlie DeBrunner, who ran unopposed during the election, also will be sworn in for another term.

The following weekend, Williams will revive the tradition of holding a mayor’s inaugural ball. It will be held on Jan. 8 at the Sheraton Hotel, 4650 Lindle Rd., Harrisburg, at 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for $75.

For more information on the inauguration of Wanda Williams, visit her website.

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Burg Blog: To Publish or Not to Publish?

The former LGBT Center of Central PA

In journalism, some stories are much tougher to judge than others.

Most stories are obvious in terms of news importance. But some aren’t.

Take, as a good example, our story on Thursday about a dispute between the LGBT Center of Central PA and Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse.

In that story, Amanda Arbour, the center’s executive director, in a widely circulated press release and social media post, leveled certain charges about a building the mayor owns, where the center used to be located.

It was a follow up to a story from October, when we reported that the center had left its long-time home. Thursday’s story offered a lot more detail over what had allegedly happened.

Now, this is a landlord/tenant dispute at its core, so it’s something we typically would not consider newsworthy, unless perhaps there was a broader community concern or issue involved.

However, to me, this story’s importance was elevated by the prominence of the two parties involved: the city’s mayor and one of our area’s foremost nonprofits—as well as what the LBGT Center was claiming.

So, in the end, I decided it was newsworthy and should be published.

It wasn’t an easy call, and, after it was published, some people disagreed with my decision, emphatically starting with the mayor, who believed that we targeted him because of his position.

I might add that, for the story, we contacted Papenfuse for comment, which he provided and we incorporated. So, he knew we intended to publish a story based on what the LGBT Center said had occurred.

Now, the story doesn’t reach a definitive conclusion over who’s right. How could it? We weren’t there, but the two disputing parties were—and they’re saying very different things about what happened. So, we presented the center’s claims and Papenfuse’s response to them.

Many news stories are like that, of course. A reporter asks one side for their view, then the other side for theirs. It’s an imperfect method of discerning a “truth,” but it’s sometimes the best tool we have, especially when that “truth” is in dispute.

Papenfuse now believes that what we published was so egregious as to constitute irresponsible journalism at best, defamation at worst.

I continue to believe that we made the correct call.

So, what would you have done? Would you have published the story?

Lawrance Binda is the co-publisher and editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

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Executive Exit: A reflection on a mayor’s tenure

Illustration by Rich Hauck

Back in December 2013, I visited then Mayor-Elect Eric Papenfuse in his transition office, a small, cluttered space just around the corner from city hall.

He was a busy man, squeezing in appointments, hiring staff and trying to learn the workings of the sprawling—and then deeply troubled and indebted—city government.

But he made some time for me that day and gave me an overview of his general goals as Harrisburg’s new mayor. Some of these, I agreed with; others, I didn’t.

Well, life never turns out quite the way you think it will, and the next eight years were filled with many high points and some low ones, too.

In general, I believe that Papenfuse has much to be proud of as he exits the mayor’s office in January. Harrisburg is in far better shape today than when he took office, the city then just emerging from its devastating financial crisis. That said—it’s been a bumpy ride for sure.

I’ve reflected back on what I consider to be the most significant accomplishments—and the shortcomings—of Papenfuse’s two-term tenure. Let’s hit the high notes first.

City Finances. When Papenfuse took office, the city’s future looked bleak. Harrisburg’s financial recovery plan offered some hope, but how would the city ever be able to continue to pay its bills, deliver critical services and whittle down its mountain of debt? It was anyone’s guess. Eight years later, the city has run successive budget surpluses and has plenty of money in the bank. Last year, it even got the state legislature to extend its extra taxing authority, which may be the single greatest achievement under Papenfuse. The fiscal picture is now so bright that the mayor’s latest squabble with City Council is not if the remaining debt can be paid off, but just how quickly.

City Services. As the city’s fiscal picture has improved, so has its delivery of core services. The city’s staff, stripped to the bone during the financial crisis, has doubled under Papenfuse. Does Harrisburg really have an arborist, park rangers, an event planner? Yes, it does. It even went into the sanitation business, extending trash pickup into neighboring towns. Having said that—many key people have left city employment recently, leaving Mayor-Elect Wanda Williams with a big personnel challenge as she assumes office.

Infrastructure. Long-time Mayor Steve Reed loved new building projects, but he often ignored the crumbling streets, sidewalks and sewers right beneath his feet. In contrast, Papenfuse made infrastructure a priority. Over his eight years, much of 3rd Street was rebuilt, the long-dreamed-of, two-way 2nd Street conversion began, and development in South Allison Hill was seeded. Most neighborhoods in Harrisburg saw significant infrastructure improvements, even as Papenfuse tussled with PennDOT over state-owned roads. The mayor brought some sanity back to the redevelopment game, as the city got out of the building business but laid the foundation to make Harrisburg a more hospitable place for residents and for new development. So far, it seems to be working.

Papenfuse had several qualities crucial to being a good mayor—smarts, administrative skills and a commitment to hard work. Unfortunately, he lacked one other skill important for success in the job: good people skills. When he chose to, he did a decent job hobnobbing and glad-handing and doing all those public things a politician needs to do. But often he didn’t want to, it seemed. And to make the situation worse, he appeared more comfortable attacking than appeasing, being pugnacious not gracious. His personal style ended up exacerbating, not solving, many of his problems and, in the end, likely cost him a third term as mayor.

Over the years, Papenfuse publicly feuded with, in no particular order, the county commissioners, the visitor’s bureau, the Civil War Museum, PennLive, Capital Region Water, state legislators, the Dauphin Democrats and the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority. I may have missed a few. He routinely spoiled relationships with people and organizations the city needed on its side, and, as far as I could tell, got little in return from the fights.

However, his two most problematic relationships were also his most important—with City Council and with the community at large.

In Harrisburg, bad blood between the mayor and council is something of a terrible tradition. Mayors Reed and Thompson deemed it beneath them to even attend a council meeting, even though doing so would have helped accomplish the public’s business.

To his credit, Papenfuse made a point to attend every council meeting—that is, until he lost the May primary, when he peevishly stopped. However, he never really formed working relationships or alliances with council members. At meetings, the two bodies often looked like opposing forces and frequently behaved that way. In fact, over time, instead of improving, their relationship grew worse, turning into he said/she said dysfunction.

On Election Day last month, Mayor-Elect Williams stood at the podium in victorious solidarity with most of her fellow council members. For the sake of the city, I hope their relationship remains as strong as it seems now, which would be a welcome break from the past.

Papenfuse’s relations with the community, broadly speaking, weren’t that much better. There are folks in Harrisburg who don’t feel a need to see or shake hands with their mayor. But there are others who definitely do. They want to see him or her out and about, eating tacos on Allison Hill, shopping in Midtown, just walking around, occasionally checking in at the local store, restaurant or salon.

Over the past few years, Papenfuse was an increasingly absent figure outside of city hall. I respected that he put in long hours at his desk. However, public engagement is part of the job and needs to be part of a mayor’s routine schedule. It’s also smart politics, especially if you plan to run for re-election.

In the end, I feel that Harrisburg is better for having had Eric Papenfuse as mayor for the past eight years. He helped settle the city’s troubled finances and build capacity within the municipal government. He entered office at a critical juncture in Harrisburg history and is departing with the city in far better fiscal and operational condition than when he entered. Yes, he should have been more attentive to building and maintaining relationships and, importantly, taken the tumult of city politics more professionally and less personally. If he had, he might’ve been mayor for the next four years. Nonetheless, he can leave office with his head high.

And now the city moves onto a new mayor, a new chapter in its history. I wish Mayor-Elect Williams all the best and much success, both for the people who will work directly for her and for the residents of our shared city.

Lawrance Binda is co-publisher/editor-in-chief of TheBurg.


Illustration by Rich Hauck.

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Harrisburg set to finalize bond deal, make payment to significantly reduce debt load

The Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, at its meeting on Wednesday.

A contentious city bond deal is expected to close next week, allowing Harrisburg to retire a large chunk of its substantial debt load.

At a meeting on Wednesday, city financial advisor Dan Connelly said that Harrisburg would pay off the remaining $5 million on a 2005 bond issue that funded upgrades to the city-owned minor league baseball stadium on City Island.

In addition, the city plans to make a lump-sum pre-payment of $4 million to offset additional debt incurred during its financial crisis, after the city defaulted on general obligation bonds initially issued in 1997, Connelly told members of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (ICA), the city’s state-appointed financial oversight body.

Harrisburg’s bond insurer, Ambac Assurance Corp., offered the city incentives to retire the stadium bonds and reduce the remaining debt load. At the close of the deal, expected on Tuesday, the city will make a $9 million cash outlay and, in return, receive $13.1 million in total debt reduction, Connelly explained. The debt reduction includes the city’s upfront payments, plus Ambac’s debt forgiveness incentive.

“This will be a major accomplishment,” said Connelly, who’s been acting as the city’s representative on the ICA for the past few months.

After the deal is closed, the city still will owe about $19.1 million in general obligation debt. Under the terms of the deal with Ambac, the city’s interest rate on that remaining debt will be reduced from 6.75% to 5.25% for three years.

“This is great news, a great development,” said ICA vice-chair Ralph Vartan.

Notably, the Ambac deal excludes a refinancing of the remaining debt load originally planned by the city administration.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse wanted to refinance the remaining debt over a 10-year period at a still-lower interest rate, in the 3.25% to 3.5% range, which, he believed, would earn the city a credit rating and allow it to again access the bond market.

City Council members, however, rejected that proposal, stating that they preferred to use the city’s cash balance to pay off the remaining debt faster.

At a meeting in October, city Controller Charlie DeBrunner told ICA members that the city should wait until next year to decide exactly how it wants to pay off the remaining debt, once it sees how much cash it has on hand.

He said that he expected the city to end fiscal year 2021 with about $24 million in the bank, following the close of the Ambac deal.

“We’re not emboldened to do anything right away,” he said. “So, I don’t think we need to do something Jan. 1. Why don’t we wait and see what is real, say March? If these [revenues] are coming in the way I think they’re going to, then we can start writing some big checks.”

Mayor-Elect Wanda Williams, the current City Council president, has repeatedly advocated retiring the city’s debt load as quickly as possible.

At the October ICA meeting, DeBrunner praised the elements of the deal that the city now is about to sign off on.

“I don’t want to be somebody who looks to be a chronic complainer either. I think this deal is really good,” he said. “I’m really pleased we have this deal. So, I’m glad we’re paying it off.”

 

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This story has been updated to clarify that the administration sought to refinance its bonds so it could access the credit markets.

 

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Front Street bed & breakfast debuts second mansion, restores historic property

Owners Mike and Sally Wilson, along with local officials, cut the ribbon on “The Mary Sachs” bed and breakfast.

About eight years ago, a historic Front Street mansion sat vacant and overgrown.

Today, owners showed off the property, “The Mary Sachs,” fully renovated and ready to open as a bed and breakfast.

“We are so excited,” said Mike Wilson, who owns and operates the building with his wife Sally Wilson. “It’s so awesome.”

“The Mary Sachs” is the second property included in The Manor on Front Bed & Breakfast, owned by the Wilsons. Their neighboring mansion, “The Ledgestone,” opened in 2015. Both properties are on the 2900-block of N. Front Street, overlooking the Susquehanna River.

The mansion, built in 1926, was bought close to a decade later by Harrisburg’s Mary Sachs, a world-renown clothier and philanthropist, said Jeb Stuart of the Historic Harrisburg Association (HHA). Sachs lived in the home until she passed away in 1960. It later became an attorney’s office and then sat abandoned, he said.

In 2005, the two mansions, including a third next door, were slated for demolition, explained Mayor Eric Papenfuse. Community members came together to protest the demolition, with nearly 100 people gathering for a march that year, he said.

“It’s extraordinary,” Papenfuse, who marched against the demolition in 2005, said. “The building has come back to its former glory.”

The front entryway at “The Mary Sachs.”

The bed and breakfast was renovated and designed with a more contemporary, glam feel, Mike said. It contains six suites and common sitting areas. Guests can book a stay in the “Chanel (Coco) Suite,” the “Valentina (Schlee) Suite,” and the “Jeanne (Lanvin) Suite,” among others. They are all named after female fashion designers of the 1930s and ’40s.

Mike said that rooms will be open for booking as early as next week.

Work on “The Mary Sachs” has been ongoing since the Wilsons purchased the property in 2014, Mike said. However, they were waiting to open a second bed and breakfast location while the first grew. While COVID delayed the opening by about a year, Mike said that they’ve now reached an occupancy level of close to 90% in “The Ledgestone.”

The renovation of “The Mary Sachs” cost about $500,000 and included an investment of hundreds of hours of work, Mike said.

The building provides room to grow, and the Wilsons already have plans to add three more suites on the third floor and in the carriage house out back, Mike said.

A historical marker across the street tells the story behind “The Mary Sachs” mansion.

Additionally, David Morrison, executive director of HHA, pointed out the city’s newest historical marker that sits across Front Street, directly in front of “The Mary Sachs.” The signage tells the history behind the building and the woman who it is named after. The historical sign is one of about 120 in the area.

Mike said that they are excited to welcome additional guests to their new space, many of which come from surrounding cities, but also from “all over the world.”

“My wife and I love architecture,” he said. “We absolutely loved renovating these.”

The Manor on Front is located at 2917 N. Front St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit their website.

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Burg Blog: A Long Campaign Concludes

Harrisburg Mayor-Elect Wanda Williams

Last week, I was chatting off-the-record with a Harrisburg city official who said to me, “Whoever wins on Tuesday, I’ll just be glad it’s over.”

Amen, brother.

I think many city residents share a sense of relief that the painfully drawn-out mayor’s race reached its conclusion on Tuesday.

The Democratic nominee, Wanda Williams, won decisively, meaning that the city won’t be dragged through weeks of ballot challenges or even possible court petitions in the wake of the write-in campaign of incumbent Mayor Eric Papenfuse.

I’ve joked with my staff that I’m not very good at Election Day predictions, despite covering municipal races going back some 30 years. I can’t count the number of times I expected one result and got another.

But this year proved to be an exception. In May, I told our city reporter that I thought Williams would narrowly defeat Papenfuse, and she did—by 46 votes. For the general election, I said that Williams would win decisively, which again was correct (though I underestimated her impressive margin of victory).

Why did I predict this? Actually, it was pretty easy.

Write-in campaigns almost always fail, so Papenfuse had an extremely steep hill to climb and, simply put, I didn’t think he had climbed it.

Not that he didn’t try.

In mid-September, Papenfuse made the announcement that he was tossing his hat into the write-in ring and immediately followed it with a burst of activity.

First, he hired his former primary opponent, Otto Banks, as his new economic development director, perhaps hoping to scoop up a chunk of his voters. He then gained the support of former administration critics like James Ellison and Jennie Jenkins-Dallas.

Papenfuse had practically disappeared from public view after his primary loss in May, but suddenly he was everywhere. He held press conferences, cut ribbons and made announcements, garnering tons of free press, including from us.

He held two separate press conferences to announce his plans for federal pandemic relief funds: $13 million for two elaborate public pool projects (or, as I termed them, the Taj Mahal of pools) and another $12 million for senior assistance, including monthly direct payments to low-income seniors.

He campaigned vigorously and used the powers of incumbency aggressively. Did you happen to catch the trailer for “The Harrisburg Children’s Hour,” in which a puppet version of the mayor hops through the city? Seniors, parents, public housing residents—he checked off all the constituent groups one by one.

Yet I could sense that it still wasn’t enough.

Many residents saw these efforts as too little, too late, or, even worse, as political pandering. To me, it seemed that he was trying to strategize his way to victory—a move here, a move there, attempting to cover this or that base. In any case, his efforts didn’t come across as genuine, whatever their intention was.

For years, Papenfuse had been criticized for being out of public view, preferring his second-floor, city hall office to the bustle of the city’s sidewalks and streets. The warning bells should have rung loudly in his ears after some residents began calling him “The Mayor of Midtown.” I chuckled whenever I heard phrase because I immediately thought to myself—“Hell, he’s not here either!” Yet he took no corrective action, did nothing to make himself more visible in the community.

If Papenfuse wanted a third term, he needed to engage with city residents going back years, not weeks. I appreciated that he put in long, grueling hours at his desk, and I believe that he did some very good things for the city over the course of his eight-year tenure. However, a lack of public engagement was his Achilles heel, and a 45-day blizzard of activity wasn’t going to fix that.

In contrast, Williams leveraged a lifetime of relationships to win the Democratic nomination then claim the mayor’s office. Her campaigns weren’t especially vigorous, but she had a solid base of support to build upon and was blessed with an opponent who many residents had grown tired of or simply decided they didn’t like. This dynamic proved to be good enough for a win–a strong win.

Williams now will make the transition from legislator to chief executive. The Harrisburg city government is an unwieldy beast, consisting of a $100-plus million annual budget and some 500 workers delivering mission-critical, high-impact services for residents. In addition, the city has been bleeding key employees lately, including, just this past week, the business administrator, Marc Woolley.

Woolley’s departure, however, presents Williams with an opportunity. The job of business administrator—the highest salaried position in the city at $125,000—was crafted about eight years ago as part of the city’s financial recovery plan. It was originally called the chief operating officer and was intended to be a sort of city manager for a city that doesn’t have a city manager.

A strong person in this vital post could be a lynchpin to the smooth, day-to-day operation of the city government and contribute greatly to the success of the next administration. I personally believe that this position hasn’t been used to its fullest potential, or even very well, under the current administration. In fact, it took Papenfuse years just to fill it.

However, there it is now, just sitting there vacant, waiting for the right person to become the mayor’s right-hand person. In my opinion, the creation of the business administrator/COO was one of the best ideas to come out of the otherwise uneven Harrisburg Strong Plan. Putting a top candidate into the position—and then giving them the authority and respect so they can confidently do the job—would be a very smart early move for the new administration.

In any case, it soon will be out with the old mayor and in with the new mayor. Come January, Harrisburg will have a new chief executive, and I personally wish Mayor-Elect Wanda Williams all the best and hope for great success, both for her administration and for our city.

Lawrance Binda is co-publisher and editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

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Wanda Williams elected Harrisburg mayor, beats back write-in challenge

Wanda Williams speaks after declaring victory in the Harrisburg mayor’s race.

Wanda Williams will be the next mayor of Harrisburg, as the current City Council president handily beat back a write-in challenge from the incumbent mayor.

With all precincts reporting, Williams, the Democratic nominee, received 4,402 votes compared to 1,911 votes for “write-in candidate 1,” who is presumed to be two-term Mayor Eric Papenfuse. Republican candidate Timothy Rowbottom received 465 votes.

The vote tallies will need to be updated as the remainder of the mail-in ballots filter into the Dauphin County elections bureau.

At an election celebration in Uptown Harrisburg, Williams promised to be a “visible leader,” implicitly contrasting her style with that of Papenfuse.

“The residents of Harrisburg finally have an authentic leader, and that’s me,” she said, before a crowd of cheering supporters. “[A person] who’s rooted in the community and is going to take input from the community.”

Williams and Papenfuse also competed in May in a crowded, five-candidate Democratic primary, with Papenfuse losing the nomination for a third term by just 46 votes.

In mid-September, he declared that he would run as a write-in and has spent the past six weeks campaigning aggressively and trying to educate voters how to cast a write-in vote for him.

Williams, who has served on City Council for four terms, the last two as president, ran a comparatively low-key campaign. She will take office in early January.

In the meantime, she said that her first priorities are to hire staff, speak with city residents over how to best spend federal pandemic relief money and confer with City Council members.

“It feels wonderful,” Williams said, following her victory. “I want to get in there and get started.”

In the race for Harrisburg City Council, four Democrats won after running unopposed for four, four-year seats. They are council veterans Ausha Green and Shamaine Daniels and newcomers Ralph Rodriguez and Jocelyn Rawls.

For city school board, Democrats Brian Carter, Danielle Robinson, Roslyn Copeland and Jaime Johnsen all won four-year seats. Democrats Terricia Radcliff and Ellis R. Rick Roy won two-year seats on the board.

Running unopposed, incumbent Charlie DeBrunner will serve another term as city controller.

In Dauphin County, Republican Mary Bateman won a two-year seat for county controller, defeating Democrat Eric Epstein by a margin of 30,590 to 28,488 votes, respectively. For prothonotary, Republican incumbent Matt Krupp received 32,840 votes, defeating Democrat Anju Singh, who received 26,353 votes. Running unopposed, long-time county coroner Graham Hetrick will serve another term.

In the hotly contested race for an open judgeship on the Court of Common Pleas, Republican Jeff Engle bested Democrat La Tasha Williams by a tally of 32,940 to 26,580 votes, respectively.

This story has been updated to reflect the final results in Harrisburg and Dauphin County.

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Harrisburg voters slowly head to the polls, send in ballots for 2021 municipal election

Campaign signs outside of a Harrisburg polling location at Goodwin Memorial Baptist Church on Green Street.

Brenda Coles came out of the Edison Village polling location in Allison Hill on Tuesday morning proudly wearing her “I Voted” sticker.

“I’m a super voter,” she said. “It’s my right to vote, and that’s why I came out. It’s important on many levels.”

While Coles balked at the idea that someone wouldn’t exercise that right, it’s often the reality when it comes to municipal elections—turnout is low.

Unsurprisingly, in-person voting for the 2021 municipal election was off to a relatively slow start on Tuesday morning in Harrisburg, despite 31,770 residents being registered to vote.

Voters trickled into polling places across the city, while others opted to vote by mail. Residents cast their votes for a range of locally elected positions, including Harrisburg mayor, school board directors and City Council members.

Around mid-morning, many polling locations in Harrisburg had fewer than 60 voters turn out.

Countywide, Dauphin County reported receiving 15,481 mail-in ballots by noon.

Many voters, like Coles, headed to the polls simply because that’s what they do for every election.

“It’s my duty to vote,” said Walter Barnes, who was casting his vote at Camp Curtin Academy on N. 6th Street. “The thing that is important to me is my community.”

But other residents felt strongly about certain candidates and came out to support them.

City Council President Wanda Williams holds the Democratic nomination for mayor and Timothy Rowbottom is the Republican nominee. However, incumbent Mayor Eric Papenfuse, who has served two terms and narrowly lost the Democratic nomination in May, threw his hat back in the ring, launching a write-in campaign in mid-September.

“I voted for Wanda,” said Cheryl Holton, who cast her ballot at the Scottish Rite Cathedral on N. 3rd Street. “I’ve been watching her on city council. She’s been very responsive to the issues in the community.”

Holton said that she believes Williams has been easily approachable and concerned about addressing issues like policing and trash cleanups in the city.

Others, like Frank Novaleski, who also voted at the cathedral, hope to see Papenfuse in office for another term.

“I really want to see Eric Papenfuse back in,” he said. “I think he’s done a good job.”

Harrisburg resident Yaqinah Abdurrahman wasn’t impressed by many of the names on the ballot, choosing instead to write in candidates for most positions, she said.

“I think we need fresh ideas,” she said.

Many candidates were out at the polls on Tuesday, including Williams, who said that she was feeling confident.

“I’m feeling good; I feel like a winner,” she said as she greeted voters at the Scottish Rite Cathedral.

Outside of Camp Curtin Academy, Papenfuse instructed voters how to write him in for mayor.

“I’m feeling optimistic,” he said. “It’s very easy to do the write-in.”

Votes won’t begin being counted until the polls close at 8 p.m. on Tuesday night. Additionally, there may not be clear winners until write-in votes are tallied and all mail-in ballots, which aren’t due until Wednesday night, are counted.

For Dauphin County Elections information and results, visit their website.

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