Lewis Butts. Screenshot from the ABC27 mayoral debate in April.
A Democrat who lost in Harrisburg’s primary race for mayor has launched a write-in campaign.
City native Lewis Butts Jr. announced his candidacy on Tuesday, asking for residents to write in his name on the November ballot.
“I’ll measure leadership by what your family can feel—safer walks, faster permits, cleaner streets—and I’ll post the proof every Friday,” Butts said in a press release.
Butts was one of several Democrats vying for the mayoral nomination in May, but ultimately lost by a landslide, winning just 90 votes compared to 1,725 votes for incumbent Wanda Williams.
Williams’ name will appear on the ballot along with Republican candidate and City Treasurer Dan Miller, a Democrat who ran for his party’s nomination in the primary. Miller lost to Williams by a slim margin, but won the Republican nomination through write-in votes.
Butts is offering his candidacy as a third option, saying calling himself the “true alternative from common complacency.”
Butts said that he was open to debating Williams and Miller. Miller has previously said that he has asked Williams to debate him and she has not obliged.
Butts’ platform includes building a “Harrisburg International Aquarium,” using energy from the Susquehanna River to generate revenue, cleaning up blight and establishing city-wide WiFi.
In his release, Butts characterized himself as a “perennial candidate.” He has run for mayor unsuccessfully several times before. He also noted that he is a U.S. Navy veteran and a “faith-guided community activist.”
For more information, visit Lewis Butts’ campaign website.
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