Mayor Wanda Williams spoke during her swearing-in ceremony on Monday at Whitaker Center.
Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams has begun her second term in office, pledging “discipline, direction and renewed commitment to infrastructure.”
At a ceremony on Monday morning, Williams issued a call for unity among city officials, following Magisterial District Judge Marian Urrutia swearing her into office for another four-year term.
“My administration has a vision for the next four years,” Williams said on stage at Whitaker Center on Monday. “Harrisburg is ready for a new era of responsible growth, a new era of stability and a new era of long-term planning—an era where our children inherit a city that is stronger than the one we inherited.”
Williams won the mayoral election in November, beating her opponent Dan Miller, a Democrat who received the Republican nomination during the primary election, by 5,096 to 3,837 votes.
Williams’ speech, which included her priorities for the new term, spoke to mutual respect between City Council and her administration. The sentiments come at a time when the mayor has been meeting with outside legal counsel to potentially sue council over its 2026 budget amendments, which slashed salaries for several top city positions.
“We will stand firm against the disrespect, misinformation and unnecessary conflict,” Williams said. “Our residents deserve a government that behaves with maturity and professionalism. They deserve decisions that are rooted in facts and certainly not theatrics.”
During her speech, Williams repeatedly praised her staff for their hard work in the city.
When asked by TheBurg, Williams said that, due to council’s budget cuts, three higher-level employees were terminated last week because there was no longer money allocated for their salaries. Those positions include Harrisburg’s business administrator, project director for business administration/LERTA and the police bureau’s director of community engagement and relations. Council also zeroed out the city’s portion of funding for the interim director of building and housing development, which supplements the portion of the salary funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Gloria Martin-Roberts, the interim director, is still serving in this role.
During Williams’ swearing-in ceremony, TheBurg received an email from council president Danielle Hill with a statement about council’s budget changes. Council put the blame for the staff firings on the mayor, saying that council only removed the positions’ funding.
“Harrisburg City Council did not fire anyone. Mayor Williams fired the interim business director, project director for business development and LERTA administrator, and the director of community engagement and relations,” council’s statement said.
Council initially passed the 2026 budget in mid-December, with Williams vetoing council’s budget amendments soon after. At a special legislative session last week, council overrode the veto.
“If you defunded them, you’re firing them. There’s no money there to have them in place so they’re lying,” Williams told TheBurg in response to council’s statement.
Williams said that she intends to bring a lawsuit against city council over all the budget items that she vetoed, which included the defunded salaries.
“I’m available. There’s no excuse for them,” Williams said. “If they want to sit down and try to work things out, I’m willing. I’ve always been willing.”
In addition to her Monday morning comments about unity in city hall, Williams stressed that infrastructure would be one of her top priorities during her next term in office. She also said that promoting homeownership, battling blight and encouraging workforce development were important to her.
Williams said that her administration has a vision for the city and that her lifelong residence and service in the city make her fit to do the job.
“Progress is not accidental. Progress is built through hard choices, honest conversations and a willingness to see beyond short-term interests to a future that all our children deserve,” Williams said.
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