Campaign signs on Verbeke Street.
With just over a week until election day in Harrisburg, many voters are still undecided over who they believe will make the best mayor.
At lunchtime on Thursday and Friday at the Broad Street Market, dozens of residents told TheBurg that they were either not voting or still needed to research the mayoral candidates before casting their ballot, while several others had their minds made up.
The municipal general election is on Nov. 4, when residents will decide on the city’s next chief executive. Incumbent Wanda Williams is the Democratic nominee and City Treasurer Dan Miller, a registered Democrat, is the Republican nominee. Resident Lewis Butts Jr. this week said that he would run a write-in campaign.
While a few people said that they would definitely vote for Williams or were set on Miller, many people didn’t even know who was running.
New York City-transplant Jobi said that she was engaged in politics in New York, and wants to vote in the upcoming election, but doesn’t know enough about either candidate.
Midtown resident Cody Goss, an independent, said he wished he were more up to date on the mayoral race, but admitted that he’s become skeptical of politicians.
“There’s a lot of political tiredness with young people,” he said. “I believe in voting, but do I believe it makes as much of a difference as I used to? Probably not.”
A few people said that they were leaning toward one candidate or another, even if they weren’t huge supporters.
“You’re never totally satisfied, but she’s done some good things,” Jackson Towers resident Madison Bond said of Williams.
One man, who asked to remain anonymous, said that he was leaning toward Miller, saying, “I think he’ll run the city well. I think he’s more transparent.”
Another woman, Brenda, said she’s a “Republican all the way” and planned to vote that way. However, she wasn’t aware that Miller was a registered Democrat. When told that information, she was initially unsure how to vote, but seemed to settle on Miller after expressing her dissatisfaction with Williams.
Williams faced off against Miller in the Democratic primary, along with several other candidates, but Miller lost to Williams by fewer than 100 votes. Miller did, however, gain enough Republican write-in votes to make him that party’s nominee, which he accepted. Miller has characterized the general election as a “runoff” between Williams and him.
At the Zeroday Outpost, one man said that he voted for city councilman Lamont Jones in the primary and would “probably go with Wanda” on election day. Sitting next to him, Charles Oakley, said, “I don’t mind Dan Miller.”
Resident Nolan Chambers said that he would vote for Miller, even as a former Williams supporter.
“I voted for her in previous elections, but I think the nepotism thing is too far,” he said, referring to a current court case in which a former public works director accused Williams of firing him for allegedly refusing to promote her son, a city employee.
Chambers also cited the rebuild of the Broad Street Market’s fire-damaged brick building as an important issue to him.
“It’s time for new leadership,” he said.
Another resident, Becky Wallace Cook, disagreed, saying Williams “knows more about our city. She knows everybody in the city.”
Still, voters like Wallace Cook and Chambers, who have decided on a candidate, were in the minority of people interviewed. Many said they were not interested in voting or were undecided.
One man, who chose to remain anonymous, has lived in Harrisburg for 32 years, but said that he hasn’t voted in a municipal election in recent years. He wants to see issues like crime, unemployment and economic development addressed, but hasn’t found a candidate who he feels would make a difference.
“When is there going to be somebody that cares about the community?” he asked.
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