Sparks, Tomey to take council seats

WILMINGTON — Ronald Sparks and Kristi Tomey are set to take their seats on Wilmington City Council next month.

Tuesday night Sparks had command of the board nearly the entire night. Tomey and Pat Delair were neck-and-neck — at one point only four votes apart.

Tomey won by a slim margin.

Susan Clarke had the fewest number of votes Tuesday night.

Voter turnout was low, which is expected in runoff elections.

Of course the sewer repair project and Wilmington convention center will be key issues for the next city council. But the one issue the two newly elected members say they want to tackle is crime.

Tomey said, “People are very concerned about crime, as they should be. We’ve had a lot of recent murders in our area. And since the police department asked for funding and didn’t get it, that’s one of the issues that resonated to the top.”

The other key issue is Wilmington’s sewer repair project. Mayor Saffo says Sparks’s experience as an engineer will be a major asset to the City Council with regard to that project.

We tried to reach Pat Delair today to see what’s next for her, but she was not available for comment.

The two new council members will officially take office at the December 4 meeting.

The current City Council plans to make a major decision regarding the convention center at Wednesday night’s meeting.