Wilmington City Council Swears in At-Large Council Member Latisha Bracy

December 2, 2022

WILMINGTON – Latisha Bracy, a seasoned government and community relations professional with over two decades of experience in the public and private sector, is the new At-Large Council Member of the City of Wilmington.
 
By a vote of 11 yeas, Wilmington City Council voted this evening to select Bracy, who was sworn in and immediately took her seat.

“Wilmington is at a crossroads. We are at a crucial time for the city as we continue to rebound from the COVID-19 public health crisis, we continue to see record numbers of juvenile shootings, and we are working to rebuild and strengthen our city’s economy,” wrote Council Member At-Large Latisha Bracy as part of her vision submitted to Council’s Committee of the Whole. “I applied for this seat on City Council because I grew up in Wilmington, I love this city and I want to be a part of the next iteration of moving our city forward.”

Bracy replaces the late former Councilwoman Loretta Walsh, who left the seat in October. To fill the vacancy, the Council’s Committee of the Whole reviewed letters of interest and resumes from 16 qualified candidates and held public interviews to review the credentials of each applicant. Pursuant to the City Charter, a majority vote by the full body of the council shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy.
 
“I’d like to welcome and congratulate Latisha Bracy to the Wilmington City Council,” stated City Council President Ernest “Trippi” Congo during the regular meeting. “I know that we chose the correct person. I’m looking forward to working together so that we can keep moving our city forward, keep helping the people who need help, and be advocates for our city and supporting the City of Wilmington.”

Through a resolution sponsored by President Congo, City Council voted on December 1, 2022, for Bracy to fill the vacant At-Large seat, and immediately after roll call, Latisha Bracy was sworn in by Bracy’s term will expire in December 2024.

Bracy has worked in the campaign and governmental offices for U.S. Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester, U.S. Senators Carper, Biden, and Kaufman and served as Outreach/Projects Director for U.S. Senator Chris Coons, working with his instate team responsible for federal grants, nonprofits, business, and community outreach.

Before launching her own consulting firm in 2019, she was Senior Public Affairs Specialist for IKEA U.S. where she managed U.S. expansion government and media relations.  Her work included working closely with IKEA’s U.S. Property leadership team on land acquisition negotiations, construction, hiring and training, and community relations.

Bracy has also been actively serving her community through her roles on numerous boards and advisory councils including the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, and the Delta Outreach and Education Center.  In 2017, she was awarded the Mandela Fellowship Reciprocal Exchange Fellowship in which she traveled to Botswana to lead a 3-day workshop on Women in Politics at the University of Botswana.  Bracy is also a TEDx speaker and a 2014 graduate of Leadership Delaware.  She is a graduate of both Delaware State University and Wilmington University and serves as adjunct faculty in Wilmington University’s School of Business, where she teaches Organizational Leadership and Human Resource Management courses.

“I want to thank all of my Council colleagues for your vote of confidence and I look forward to working with all of you,” said Council Member At-Large Latisha Bracy during the council meeting.
 
To view the Regular Meeting of Wilmington City Council in its entirety, visit the link here [wilmingtoncitycouncil.us17.list-manage.com].

Yesenia Taveras
Director of Communications, Wilmington City Council