Gov. John Carney of Delaware is about to do something that no other governor in modern American history has done — step down as a state’s leader and immediately take office as a mayor.
In his campaign for mayor of Wilmington, a city of 71,000, he and his staff knocked on more than 11,000 doors and have been met, at times, with confusion by voters.
“The main thing they would say is, ‘Isn’t this a step down?’ And I would say, ‘Well, I don’t think so,’” Mr. Carney said.
“It is arguably on a given day a harder job,” he added. “In that sense, it’s a step up.”
Term limits prevented Mr. Carney from running again for governor, and he has already had most other jobs in Delaware politics, having served as lieutenant governor and as the state’s lone representative to the U.S. House.
Governor Carney won the Democratic primary for mayor in September, and is without a Republican opponent in next week’s election, putting him on the precipice of making history. He even plans to vacate the governor’s office a few days early to be sworn in as mayor. (Other governors have later served as mayors — Jerry Brown in California, for example — but there has always been an interlude between the holding of the two offices.)
Mr. Carney, 68, spoke to The New York Times about his decision, and why the possibility of running for a U.S. Senate seat did not appeal to him. This interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
You’ve held many positions in Delaware. Why this one, and why now?
I decided to run for Congress in 2010, was successful in that and spent three terms there. I was really pretty frustrated. We were in the minority, which is not a great place to be. I met some great, very talented friends, but we weren’t making progress, we weren’t solving problems. It was just a lot of talk.
You may remember that Joe Biden’s oldest son, Beau, was the state attorney general and was planning on running for governor before he died of brain cancer.
So I was kind of the next person up, if you will. With two terms coming to the end, I had to decide what to do next. There was an opportunity to go to Washington again — I just didn’t feel that would be productive.
The mayor was thinking about not running. We did this little back and forth for several months. I wasn’t going to run if he was going to run. He wasn’t going to run if I was going to run. And then finally he said, “I can’t do it.”
Do you believe that this will be your last elected position?
The only thought I had about it was, if I had decided to run for the Senate, that’s a six-year term, and this is a four-year term. It just felt more manageable.
Then you can decide whether that’s enough or whether you still have more juice. There will definitely be more work to be done. I think the question will be, how much gas do you have left in the tank?
What advantage do you believe that a former governor can bring to City Hall?
Well, I know where the money is.
I know the legislators who appropriate it. Same thing at the federal level.
Engaging those leaders, the next governor, the next members of the General Assembly, already I’ve worked with them. They are advocates for the city. That’s where their districts are. That’s where their constituents are. So all of the above.
Do you have to sublimate your ego a bit here?
It’s never been a big ego thing for me. It’s always been about service. It’ll be a different kind of energy, a different kind of engagement. Much, much more on the ground. Street by street. Neighborhood by neighborhood. Person by person, as opposed to a figure that’s a little bit more removed.
Mayors do have a much more intimate relationship with their constituents.
That intimacy creates emotional engagement and trust. Bad things happen to folks. Good things happen to folks. So it can be an emotional roller coaster, particularly in a small town like ours, a small city, you get very close to the people that you work for.
What do you love most about Wilmington?
It’s really a small gem. It’s manageable. It’s got great diversity. I’m a big sports fan, so I love going to the football games, basketball games. It’s a way to connect with people.
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