Let’s write a better story for Harrisburg.

Harrisburg is a city with plenty of grit and spirit. History has proven it. Our diverse citizens hail from nearly every community in Pennsylvania and increasingly around the world. Visitors quickly discover ours is more than one famous Capitol dome—we’re a welcoming, open and inclusive city.

Our story began as a rugged trading post on the banks of the Susquehanna that blossomed into a thriving town. At crucial points in the Civil War, Harrisburg even played an essential role in preserving the Republic.

By the early 1900s, Harrisburg faced a public health crisis and citizens responded by pioneering the City Beautiful movement—a majestic system of paved streets, lush public parks and a cutting-edge water system. Its success inspired sustainable urban innovation long before greenspace was cool.

Forward movement continued with the arrival of the steel industry accompanied by hundreds of family-sustaining jobs and a booming downtown scene. But by the 1950s, the post-War migration from cities to the suburbs began a long, painful outward migration that reversed years of progress.

When Hurricane Agnes pummeled the capital city in 1972, it left it—according to headlines “Battered, lashed, flooded and paralyzed.” Harrisburg’s drift was underway, but its citizens never gave up on the vision of our beautiful city. Tragically in the decades that followed, grassroots movements to right Harrisburg’s course sputtered almost as fast as they started. By the early 2000s, the city faced a disaster of its own making when a rudderless City Hall dragged to the edge of financial ruin. The economic shell game was over. A season of reckoning had arrived.

The story of Harrisburg’s recent past is one of heroic citizen-led action and dedicated city workers. But leadership was inconsistent at best. In many ways it’s a city brimming with talent but missing a unifying vision.

That’s why I am running for mayor. Because we need leadership that plans, executes and delivers.

That’s why I have a vision to make Harrisburg a leading capital city.

That’s why I haven’t given up. Because you haven’t quit either.

This doesn’t happen without you. We must do this together. We can fix Harrisburg. Let’s avoid retreating to the same political, racial, cultural and economic corners that have kept our city divided and broken. Let’s show the nation a city where differences are debated with civility, kindness and respect for each other. Let’s commit to leaving Harrisburg better than we found it.

In over thirty years as a businessman and volunteer in the City of Harrisburg, I’ve worked alongside many extraordinary people—folks who’ve cared more for their neighbor’s wellbeing than their own ambitions. I’ve seen walls fall when personal agendas give way to shared ideals. I’ve seen parts of this city at its very worst and its very best. It’s time to channel that same spirit in a citywide call to action.

Yes, we have problems. High crime, blighted neighborhoods, vanishing businesses and a failing school system have robbed a generation of potential and promise. We’ve also seen the auctioning off of valuable city assets with little return. This must end. These are unavoidable truths. We also know that practical, solvable problems have been passed from one mayor to the next in a cycle that will only continue if we do nothing. It’s time for action.

Mayoral Leadership from the First Day in Office

Confronting the Public Saftey Emergency with Action

Harrisburg can’t move forward without aggressive, unified action to reverse rising violent crime rates, especially in neighborhoods where predominantly black and brown citizens live. As mayor, I’ll gather Harrisburg City Council, public safety officials, business, school, church, non-profit and neighborhood leaders to participate in a Citywide Action Summit on Violence Prevention. The goal of the Summit is to develop a unified strategy to understand the root causes of crime, review manpower and resource needs, and launch an action plan that enlists every citizen in a movement to end violence on city streets. I’ll also work cooperatively with City Council to then hold a Special Session on Violence to consider the Summit’s recommendations to provide a framework for action.

If you’re ready to make Harrisburg an energetic model for inclusion—a place where dreamers come to grow their best ideas—then join me.

If you want a city where everyone is respected—residents, business owners and visitors—then join me in delivering a vision to revive a fighting spirit of community action.

If you’re ready to work with me for safe streets, responsible, reliable city government, student-focused and parent-involved schools, affordable housing, smart economic development and thriving neighborhoods—then join our movement to make Harrisburg a city that works for everyone.