The alliance that helped Dennis Williams and Tom Gordon win their races for Wilmington Mayor and New Castle County Executive four years ago fell apart Tuesday night.
Both Gordon and Williams will be leaving office in January after stunning defeats.
Four years ago, their alliance, along with anger over the rezoning of the former DuPont Barley Mill complex near Greenville helped Gordon win office. For his part, Williams vowed to crack down on the city’s high homicide rae.
This time around, little-known businessman Matt Meyer was poised to take the Democratic nomination for the top county post, with Williams being soundly defeated in a crowded field for mayor.
Meyer hammered away at Gordon’s checkered past as a two-term county executive who ended up with a misdemeanor rap in a long-running federal probe of election practices.
Meyer also took Williams to task over economic development plans that include the use of a park trust fund to bring a penny stock exchange to Wilmington.
Williams, meanwhile, spent much his first term fighting the City Council and spurning $1.5 million in state funds for additional police, after refusing to turn over deployment information.
Gordon had been riding high until relatively recently as the county avoided property tax increases. He even explored a bid for governor with a plan to form an alliance with blue collar workers who have been hit by the closing of both of the state’s auto plants.
