From development to housing, how Wilmington City Council's newest faces will tackle issues

One is a 29-year-old attorney and the other a grandmother and Air Force veteran.

Together David Joyner and Salette Andrews are the two new faces soon to join Wilmington City Council.

The top vote-getters for three council seats in Tuesday's election, they were joined as winners by incumbent Kevin Spears. All three are Democrats, and although a nonpartisan board, it makes for a Democrat majority on council.

Despite the generation gap, Joyner and Andrews not only share party affiliation but similar positions to address various issues in the Port City such as affordable housing, development and the environment.

"My priorities will include transparency and community engagement during the development process to ensure that everyone has a voice in shaping the future of Wilmington," Andrews said.

'Decisions are being made without us'

Already keen to public safety in the area as an assistant district attorney, the roots had been laid for Joyner's political campaign.

“In past elections I'd volunteered for other candidates I believed in. I knocked on doors, phone banked, and helped where I could,” Joyner said.After enough volunteering, Joyner realized that he wanted to support young candidates that cared about the same issues such as climate change.

“With this race having three seats, my friends and I started to float the idea of me running for those reasons. I formed a committee in April and built momentum by showing up to anything and everything I could,” Joyner said.Joyner is well-aware that the new role comes with already tense discussion topics. Two of many points on his radar are housing affordability and overdevelopment.

“I don’t accept that resolving the problem has to be an either-or," Joyner said. "It’s clearly a supply and demand issue. I want to make sure that we're strategic and careful about where and when we develop -- respecting the character of existing neighborhoods while leaning into opportunities that make sense."

Tuesday's election: Results from municipal races in the Wilmington area

He used the northern end of downtown’s Riverwalk as an example of a place that could be built with greater height and density. “We have to balance the need for construction with the quality of life for residents,” Joyner said.

While overdevelopment is something Joyner wants to tackle, the young councilmember is excited to bring environmental policy to the table so that the city can better curb emissions and protect wetlands.Pushing for more young adults to get involved in city government with boards, commissions and committees is also important to Joyner."Throughout this campaign I walked into a lot of rooms where I was the youngest person by fifteen years or more," Joyner said. "Decisions are being made without us and it's on us to fix that by showing up. The positive energy of this election makes me confident we can do it."

A balanced approach

While Andrews is a small business owner, grandmother to three and a veteran with a Master of Science degree, she’s not new to the political scene.

Over a decade ago, Andrews served on a town council in Arizona.

Similar to Joyner, Andrews said at that time, she was deeply concerned with sustainability — meeting the needs of locals without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.Now a Wilmington resident, she decided it was time to get back in the game.

“Fifteen years later, I realized that Wilmington was struggling with the same issues of balancing environmental protection, community safety, housing affordability and infrastructure, so I decided to run again,” Andrews said.She’s taken note of major concerns residents have voiced to city leaders.Andrews wants to focus on tackling top issues like infrastructure and to emphasize the importance of sustainable, responsible development.Not only do her ideas include prioritizing projects that incorporate infrastructure improvements and affordable housing components, but also green building practices.“The ultimate goal is to strive for a balanced approach that takes into account the need for economic growth and job opportunities while also preserving the character and quality of life in existing neighborhoods,” Andrews said.Andrews and Joyner will officially be sworn into city council at their first meeting in December.

“I just want to say congratulations to the winners that are going to be sitting on city council… Salette Andrews and David Joyner, I’m looking forward to working with them,” said Mayor Bill Saffo at Wednesday’s city council meeting.

Results from Tuesday's election are unofficial until the New Hanover County Board of Elections completes its canvass on Friday.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: How Wilmington City Council's new members will solve problems