What's next for Salisbury now that its mayor is off to Annapolis?

CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this article incorrectly classified Jack Heath's new title. The city clarified on Wednesday that his title will be mayor of Salisbury.

Gov.-elect Wes Moore's announcement that Mayor Jake Day was tapped for Secretary of Housing & Community Development was just the beginning of a conversation about the future of Salisbury.

On Tuesday evening, that conversation came full circle when Day announced his formal resignation as mayor effective Friday, Jan. 27. Taking his place as mayor and serving out the remainder of his term until the November election will be District 3 Salisbury City Council President Jack Heath. District 2 City Council member Muir Boda will now take over as City Council president, and April Jackson will succeed Boda as City Council vice president.

"I find no joy in leaving the job I feel I was born to do, and will forever think of myself as once your mayor. It was 10 years ago I asked the people of the city to trust me, and we've come remarkably closer to the place we've envisioned a decade ago," Day said in his resignation speech amid friends and family in packed council chambers.

Among the achievements the Salisbury native touted were renovations to the city's Riverwalk and business revitalization, a new wastewater treatment plant, successful passage of a collective bargaining agreement with city employees, a litany of successful city-wide cultural events and continued downtown investment.

Day also noted there were still challenges facing the growing city, such as homelessness and creating affordable housing for Salisbury residents. In his Tuesday address, Day mentioned that the city's Housing First program to create a permanent supportive housing system to address chronic homelessness was launched under his watch.

Day, who was first sworn in as mayor of Salisbury in November 2015 after receiving more than 96 percent of the general election vote, sparked nearly $650 million in new construction and established two youth community centers during his time in office.

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"In order to go forward I must hand over the torch and there is no doubt the man to carry that torch as I step away is Jack Heath. There is no person better briefed or more knowledgeable, or more prepared to preside over the operations of the city," Day said.

Day noted he will continue to reside in Salisbury, although he will have a much busier travel schedule addressing the housing and community outreach issues facing the state.

"While it's early to get into policy, I want to accomplish whatever my governor needs me to do. I start my job on Jan. 30, but we have a real challenge in rent affordability," Day said. "We're also seeing owner occupied housing skyrocket in value, so we have a real challenge to make sure more Marylanders can stay in their homes. On top of that, we have supply challenges, and I think those most (effected) are the chronically homeless."

Jack Heath on city policy: Housing is key

While Heath is Day's successor, he is no stranger to the politics of the city. Before becoming a member of the City Council, he had an unsuccessful bid for county executive in 2018. He acknowledged his vision for the city is not unlike that of his predecessor.

"We have to see eye to eye on our greatest need, which is our housing issues. With the program started by Mayor Day, we're working with developers and competition is always good. What has made this city successful was that we heard the citizens' concerns, and we made a game plan for the city," Heath said.

Heath, who plans on running for the post in November, said the key to continuing the strides Salisbury has already made is found in continuity in policies.

"We've accomplished what we have because we've worked together, and that won't change. If we didn't have the department heads and the council we do, I wouldn't have stepped into this position," Heath said.

Salisbury's Jake Day a man of many hats

Day is also currently a Major in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Army National Guard as an information operations and special technical operations officer with the 110th Information Operations Battalion.

Day is a veteran of the global war on terrorism and recently returned from a combat deployment to Somalia, Kenya, and Djibouti, Africa, where he served as the special technical operations chief for Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

Most recently, Day served as the 79th elected president of the Maryland Municipal League, representing Maryland’s 157 municipalities.

He also serves as one of Maryland’s representatives to the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Local Government Advisory Committee. Day earned a Master of Science in Nature, Society & Environmental Policy degree from Oxford University, where he graduated with distinction for his dissertation. He also earned a Master of Urban Design degree from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree from the University of Maryland.

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This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: What's next for Salisbury now that its mayor is off to Annapolis?