Why Should Delaware care?
Wilmington’s city charter requires at least one minority-party member be elected among the four at-large seats. After City Council’s lone Republican switched to the Democratic Party last fall, that policy goal has been undone.
The Wilmington City Council is considering a resolution that would bar future minority-party members from switching their affiliation during the middle of an elected term.
While the resolution was sparked by Councilman James Spadola’s change of parties five months ago, it would not affect him because it would not apply retroactively.
Still, the conversation around the resolution has brought a wave of criticism against Spadola, including calls for him to resign.
On Thursday, the Wilmington City Council held its first public discussion about the resolution, proposed by Councilman Alex Hackett. The measure asks Delaware’s legislature to change the city’s charter to prohibit a future at-large council member who represents a minority political party from changing their party during their term. If they do, they would be required to forfeit their seat.
During the meeting, all eight council members present expressed support for the resolution. Spadola and four other members did not attend the meeting.
In October, Spadola – then the council’s sole Republican – switched his party registration from Republican to Democrat – altering the makeup of the council to all Democratic members.
Currently, Wilmington’s city charter prohibits the majority party from nominating more than three candidates for the four at-large council seats, essentially guaranteeing that at least one member is from a minority political party. The charter does not explicitly say that council members cannot change their party while in office.
During the meeting Thursday, council members Zanthia Oliver, Coby Owens, and Council president Trippi Congo called that a “loophole” in the charter that Spadola relied on to change his party affiliation.
They argued that the purpose of the charter is to require a member of a minority party on the council at all times.
“It is very clear what the intent of the charter is … and unfortunately, we have an instance where we have a council member who went around that intent,” Congo said during Thursday’s meeting.
Hackett said he proposed the measure to ensure that party switches do not happen in the future, arguing such moves undermine fair representation and the city’s democratic process.
“It just was a slap in the face to all of us,” Hackett told Spotlight Delaware.
A handful of residents also spoke during the meeting, saying Spadola’s party switch disenfranchised voters. They called on the City Council to force him to vacate his seat or take the matter to the Delaware Court of Chancery.
“By switching midterm he has betrayed the very voters who place their trust in him,” Brandon Brice, secretary of the Delaware Republican Party, said.
Spadola, council clash over party switch
Following Spadola’s party switch last fall, he told Spotlight Delaware he had considered changing parties since 2021. He finally did so, he said, because he disagreed with several policies associated with President Donald Trump, including tariffs, ICE enforcement, and federal troop deployments into U.S. cities.
Last fall, the city council’s chief of staff Elijah Simmons said Spadola would be able to finish his term, which ends in 2028, He said the city’s charter contained “no written prohibitions against party affiliation changes while in office.”
Since Wilmington’s voter registration is heavily Democratic, three of the four at-large City Council seats have historically gone to Democrats, leaving a single seat for a Republican party candidate.
Spadola was first elected in 2020 and re-elected in 2024.
This week, Spadola took to social media to talk about his fellow councilmembers’ recent actions, including urging him to change his party back, or to vacate his seat.
“You would think in an overwhelmingly Democratic city, with an overwhelmingly Democratic council they would welcome a new Democrat to the fold, but you know there’s politics going on here,” he said in a video posted to Facebook last week.
Spadola did not describe in detail the “politics” that he believed had influenced other members’ actions.
Shawn Dottery, a Republican who ran against Spadola for the at-large council seat in 2024, told Spotlight Delaware that “certain members of council” approached him in January, and urged him to speak out against Spadola’s actions. He said he declined.
But the councilmembers who have criticized his party change say their concerns are not an attack on Spadola specifically, but instead an effort to ensure fair representation.
Congo said he had been looking into the situation since last year. He said he had spoken with other council members, residents, the city’s law department and other attorneys to get advice, which led him to send a letter in February telling Spadola that he had to change his party affiliation back to Republican.
“Should the matter remain unresolved after that date [Feb. 16], we will consider next steps, including declaring your seat vacant,” Congo said in the letter.
Spadola discussed the letter in his social media post, saying that councilmembers were working in an attempt to vacate his seat so that they could replace him with an “unelected, handpicked successor.”
Spadola also hired an attorney to respond to Congo. In a letter to the council president, the attorney William Larson asserted that the city’s charter does not prohibit Spadola from changing party affiliation.
“We reserve all rights to seek declaratory judgment, an injunction, and additional relief in the Court of Chancery should you take any further action to vacate Council Member Spadola’s seat,” Larson said in the Feb. 12 letter.
Larson also accused Congo of breaking Delaware’s open meeting laws by jointly discussing the issue with multiple councilmembers. Congo denied the allegation.
“It’s a distraction,” Congo told Spotlight Delaware.
Congo said he has not responded to Spadola’s attorney’s letter. He is not concerned about a potential lawsuit, he said.
On Thursday, Congo and Hackett also told Spotlight Delaware that they would have further discussions with the City Council and with the community, about their next steps in addressing the issue.
On the other side of the debate, the Wilmington Democratic Committee sent a letter to City Council opposing the resolution, arguing that it is likely to be unconstitutional. They said it ignores the “political reality” that some Republicans may choose to become Democrats.
They also urged council to consider allowing residents to vote for four candidates from the same party.
“Gaining one more Democratic legislative seat in Wilmington is a win for our party, and frankly, a win for Wilmington,” Wilmington Democratic Committee Chair Cassandra Marshall said.