Five Democrat candidates for Harrisburg mayor have shared their plans for the city’s struggling downtown hub.

With Harrisburg business leaders insisting the city’s struggling downtown has reached an “inflection point”, five democratic candidates running for mayor have detailed their plans to turn things around in Pennsylvania’s capital city. 

The five candidates are up for the party’s nomination on May 20th during the primary election. 

Mayor Wanda Williams

Mayor Williams said she has created a board to address the city’s economy and help small businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. 

She said many small businesses in Harrisburg were eligible for and received two separate payments of $10,000 in aid from the city. 

Mayor Williams referenced data showing 210 businesses opened in Harrisburg in 2024, and 68 additional businesses are in the process of opening this year. 

She points to the pandemic and the permanent shift to remote work for many people as the reasons for downtown Harrisburg’s problems. She said that with the right “municipal spending and public-private partnerships, we will create equitable access to capital and empower businesses to grow.”

Mayor Williams said she is increasing police presence downtown so visitors feel safe. “At this point, we are trying to make sure that we have the required police officers on duty downtown. We’ve sped it up and made sure that we have enough cops, and we have other community officers who are coming in.”

Treasurer Dan Miller

Treasurer Miller summed up his approach to downtown Harrisburg, saying, “My strategy centers on strong collaboration with key stakeholders, including the Chamber of Commerce, CREDC, and our business community. By uniting our efforts, we can create a downtown that attracts people and thrives.”

Treasurer Miller also focused on the decline in full-time presence of state employees in Harrisburg. 

“To address this, I propose a priority focus on converting underutilized office space into residential apartments. Increasing downtown housing will drive foot traffic and foster a dynamic live-work environment,” he said. 

Another priority for Miller is attracting new businesses, especially restaurants. “We will use targeted marketing and incentives. Building on early successes will be essential,” he said.

Miller plans to “make downtown Harrisburg a destination for residents and visitors” by focusing on arts and entertainment, community events, festivals, and entertainment. 

Lewis Butts Jr., Citizen Activist

Lewis Butts Jr. is a citizen activist and a four-time mayoral candidate. 

He suggested building upon the National Civil War Museum in Reservoir Park by focusing on the city’s history as the home to Camp Curtin, a former military training installation for the Union Army. 

“Gettysburg is very economically sound because they have the history of the Civil War. We also have a history of the Civil War, but we really don’t support our National Civil War Museum and our history,” he explained. 

Butts’ plans include all the regimental flags from the estimated 300,000 troops who passed through Camp Curtin to line State Street in Harrisburg. 

“I would create a theme that we basically already have. How we want freedom for us all. We won the Civil War, and we should take care of that. We should sanctify that. That’s the truth that will bring people here to look at our history.”

He also proposed creating the “Harrisburg International Aquarium” at the former U.S. Post Office site on Market Street to attract tourism to the area and drive up employment. 

City Council Member Lamont Jones

City Council Member Lamont Jones said shifting the city away from its reliance on state workers is key to improving it. 

He also plans to remove hurdles that prevent businesses from coming into the city over the suburbs. 

“The city of downtown Harrisburg was actually designed, as many know, for the state workers. That’s how the foot traffic was actually created in the downtown area. As we can see now, it doesn’t look like they’re coming back. So we have to redesign that. We have to make it more attractive for businesses,” he said. 

In a recent debate, Jones blamed Mayor Williams and her administration for not being accommodating enough to businesses interested in coming to Harrisburg city. 

“A lot of the businesses that I’m speaking with… tell me some of the hurdles that they had to get over just to do business in the city. Harrisburg is very attractive to developers that come in. But businesses, they don’t have that kind of love coming from this current administration. You could go five minutes across the river, and you can see a booming economy. That tells you right now, something’s wrong,” he said. 

Jones also plans to implement better marketing to attract people to the city. 

Tone Cook, Community Activist and Nonprofit Director

Tone Cook plans to meet and collaborate with entrepreneurs as mayor of Harrisburg. He wants to learn what they need to help grow in the city. 

“We can sit and figure it out together. I can give my own opinion on how I think things will work. But I believe in bringing them all together as a collective, and everyone sits down and we discuss some things. That’s how we can move our city forward and uplift our businesses. Get others involved and not just go off one person’s opinion,” he said. 

Cook also plans to prioritize controlling violence that occurs downtown. 

“People are leaving the city; businesses are leaving the city due to violence, and they’re not feeling safe again. So again, I will focus on the violence. We need to make people feel as though they are going to be protected,” he said.