9 November 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Wichita Mayor-Elect Lily Wu is sharing her plans for Wichita once she takes office in January.
Lily Wu had a commanding win over Incumbent Mayor Brandon Whipple in Tuesday’s election.
Lily Wu wins election for Wichita mayor on Nov. 7, 2023 (KSN Photo)
Lily Wu wins election for Wichita mayor on Nov. 7, 2023 (KSN Photo)
Wu said she is grateful to those 35,000-plus voters for their support.
She is excited to move forward after pushing a new Wichita vision during her campaign.
Growing the economy, ensuring public safety, and wanting to restore trust in City Hall, are three big things she wants to improve when she takes office.
“I believe that the mayor of Wichita is one person on a council of seven, so that person should be a consensus builder and a bridge builder, and we need to get back to some priorities,” said Wu.
While she isn’t sworn in yet, she’s focusing on other big issues in the ICT.
Helping the homeless and continuing the city’s work on developing a multi-agency center.
“We need to be compassionate towards the individuals who are facing homelessness, but we also need to find solutions for them, whether it is housing or those needs that they might have regarding mental health as well as substance use,” said Wu.
She hopes to find ways to retain talent and grow the workforce while also meeting with builders and nonprofits to address the housing crisis.
“This is an affordable city to live in, and we need to make sure that it continues being that way,” said Wu.
Wu said she wants to see Wichita grow.
During her campaign, she said she wanted to stop “taxpayer-funded giveaways,” according to her campaign website.
Wichita State Political Science Professor Neal Allen said he will be watching her position on incentives for business developers.
“I would expect that a lot the general opposition that she had to developer incentives will shift when the economic realities of Wichita come to bear,” said Wichita State Political Science Professor Neal Allen.
Wu said she is ready to be a public servant for Wichita.
When asked about her competitor, Mayor Brandon Whipple, Wu said she is looking forward to talking with him as she transitions into her new role.
Wu also mentioned the seven others who ran in the Primary election in August.
She wants everyone to work together to find commonality to make Wichita a better place.