Meet the Mayors: Leonardo Williams on Durham gun violence, goals for his second term, and his path to politics

Due South · Feb 26, 2026 · 50m

0:01:00

Meet the Mayors: Durham's Leonardo Williams

Leonardo Williams has been Durham’s mayor since 2023. Before that, he was on the City Council from 2021 through his election as mayor.

Williams shares his criticisms of decisions by the City Council to end programs he says would help curb gun violence, including using a technology called ShotSpotter, and his vision of what would help.

A string of shootings killing children and other Durham residents led Williams to publicly address gun violence. On Feb. 20, he held a news conference to discuss the shootings, and a partnership between the…