(WHTM) — In the 1950s Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams was growing up in public housing in the Capitol City.

“Well, I had a father who was real strict, no nonsense father, lovely mother,” Williams said. “It’s the way we were raised.”

Raised well, but racism was a burden. She says, virtually no one of color lived north of Maclay. Yet, “It was well-kept homes, people had pride in where they lived,” Williams said.

Now, as mayor, keeping slumlords out and building nine affordable housing complexes is the accomplishment that brings her the most pride. Her biggest challenge is crime. The victims in the latest homicides in the city were 13 years-old and 17 years-old.

“Immediately after that happened I called Governor Shapiro,” Williams said. “He connected me with the colonel at the State Police.”

Williams says she is ready to send a different message, that crime will not be tolerated. She is trying to convince her friend of 50 years, Police Commissioner Tom Carter, to join her.

“I think I’m a little harder than Commissioner Carter,” Williams said. “He’s a little softy. But I try to respect his decisions when it comes to crime in the city.”

Williams is considering bringing in the State Police, and even the National Guard. Especially since, she says, the city is down 30 officers.

Shawn Eden would welcome that. His brother was shot and killed in Harrisburg in February.

“I think the State Police is a great fit for the city to stop the violence, but even better is the national guard coming in,” Eden said.

We talked with people around the location of multiple shootings, 18th and Regina. A mini market owner told us he would also welcome state Troopers and the guard.

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“Much better,” Juan Carlos Delosangeles of Sazon Mini Market said. “That way the neighborhood’s gonna be more safety and kids could come, they could walk around.”

People just want to be safe. Melinda Macon has lived in Allison Hill more than 25 years. She wants parents to parent their children.

“If the families aren’t fixed, then nothing else can be fixed,” Macon said.

Mayor Williams says she speaks with police commissioner Carter every day and a changing approach to deter crime “Is” going to happen.

During the debacle of trying to get construction going, after the fire last summer at the Broad Street Market, things soured between her and city council.

“To be perfectly honest with you, I was annoyed by city council,” Williams said. “If you don’t understand the parameters of what you’re about to vote on, you need to make sure that you ask several questions.”

The relationship remains chilly.

“City council members do not reach out to the mayor,” Williams said. “So I don’t know what’s going on.”

As we walked around uptown with her, looking at lots of the new affordable housing being built, lots of people waved at her. Stopping in at a barber shop, there were smiles and hugs. It is clear, this is her town.

By the 1960s, Williams’ parents moved — north of Maclay. Things were getting better. Today, Williams says *she can make things better, and she will run for re-election.

“It’s not an easy job but it’s a job I love,” Williams said. “I sat in a position as president of council and I couldn’t do much. I could only do so much. I sit here now and I can do some of the things that I want to do and I can hold people accountable.”

The mayor acknowledges Harrisburg’s dining and nightlife scene are not what they were. If crime can be reigned in, she says it’ll be easier to attract more of that.

She is sensitive to criticism that she doesn’t show up when something major is happening, that’s not always true, but she says she does not need to be at every major event as it unfolds, be it a fire or homicide.

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