By: Mary Carr Lee, Mayors Innovation Project
As Mayor Danene Sorace gets ready to step down at the end of the year, she’s reflecting on her time leading Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Sorace has been focused on some big things: connecting with neighbors, tackling the housing crisis, and making the city more sustainable.
Right from the start of her campaign in 2017, Mayor Sorace focused on people and places. She got a true feel for Lancaster’s communities by walking its streets while campaigning, noticing which neighborhoods were thriving and which were struggling. For her, a strong neighborhood was about human connection. “A strong neighborhood, to me, means an engaged neighborhood,” she said. “Folks know each other and they look out for one another. They report problems when they see them, everything from potholes, housing quality, and public safety.”
Bringing City Hall to the People
When Sorace took office, the previous administration had focused heavily on revitalizing Lancaster’s downtown. Mayor Sorace’s goal was to extend this focus beyond downtown to empower Lancaster’s neighborhoods and connect residents directly to the city government that served them. That’s what led to the creation of the Department of Neighborhood Engagement during her first year in office. The idea was simple: knock on doors, talk to people, and bring City Hall directly to residents. They even gave out small grants through programs like Love Your Block to help neighbors take ownership of their surroundings. It gave residents a direct line to city services and a better understanding of how local government works.
But it also uncovered a hungry beast—a seemingly endless demand for services which the city is more effectively managing through the Lancaster FixIt! app where people can report issues to get them resolved quickly.
The Hard Truth About Housing
Pivoting to one of her administration’s biggest challenges, Sorace reflected on the ongoing affordable housing crisis. She’s proud of developing the city’s largest affordable housing project in 50 years, but she was clear about the huge hurdles she faced—the neighbors and money. Even in a progressive city like Lancaster, some neighbors were surprisingly against new affordable housing. Funding was also a nightmare because the money had to be pieced together from 20 different sources. For Sorace, this issue was personal, rooted in her own family’s past struggles. She knows and understands that housing stability is “paramount” to everything else, like getting to work or just having a place to feel safe.
Thinking Green
Sustainability is another big part of Mayor Sorace’s legacy. She described a quiet but important revolution in Lancaster’s public works, driven by the need to address the city’s combined sewer system. This led to a big push for “green infrastructure,” including hundreds of rain gardens, special porous pavement, and green roofs. Sorace says it was a community-wide effort, with people planting street trees and weeding rain gardens to help. “All of these efforts enhance the quality of life and benefit Lancaster’s waterways,” Sorace explained. “The key I learned was the consistency of messaging and helping people understand how to engage in big and small ways so that one day swimming and playing in our river will be a reality.”
Empathy, Instincts, and The Future
When asked what it takes to be a mayor, Mayor Sorace’s answer was quick: empathy with a strong dose of accountability. She said you often see people at their worst but still recognize their capacity for good. Her advice for her successor is simple: lean on the amazing expertise within the city administration and trust your instincts.
In January 2026, a new mayor will be sworn in. Mayor Sorace intends for as smooth a transition as possible. And she’s been preparing a detailed guidebook outlining key learnings from her time leading the city, everything from the city’s water utility to community police relations. She hopes the information will help the new mayor kick-start their work rather than spend time figuring out the basics.
As for her own future, Sorace says she plans to take a break from public life. Her ultimate hope for Lancaster is to see a more equitable community where social and economic divisions are no longer noticeable.
Mayor Sorace summarized her time in office as the best and hardest job that she has ever had. “I’m grateful for my mayoral experience and I believe that if you do this job for the right reasons, you will be richly rewarded.”
It’s a fitting final thought from a mayor who has always tried to reward and enrich her community through her leadership.