Although Baltimore’s former mayors worry that his proposed reforms would weaken mayoral power, the Democratic nominee for mayor says the changes he envisions would only serve to modernize the city.
Brandon M. Scott, the likely winner of the upcoming mayoral election in Baltimore and current City Council president, wants to introduce a city administrator position and reform the city’s powerful Board of Estimates. He says his reforms would professionalize the city, pointing to similar changes in neighboring governments.
But former Democratic mayors Martin J. O’Malley, Sheila A. Dixon, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Kurt L. Schmoke pushed back on Scott’s proposed changes during a virtual discussion on Monday. Rawlings-Blake went so far as to say his reforms would be “akin to being in a prize fight, jumping in the ring and then tying one arm behind your back.”
Scott said he’s spoken with each of the former mayors, and told Maryland Matters that he “respectfully disagrees” with their criticism. He said the structure of Baltimore’s city government is stuck in the past.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Bennett Leckrone over at Maryland Matters
