By
Neel Lakhanpal ‘16
I think it is safe to assume that you either have not heard anything about the upcoming Baltimore mayoral race or have heard it mentioned once or twice but know nothing about who’s running. Among these reasons is certainly the presidential race casting a shadow over all over politics in the nation, especially several key Congressional races. Not only is this election cycle very different than previous ones, but it is also one that has dominated news outlets, easily grabbing the attention of readers and watchers around the country.
Nonetheless,
this election is an important one. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the current mayor,
decided months ago not to launch a campaign for re-election after the racial
unrest that rocked the city last April. Her handling of the situation itself
and the internal personnel switches that she made in the wake of the unrest
tarnished her reputation and made her candidacy unviable. The next mayor,
whoever it ends up being, will be presented with a tough bill to alleviate
racial tension in this new era of the Black Lives Matter Movement and increased
scrutiny of police brutality.
However,
voters are aware that this mayor must also tackle the roots of these problems.
In a recent poll conducted by the Baltimore
Sun, the most cited “biggest concern” was “crime, ”after which were “youth
and education” and “job creation.” As such, Baltimoreans want a mayor who will
handle both the crime that plagues the city and the systemic causes of poor
education and joblessness that drive it.
As
of now, there are two leaders and over a dozen others behind them. Former
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon and State Senator Catherine Pugh are currently
tied for top place in most polls. While Dixon is warmly received by
Baltimoreans because of her successful tenure as mayor years ago, she is still
suffering somewhat from a conviction of misdemeanor perjury during her time in
office that forced her to step down. She is pitching herself as a seasoned
politician who made a mistake, and is so far benefitting from that approach. On
the other hand, Pugh is making the case that she is a more energetic political
outsider. In this year of the outsider, that aura is benefitting her, too. The
rest of the candidates are little known but incredibly diverse. They range
greatly in age, political experience, and political affiliation. Rounding out
the 21 total candidates are five Republicans and surprisingly three Greens. A
majority of the candidates are African-American, as is the population of the
city.
All
parties’ primaries are held on April 26th, as will the primaries for
the presidential and Congressional elections for Maryland. Since Baltimore is
so heavily blue (there are 10 Democrats to every Republican), the winner of the
Democratic primary all but decides who will be the next mayor of Baltimore.
Barring any surprises in the general election come November, we can be pretty
certain of who the mayor-elect will be in just a few weeks.
