Pete Welch has represented the 9th District for two days, but we can still learn a lot about Baltimore’ s inner workings by looking back and analyzing different aspects of last Tuesday’s vacant seat hearing.
Mary Pat Clarke started on City Council in 1975! She took a break in the late 1990′s after losing the race for mayor in 1995. She triumphantly returned in 2003 and played the role of the spunky constituent serving veteran that older black and white ladies passionately adored.
When I was on the campaign trail in 2007 I would meet older black women who asked me why Mary Pat Clarke was not running for mayor of Baltimore. They would have supported her over Sheila Dixon. She has a very loyal female base that is spread all over the city and is made up of women from every demographic imaginable. Her gimmick has served her well.
Clarke is still stuck in the distant past when it comes to economic policies. She is a tax and spend Democrat and she thinks the city can come up with money for just about any project. All of her questions to the candidates dealt with her living wage bill/obsession.
Only Welch seemed to not support a living wage bill. He did not give a clear answer (he was being a typical ambiguous politician), but he did let out one gem which showed that despite his flaws he does have a grasp of economic realities. He is a real CPA. Welch stated that on a national level he supports a living wage, but if only Baltimore city adopted a living wage that it would cause major problems for Baltimore. He is correct about Baltimore. If Baltimore forced private businesses to pay a living wage then those private businesses would not locate in Baltimore. Private businesses would move to nearby jurisdictions with less crime, grime, and much lower costs of doing business.
Clarke did not seem pleased with Welch. I thought there was a chance that she would vote for Michael Johnson. She ended up voting for Abigail Breiseth who was the only female candidate and the only candidate who admitted she had a lack of local tax knowledge. I guess Clarke wanted to support a candidate who she thought was just like her.
Clarke is beloved in some circles because of her spunky gimmick, but when you look closely at her policies you understand why we urgently need voters to look beyond superficial gimmicks and last names and judge local politicians on the policies they bring to the table that will help Baltimore.
On Thursday I was in attendance for the end of a budget hearing where Mary Pat Clarke demonstrated that despite her decades on City Council she had close to no understanding of the current fiscal dilemma that just about every jurisdiction in the country is facing. A future post of mine will be dedicated to talking about what I witnessed at this at times disturbing City Council budget hearing.
Adam is the most recognizable face of the recent resurgence in Reservoir Hill. He has appeared on many national and local radio shows, in several news publications, and at numerous events discussing his innovative urban redevelopment ideas and his unique lifestyle. Adam is a successful entrepreneur, community activist, and a local political guru who ran for city council in 2007. He is the founder and director of the TechBalt.com Buy a Block Project and BaltimoreHourly.com. His fearless local political commentary has rocked the local blog scene for most of this decade and he plans to take it to the next level in the next decade here on Charm City Current.