Last night I attended the outdoor meeting between BDC President Jay Brodie and “the people” gathered up by AnotherBDCisPossible.org. Jay Brodie showed up. This fact shocked a lot of people. I think Brodie understood that given the current political unrest that a no-show would be much worse than a possible scream-fest. Mr. Brodie definitely made a wise decision. During my time at the meeting things were very calm and polite. Brodie was definitely a good sport about things. He seemed to be willing admit mistakes and he did have an air of responsibility about him which was quite different than the tone of this Baltimore Brew article where it seems like he does not understand why people dislike the BDC.
You can read some blog posts by other people that were written before the meeting here and here.
There were a few moments in the first thirty minutes of the meeting that really summed up the current situation:
- AnotherBDCisPossible.org tried to interject race into the situation. I think this was a horrible mistake given the fact that Kurt Schmoke started the BDC and that at the start of the meeting the crowd was made up of about three black people and over 100 non-black people. Eventually Brodie said his one demand was that any delegation he meets with represent the black community. Ouch, he basically just (temporarily) beat the overwhelmingly white AnotherBDCisPossible.org group at their own game. This is NOT about race. If you play into the BDC’s hands and make it about race then you will not be able to change a darn thing. They will easily be able to use race to stall and distract. It is about the economic direction of Baltimore. I think Benn Ray summed it up nicely when he said that he would like to see the BDC act like a government and not like a corporation. A government is elected by the people and is supposed to work for the best interest of the people. An elected government that does not outsource its business decisions would have figured out a way to sell empty city-owned houses QUICKLY at some point over the last 15 years!
-I also thought AnotherBDCisPossible.org made a mistake by trying to include ‘United Workers” issues in this discussion. What is Brodie supposed to do about harbor workers not getting paid a lot of money? Yes some of the harbor workers’ bosses get money from the BDC, but I think there are more direct BDC issues that need to be addressed before this one. The United Workers should have their own rally. It also was a mistake to let the Spanish speaking United Workers representative speak and then have a translator translate. It lasted too long and seemed out of place. The amazing part of this part of the night was that it exposed Brodie’s major disconnect with the younger generations. After the boring Spanish segment was done he tried to make some Spanish jokes and tried to communicate with the Spanish speaker. This situation was awkward. One would think the President of the BDC would have a clue about this kind of thing. He seemed like a relic from another generation. He talked about how his own parents were hard-working Russian immigrants. We have all heard these great stories before, but the person telling them usually is telling us about our Great-Grandparents. In the past I have begged young Baltimore voters to vote so we don’t let Senior Citizen buildings dictate the future of this city. How can I sit here and allow an UNELECTED 75-year-old architect lead Baltimore into the economic future?
Mr. Brodie came off as a nice person, but after 15 years at the helm nice is only going to earn you so much. In 1996 most of the people in attendance were in elementary or middle school. The BDC is clearly a relic from the long forgotten Kurt Schmoke era and its leader is the perfect leader for this outdated form of quasi-government. Let’s keep it real simple, we should let government agencies that answer to elected officials who in turn answer to the voters, control the economic development of Baltimore. If an elected leader thinks a hotel is a great idea then let him tell a city department to draw up some plans and present them to the people. If the leader sees that he will eventually lose his job (in an ELECTION) because of this plan then he will call it off and accountability will have played its role.
At the very least I think last night’s exercise demonstrated that if the BDC does not change its tune soon things are going to get even more embarrassing. AnotherBDCisPossible.org is run by some young people who have some kinks to work out of the organization, but I think they will become more focused and polished over time. Jay Brodie was very proud of the pie charts the BDC has produced, well perhaps the AnotherBDCisPossible.org people could present this little table to him next time. I think it helps explain why he has been able to stay in charge for the last 15 years…
| Candidates Account | Contributor Name(Address) | Amount | Date Received | Contribution Type |
| Dixon, Sheila Friends For | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211-2239) |
$100.00 | 05/13/2009 | Individual |
| Dixon, Sheila Friends For | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211-2239) |
$300.00 | 08/09/2007 | Individual |
| Dixon, Sheila Friends For | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211-2239) |
$200.00 | 07/18/2007 | Individual |
| Dixon, Sheila Friends For | MENASHA BRODIE (609 CRAYCOMBE AVENUE , BALTIMORE, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 06/01/2003 | Individual |
| Gladden, Lisa Friends of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craymore Ave , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 01/06/2006 | Individual |
| Hammen, Peter A. Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 11/05/2004 | Individual |
| Harris, Kenneth Sr. Citizens For | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycomb Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 07/01/2003 | Individual Remarks: Fundraiser |
| Haynes, Keith E. Committee To Elect | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 12/07/2005 | Individual Remarks: Contribution |
| Haynes, Keith E. Committee To Elect | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 12/03/2004 | Individual Remarks: Contribution |
| Haynes, Keith E. Committee To Elect | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 11/28/2003 | Ticket purchases by Individuals Remarks: Contribution |
| Hoffman, Barbara Friends Of | Georgene Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$75.00 | 09/03/2002 | Individual |
| Holton, Helen Citizens For | Thomas Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$1,000.00 | 04/18/2005 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| Holton, Helen Citizens For | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 07/25/2003 | Individual |
| Jones, Verna L. Friends of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 07/11/2007 | Individual |
| Jones, Verna L. Friends of | Brodie Enterprise (7441 Mink Hollow Road , Highland, MD, 20777) |
$200.00 | 01/09/2007 | Business Entity |
| Jones, Verna L. Friends of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 01/11/2005 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| Jones, Verna L. Friends of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 01/13/2004 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| Jones, Verna L. Friends of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 01/09/2001 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| Kraft, Jim Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 02/25/2005 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| Marriott, Salima Siler Campaign Committee | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 07/28/2005 | Individual |
| Marriott, Salima Siler Campaign Committee | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 06/01/2003 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| McIntosh, Maggie Citizens For | Menasha and Georgene A. Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 01/10/2006 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| Mitchell, Keiffer Jackson Jr. Friends Of | Menasha & Georgene Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 03/27/2003 | Individual |
| O’Malley, Martin Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave , Baltimore, MD, 21211-2239) |
$200.00 | 04/27/2010 | Individual |
| O’Malley, Martin Friends Of | Georgene Brodie (609 Craycombie Ave , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 10/11/2006 | Individual |
| O’Malley, Martin Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave , Baltimore, MD, 21211-2239) |
$100.00 | 10/11/2006 | Individual |
| O’Malley, Martin Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$150.00 | 12/09/2005 | Individual |
| O’Malley, Martin Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$500.00 | 06/13/2005 | Individual |
| O’Malley, Martin Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$250.00 | 10/21/2004 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| O’Malley, Martin Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$70.00 | 03/12/2004 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| O’Malley, Martin Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$500.00 | 04/25/2003 | Individual |
| O’Malley, Martin Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$70.00 | 03/19/2003 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| O’Malley, Martin Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$250.00 | 04/24/2002 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| O’Malley, Martin Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$70.00 | 03/11/2002 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| O’Malley, Martin Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$250.00 | 05/29/2001 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| O’Malley, Martin Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$70.00 | 03/12/2001 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| Pugh, Catherine E. Committee to Elect | MENASHA BRODIE (609 CRAYCROMBE AVE , BALTIMORE, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 04/24/2003 | Individual |
| Rawlings, Pete Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Balto., MD, 21211) |
$125.00 | 07/11/2002 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| Rawlings-Blake, Stephanie For Baltimore | Manasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$500.00 | 01/03/2011 | Individual |
| Rawlings-Blake, Stephanie For Baltimore | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave , Baltimore, MD, 21211-2339) |
$200.00 | 07/27/2007 | Individual |
| Rawlings-Blake, Stephanie Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 08/09/2005 | Individual |
| Rawlings-Blake, Stephanie Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 05/03/2004 | Individual |
| Rawlings-Blake, Stephanie Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 03/28/2003 | Individual |
| Reisinger, Edward L. Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$30.00 | 10/27/2004 | Ticket purchases by Individuals Remarks: 1 ticket |
| Reisinger, Edward L. Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 07/01/2003 | Individual Remarks: Guest Sponsor |
| Reisinger, Edward L. Friends Of | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 04/08/2003 | Individual Remarks: Guest Sponsor |
| Rosenberg, Sandy Citizens For | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$200.00 | 05/26/2009 | Individual |
| Rosenberg, Sandy Citizens For | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$250.00 | 07/09/2007 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| Rosenberg, Sandy Citizens For | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$125.00 | 09/09/2005 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| Rosenberg, Sandy Citizens For | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$100.00 | 10/25/2004 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| Rosenberg, Sandy Citizens For | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$150.00 | 06/11/2003 | Individual |
| Rosenberg, Sandy Citizens For | Menasha and Georgene Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$50.00 | 08/13/2002 | Individual |
| Rosenberg, Sandy Citizens For | M.J. and Georgene Brodie (609 Craycombe Av. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$75.00 | 09/22/2000 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| Spector, Rikki Friends Of | M.J. Brodie (609 Craycombe Ave. , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$50.00 | 12/18/2000 | Individual |
| Stukes, Melvin L. People For | Menasha Brodie (609 Craycombe Avenue , Baltimore, MD, 21211) |
$55.00 | 03/15/2003 | Ticket purchases by Individuals |
| Welch, Agnes Committee For | MENASHA BRODIE (609 CRAYCOMBE AVE. , BALTIMORE, MD, 21211-2239) |
$250.00 | 05/07/2007 | Ticket purchases by Individuals Remarks: CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION |
| Young, Bernard C. Friends Of | MENASHA BRODIE (GEORGENE BRODIE 2217 FOXBANE SQUARE, BALTIMORE, MD, 21209) |
$100.00 | 07/07/2003 | Individual |
| Young, Bernard C. Friends Of | MENASHA BRODIE (GEORGENE BRODIE 2217 FOXBANE SQUARE, BALTIMORE, MD, 21209) |
$100.00 | 01/15/1999 | Individual |
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.
People underestimate the power of a donation. Not that many individuals give money to campaigns. It is easy to remember who gave you money. I think that people who give money SUBSTANTIALLY decrease their chances of getting fired from government and quasi-government jobs. I will write about the power of a contribution in the near future.
I’d like to know what hand the BDC has (if any) when it comes to the State Center project.
… And I must say I don’t get the point of your lists of donors here… chump change given over the course of more than a decade, and the crumb of a peanut compared to the $$ involved with projects like West Side redevelopment and the JHU takeover of the Monument Street Area.