The Politics Meister

The long awaited Bmore United rally took place on Saturday at 2PM. We gathered in front of City Hall and ended up in front of police headquarters. The crowd was late arriving and peaked at over thirty people. It was a good turnout.  The crowd had some notable people in it.

I arrived at 2PM (I ran down there) and NAACP local president Doc Cheatham was already there talking to rally organizer Chris Taylor. I have never seen Cheatham in such ordinary clothes. He was not his usual flamboyant self. He was polite and reserved the entire time. He was handing out yellow whistles with NAACP and census logos on them. He was trying to promote the Census. I also heard him mention his interest in running for a House of Delegate’s seat in the 44th district. I brought this subject up in a previous post of mine. He is a politically savvy man.

Aaron Keith Wilkes was also there when I arrived. The Darley Park resident wants to take over Council President Young’s former 12th district seat in City Council. The City Council gets to select Young’s replacement and people were mentioning that Carl Stokes will be selected by the council. I will write more about the 12th district on Tuesday, but it is typical of the City Council to want to appoint one of their own (an insider who has already been on the council and is friends with some members) instead of new blood.

When thirty people were there Chris Taylor gave a little speech, he wants people who support Bmore United’s version of change to run in every city council district in the 2011 election. Everyone gathered in a circle and held hands as a man said a very long prayer to Jesus. The hand holding thing really was not necessary and it bothered me on a lot of levels. The mixing of Church and State is a technique of the establishment and I would advise all “rebel groups” to try and avoid it.

Participants were then given signs and we marched to police headquarters. Many cars honked in support as they drove by. Investigative Voice had three people covering the event.  Here is Investigative Voice’s summary of the rally. They were also giving out flyers for their one year anniversary event that will take place at Red Maple this Wednesday at 6PM. Sheila Dixon will be the special guest (this will be her first public appearance since she left office). Tickets are $20.

I know there was a candidate for Baltimore City Sheriff there. I think it was Frances Hamilton. A man named Gary M. Collins was also there. I had seen Mr. Collins at the Dixon Pension Protest also. Collins is a 3rd councilmanic representative on the Baltimore City Republican Central Committee. He is young, smart, and energetic. I got the feeling that he will run a serious campaign for City Council in the third district in 2011. I stress the word serious because Republicans usually do not try very hard in Baltimore. I predict that if he runs he will have the best showing for a republican in a city election in years.

The rally helped organize the growing Bmore United Movement. A sign up sheet was passed around. Chris Taylor hopes to have a future event with double the attendees. This movement is something to keep an eye on.