There are two growing political stories in Baltimore that I feel should mesh into one story. Below this post is the full Shannon Sneed write-in campaign press release. Most of you know that I feel Baltimore write-in campaigns are next to impossible long shot maneuvers. 13th district incumbent councilman Warren Branch is so “establishment” and so horrible that right off the bat the very likable Sneed should at least be thinking about an outside of the box attempt to defeat the incumbent via a write-in campaign. Sneed will only have a shot if she has an army of volunteers who are fed up with the establishment and corporate influence over politics. Where would she find such an army? More on that below.

The following is constructive criticism of the Occupy Baltimore campaign/event/movement. I REALLY hope that some people in that movement take my words seriously and consider my ideas.

Local leaders with names like Spector, Branch, Welch, and Conaway are breathing a big sigh of relief today. The BDC is loving life right about now.   For the last 24 hours or so a bunch of frustrated citizens have been protesting next to a tourist trap and not naming a LOCAL adversary while Baltimore’s own hereditary monarchs and oligarchs peacefully go back and forth between their homes, businesses, and political offices.  The Occupy Baltimore people need to understand that in Baltimore we have our very own form of  local dictators and dictatorial families that have ruled for decades! Frank Conaway Sr. and Frank Conaway Jr. are Baltimore’s versions of  Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un.

Protesters need to clearly focus on specific local leaders and  institutions or else they are going to just end up part of a solidarity movement with Occupy Wall Street (there is nothing wrong with that, but in Baltimore they have an opportunity to do so much more!).

I am sure many people are pleased with the media coverage that Occupy Baltimore has received. At one point early on Tuesday it seemed like there were only a few more protesters than reporters. The media grabbed on to the large numbers of people who had RSVP’d online and compared it to the actual number of people in attendance on Tuesday morning (and yes I know the numbers were higher at night, but when you deal with the media you end up at their mercy and if they show up when numbers are low then you have to deal with it).   The Facebook attendance discrepancy is something I have been worried about for years. In the real world you make a difference by acting, not by flaking out and saying you are going to show at something and then not showing up at that event. Facebook RSVP numbers are not a show of strength, if too many people flake or only RSVP to make others feel happy then the numbers will be interpreted as a sign of weakness.  The numbers look terribly ironic (and people in the comments section of the Sun are pointing this out) when it appears only 1% of the people who said they would show up actually show up! One of the slogans behind the Occupy Movements is “We are the 99%”.  It sucks when certain media outlets make it appear that you are a 1% type of movement, but this generation brings this kind of criticism on itself by its lack of understanding of what it takes to actually create change and that posting something on the Internet is not going to change anything on its own. STOP FLAKING OUT!

Their numbers may not be in the 1000′s, and online advocates may far outnumber actual physical participants, but what has taken place at the harbor is still impressive. People did give a darn to actually show up for a protest! I know that sounds basic, but in this day in age that is impressive. Imagine if the 25 or 50 or 100 or 225 people who actually showed up found  a worthy and easily identifiable local target to direct their anti-financial/political establishment frustration toward. If all of these people took only one hour out of their days on one of the days leading up to the November 8th general election and dedicated that hour to helping Shannon Sneed’s write-in campaign then we would have an incredible chance for an earth shattering type of change at the City Council level.

The 13th district is the epicenter of Baltimore’s social destruction and urban ills. The empty houses, the drugs, the poverty, the owned by the developers politicians, it is all right there in a part of East Baltimore that is majority Black. If you want to include Black people in your movement then go to where they live and address an obvious issue! It really is that simple. The take down of developer funded Warren Branch by Shannon Sneed would be historic and it would bring new life and hope to a down part of East Baltimore. Write-in campaigns need an army of volunteers to have any shot!

By the way, I do not mean to pick on the Occupy Baltimore people, the stop the youth jail marchers are not going to accomplish anything either unless they target a specific leader.  I do give them credit for at least latching on to a local issue that is easy to understand and recognize.

People are talking about  overthrowing oligarchs, well it starts here by overthrowing our hereditary dictators! You can not change the world until you clean your own backyard. Any movement that facilitated the defeat of an incumbent city councilperson by a write-in community activist would gain instant respectability, legitimacy, and influence in ALL corners of Baltimore.

A leaderless group has a hard time finding a focus. I understand it is an evolutionary process of sorts. One positive of being a leaderless group is that it only takes a small vocal part of the group to alter the direction of the group and clearly define its purpose on a local level.

Right now tourists and commuters are seeing the signs of the Occupy Baltimore protesters and then driving back in their SUVS to their exurb houses that are mortgaged to the gills and then sitting in front of their big screen televisions to watch the so-called 11PM news. They wake up the next morning and read a blurb about the protests in the Baltimore Sun while they drink their Starbucks coffee they purchased with their  Bank of America debit cards.  These mindless members of the 99% may like the signs they read, and they may honk their horns in support, but they are too deep in the game to leave their daily routine.  I understand that these people need to wake up and change, but no peaceful protest is going to break the spell they are under.  Forget about the tourists and suburbanites and get the Baltimore City voters out to the polls or in front of the BDC! I don’t want the protesters to end up as entertainment for commuters stuck in Pratt street traffic. Make it local, make it clear, bring down Warren Branch and his Developer funders, call out the BDC and the Baltimore hereditary monarchies, and truly understand how Baltimore Politics works so everyone in Baltimore can wake up and stop electing these corporate shills!

Below is the Shannon Sneed write-in campaign press release. It is a great sign that third place finisher Antonio Glover has given his support to Sneed:

Shannon Sneed Makes Write-In Campaign for City Council Official with District 13 Kickoff Event

WHAT: Official Kickoff for Shannon Sneed for City Council Write-In Campaign
WHEN: Tuesday, October 11, 6:30pm
WHERE: The Door, 219 N Chester Street, Baltimore

Since nearly unseating incumbent city councilman Warren Branch in last month’s primary election, political newcomer Shannon Sneed has received an outpouring of support from neighbors and residents across District 13. That support has come in the form of enthusiastic emails and phone calls urging her to keep running, and it has even come in the form of substantial write-in campaign donations.

As a result, Sneed has decided to stay in the race, this time as a Democratic write-in candidate on the November 8 ballot—and she will be publicly kicking off her general election campaign with an event at an East Baltimore community center on October 11.

Sneed narrowly lost the primary election by a margin of 43 votes. Her near-win surprised many political observers in a city that rarely turns incumbents out of office.

“I simply went out and talked to the voters,” said Sneed. “I knocked on almost every door in the district, and I listened to citizens’ concerns. I think my message of a cleaner, safer East Baltimore with a responsive city councilperson really resonated with people. It explains a lot of the success of the campaign.”

In fact, Warren Branch received only 39% of the vote in September, with the remainder split between Sneed and three other candidates.

One of those candidates, Antonio Glover, has publicly thrown his support behind Sneed for the November election. “This is about the constituents of District 13. We need to start dealing with our problems in East Baltimore, and the first step is to elect a responsive councilperson who will work with the residents to make our communities more livable. Writing in Shannon Sneed is that first step.”

Beth Braun is an active resident of the Butchers Hill neighborhood, part of which was recently folded into District 13 as part of the city’s redistricting process. “I met Shannon, and I have a high regard for her,” said Braun. “I feel she’s the candidate who is more likely to address our neighborhood’s issues. I’ll be writing in Shannon Sneed on November 8th.”

“I’ve been touched by the support I’ve gotten since the primary election,” Sneed said. “At the end of the day, I want what’s best for the neighborhoods and the people of East Baltimore.”