The Politics Meister

On March 15th mayoral candidate Otis Rolley visited Reservoir Hill and spoke to a room full of concerned citizens. In typical Baltimore fashion the giant neighborhood was able to produce less than twenty citizens interested in who the next mayor of Baltimore is going to be.  Every vote counts and one can be sure that every person in attendance will vote, but Mr. Rolley definitely needs to find some other ways to present his excellent ideas to a larger audience.

There are two Rolley quotes that summarize the political situation in Baltimore to me:

“I won’t need a transition team”

“I am not running for Governor”

Political Baltimore has become a place where supposed up and coming local political stars use their current elected positions to propel themselves to higher elected positions.  Transition team has become a code word for rewarding numerous friends and supporters with titles and responsibilities so they can supposedly help “leaders” take on new jobs.  Rolley simply does not believe in the cronyism and blinding political ambition that infests our city government. He already has plans to streamline some municipal departments where four people do the job of one person and three people do the job of one computer program.

Rolley mentioned that his department heads will have to be competent, committed, qualified, and love Baltimore. All current department heads will have to reapply for their former jobs if they wish to join his administration. Rolley did not specifically say that he will fire housing commissioner Paul Graziano, but it was clearly implied that the commissioners reign will finally come to an end at the end of this year if Rolley is elected.

I asked Rolley about the Madison-Park North housing project and he said that any housing department negotiations with a potential new owner should not be hidden from the citizens of Reservoir Hill. He said that in the past our leaders have kept communities in the dark about major developments and projects and have not looked for input from citizens. Rolley will keep citizens involved in the planning of their neighborhoods.

Some other interesting tidbits from the event:

• There are way too many housing department deputy commissioners.
• Open air drug markets are signs of lawlessness and will be specifically addressed.
• Rolley quoted Ronald Reagan and said: “The greatest social program is a job”.
• Rolley predicted that the current mayor will come out with numerous new initiatives and participate in many ribbon cutting ceremonies since this is an election year. Most of these things will be election year shows that will go nowhere and make no difference on the streets of Baltimore.

I hope all of you get a chance to hear Mr. Rolley’s plan. The fact that he actually has a plan makes him quite different than the status quo that we have all become so used to in Baltimore.