Shelia Dixon For Mayor? Again? (Baltimore: crime, mortgage, credit)

[Woodlands]

Originally Posted by picardlx

I think your post was fine until this sentence. Is there a video of this incident anywhere?

yeah.. I want to see the video.. From my understanding and recollection of the incident.. it was implied that the speaker was intentionally trying to be condescending of the Mayor and her remark was a rebuke of that individuals tone. Again, I wasnt there nor have I seen the video.. but I do remember the incident and the commentary that followed on both sides.... Clearly if she was being attacked.. its easy to understand her being snarky though many politicos may have opted to overlook or rise above the incident.....

[james777]

Quote:
Originally Posted by james777
... it won't be long and she will demand that we all address her as "Der Furher"...

Originally Posted by picardlx

I think your post was fine until this sentence. Is there a video of this incident anywhere?

LOL Yes, I can be a little cantankerous when speaking of one that I'm not too fond of. My apologies to anyone offended, but not to the mayor.

[Tinawina]

Honestly since I've been here I've heard more than one "inside" person say that Sheila Dixon was a very good mayor, loved Baltimore and was very committed to it (was not using the place as a stepping stone) and got things done. The same people (who don't know each other as far as I know) said the gift card incident was overblown and was deliberately engineered by a political enemy to force her to resign because they wanted to become mayor themselves and knew she'd win every election in the forseeable future.

Obviously I don't know what really went on, but I will at least listen to what she has to say if she runs again.

[dogpark]

I think I would vote for Dixon again, but would reserve judgement until seeing who else is on the ballot. It was clear that Dixon loves Baltimore and wanted to be her mayor, not use this town as a stepping stone upwards. It was not clear that MOM or SRB loves this town and wasn't/isn't planning for higher office. I want a mayor who is happy to be my and our mayor.

That said, my understanding was that Dixon was in bed with developers (like most pols in her position wouldn't be...), but the gift cards were the only low hanging fruit to prosecute successfully (weren't many of them from Patrick Turner of Silo Point and Westport fame?).

I do wish that our city government and BDC were more transparent. Agency audits adn more info on how BDC works/what they're thinking would go a long way towards making this city a better place. Right now the closest thing we have is blogs like BaltimoreBrew and saber rattling from Stokes (maybe preparing for hsi onw run at the throne...)

[Clyde Pharmer]

I miss Sheila Dixon. She did some good things for Baltimore - pro transit, bike riding, Charm City Circulator, and pro development. But what I liked most about her that she didn't cater to the lazy city worker culture.

I had an part time employee who worked full time as a crossing guard/meter maid for the city. Ms. Dixon shook things up hiring a new chief who tried to trim the fat - no more overtime just doing nothing and unnecessarily, 2 crossing guards per post? - my employee actually got her partner to cover for her while simultaneously working a shift for me. I always thought the gift cards thing was overblown, but a way for her enemies to get rid of her since it was so hard to defend. She tried to make these departments more efficient and made too many enemies along the way imho.

[emmiesix]

I came only 2 years ago, so I wasn't here for Sheila Dixon. I did read about the conviction and resignation, and just assumed she was a crappier version of SRB. I've re-read the news stories, but it's hard to come away with a good impression after reading about embezzlement and sweetheart tax deals for her developer boyfriend.

So, I guess I'm curious if any of you can substantiate how the giftcard deal was "overblown" or in some way a trap? I'm genuinely curious.

[Woodlands]

Originally Posted by emmiesix

I came only 2 years ago, so I wasn't here for Sheila Dixon. I did read about the conviction and resignation, and just assumed she was a crappier version of SRB. I've re-read the news stories, but it's hard to come away with a good impression after reading about embezzlement and sweetheart tax deals for her developer boyfriend.

So, I guess I'm curious if any of you can substantiate how the giftcard deal was "overblown" or in some way a trap? I'm genuinely curious.

My take on this is that "Yes" Dixon loved Baltimore and wanted more than anything else to be Mayor.> that was her end goal and not a stepping stone.. That said.. the whole gift card and developer thing is part of the Baltimore Politico Culture and she likely felt (right or wrong) that she was simply stepping into the shoes of what her predecessors have done.. The problem is that Dixon, a divorced single woman, got romatically involved with a man who was a developer, and single himself.. and the rest is a tale told throughout human history. Though she supposedly obstained from voting on issues/projects...this is a small town and developers pass money around and use the same minority subs.. so her boyfriend turned up a time or two.The problem in Bmo is that the developer politics has been wrong for so long.. it dont want to be right.. or another way to put it.. its been wrong for so long that people think that its the way business gets done....... This is not different than the Political Bosses.. Boss tweed in NYC and all the other similiar organizations that ran the ethnic enclaves in East and West Baltimore before the 1960s... patronage, politics, and another pword that describes a part of the male and female anatomy...is what makes the world go around..

I do think when you compare SRB with Dixon.. I think the both have their pluses and minuses.. I think Dixon's passion is more apparent and she comes off as being warm and genuine.. This comes from solid Bmo roots and maybe even a page from Schaffer's Playbook....she is a politician skilled at being empathetic. SRB is more stoic and less emotional (visibly) and comes off more as an adminstrator and managerial... less like a politician which may make her seem cold.

At the end of the day.. the developer wheeling and dealing stuff is cooked up by the rank and file staff of the Mayors and their political operatives who then advise their bosses on what to and not to do and what is politically expedient and handle the negotiating.. etc.. This why it is important to surround yourself not only with people you trust be also know what they are doing and have the best interest of the city in mind.. But just like in Washington.. the appointed staff live and die by their benefactor.. so they are just as political if not more so than their bosses and are looking for their next gig as well....

[Tallybalt]

It is a complex issue. Woodlands summarized part of it quite well.

What actually happened was indeed theft. There was a tradition of collecting gift cards for charity and City Hall had a basket where people would donate the cards, and the donors included prominent developers. Sheila Dixon helped herself to some of the cards. The total commutative value of the cards she stole wasn't much, I think well below than a thousand dollars.

Along with the cards she also received as a personal gift a fur coat and possibly even a weekend trip or two from her boyfriend developer, although these weren't illegal.

Why people felt the incident was overblown has to do with, as Woodlands summarized, a general recognition that big city politics involves some degree of minor corruption and there's a commonly accepted understanding that as long as the corruption doesn't get out of hand and the end result, such as new developments attracting new residents and investment in the city, is a net positive, the corruption is....ok.

I'm not claiming it's right or justifiable, but given the context Baltimore faces, was it really worthwhile bringing down an otherwise superb and capable mayor over the sake of a few gift cards? We're not talking about drugs or thousands and thousands of dollars in an envelope.

Had it been Howard County or Baltimore County, I'd probably join the chorus demanding her head but those suburban counties are highly efficient places with no shortage of skilled politicians and administrators to run those counties. Baltimore is a deeply dysfunctional and flawed and complicated city. Sheila Dixon showed herself not only able to lead Baltimore in a positive style, she was also dynamic and people liked her and she didn't go out of her way to antagonize the myriad groups of people who lived in Baltimore, if anything, she helped to bring groups together.

The sad reality is that Baltimore has a limited roster of potential mayors, and it's important for Baltimore, more so than the counties, to have a visible, committed and positive leader who can reach out to all the people who live in the city and try to bring them together to help improve the city. That's largely why I as well as most of my city friends, were willing to forgive Sheila Dixon for her transgressions. Most of us were shocked she didn't get a fine instead of an actual prosecution.

Stephanie Rawlings Blake is a product of an old Baltimore/Maryland political dynasty and who got where she is through political patronage, which is different from Dixon who built herself up from scratch. It probably explains the difference between the two women: Dixon had to learn how to appeal to many people in order to build a winning coalition and she also had to learn how to deliver results, whereas SBR never did.

I will give SRB kudos for staying above corruption or anything illegal (so far), but her governing style is not what a big city like Baltimore craves. While SRB is probably a decent administrator, she has come across as not only imperial but disdaining and I say this after talking to a range of community activists and neighborhood leaders across Baltimore. Her mannerism and various comments she's made has antagonized people and there's no love for her. In essence, there's a vacuum of leadership at the top and that can be dangerous for a city like Baltimore. The "good" areas of Baltimore have learned to live without relying on City Hall, but the leadership vacuum emphasizes the gap between the "good" and "bad" parts of the city and only drives the two apart, which, in the long run, is dangerous.

Originally Posted by emmiesix

I came only 2 years ago, so I wasn't here for Sheila Dixon. I did read about the conviction and resignation, and just assumed she was a crappier version of SRB. I've re-read the news stories, but it's hard to come away with a good impression after reading about embezzlement and sweetheart tax deals for her developer boyfriend.

So, I guess I'm curious if any of you can substantiate how the giftcard deal was "overblown" or in some way a trap? I'm genuinely curious.

[emmiesix]

Excellent summaries Tallybalt and woodlands, thank you! I'll be watching the mayor's race closely when it (finally) comes up.

[picardlx]

Originally Posted by emmiesix

Excellent summaries Tallybalt and woodlands, thank you! I'll be watching the mayor's race closely when it (finally) comes up.

Why? You already know who's gonna win.