Flaw in the system.

Sheila DixonSometime in the next 2 or 3 weeks, all but 1 or 2 of the 15 Democratic candidates for Mayor running against Sheila Dixon need to drop out. If they don’t, the ones who don’t drop out – and who have no real chance of winning – are seriously and selfishly jeopardizing the future of the city they are running to protect.

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Chapter 3: The $97,336 discrepancy.

A hundred thousand dollars here, a hundred thousand dollars there. Pretty soon, you’re talking serious money.

Speaking of serious things, this is one of our more technical pieces. It has to be given the subject matter.  If numbers give you a headache or put you to sleep, feel free to skip ahead to the last 2 paragraphs.

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Once burned, twice shy.

Ask yourself…  Are you willing to bet the future of your family and your city on a candidate who is a convicted criminal, who pled guilty to perjury, who betrayed the trust of her constituents and was then forced out of the Mayor’s office?  Is that really your image of a Mayor who can reach out around the country to attract employers to Baltimore?

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Sheila Dixon’s Campaign Finance Reports: Chapter 2

As part of our ongoing review of candidates for Mayor – and City Council too – we noticed some issues with the campaign finance reports filed by Friends of Sheila Dixon. At it turns out, in February and March of 2015, Ms. Dixon’s committee revised 17 of these reports covering the period January 14, 2015 going all the way back to November 22, 2006. That’s just before Sheila Dixon became Mayor when her predecessor, Martin O’Malley, left to start his first term as Governor.

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Ethically-challenged. The political culture of Sheila Dixon.

Maybe “Sheila Dixon 2016” is different than “Sheila Dixon 2006-2009.” Or maybe she isn’t. Are you willing to bet your family’s, your city’s future on it?

Every organization, whatever its type, has a culture that defines its character and behavior. Sheila Dixon’s administrations, when she was President of the City Council and then Mayor, were no exception.

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One of those moments.

Comparing the Mayoral Candidates

You know how, sometimes, there’s something that’s so clear to you, crystal clear, but no one else seems to see? Take Donald Trump, for example. You and everybody you know agrees Trump’s a flaming jerk. So why is he doing so well in the polls? Who are all these people who believe his special brand of crap and think he’s God’s gift to the Presidency? What is it about this blowhard these people don’t get?

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Sheila Dixon’s Campaign Finance Reports: Chapter 1

Preface.

This piece is, of necessity, longer than most of what we publish. Admittedly, it’s not for everybody, but should be of interest if you’re into technical issues that are germane to candidate competence and maybe integrity too, particularly as they relate to campaign financing.  Just because something is technical and takes some time to figure out, doesn’t mean it isn’t important.

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Beating Sheila Dixon

Sheila DixonUnderstandably, Sheila Dixon is the early favorite to win April’s Democratic primary and become the next Mayor of Baltimore. Baltimore Rising doesn’t like that outcome because we feel that Ms. Dixon is a poor choice for a city in desperate need of economic recovery. There’s nothing about her record in office or about her campaign to suggest that she appreciates that jobs creation – as part of all-inclusive economic growth, particularly in the city’s disadvantaged neighborhoods – must be the highest priority of city government. She doesn’t get it and wouldn’t know what to do about it even if she did.

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