By Mekhi Abbott
Special to the AFRO
mabbott@afro.com
Mayor Brandon Scott, joined by several of Maryland’s congressional representatives, held a press briefing at Baltimore City Hall on July 14 on a variety of topics, including the city’s strides in public safety, the continued fight against federal funding cuts and the impact on city residents, the current state of the Francis Scott Key Bridge reconstruction and the strengthening of the partnership between the federal delegation and city leaders to ensure Baltimore’s continued progress.
“Apparently, that’s not common across the country–a mayor and a congressional delegation having a great relationship,” said Scott. “But official sit-downs like this one are critical to moving the ball forward. They are an opportunity to discuss the work ahead and celebrate and recognize the progress that we have made together, including public safety.”
Sens. Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen and Reps. Kweisi Mfume and Johnny Olszewski all lauded Scott for leading the charge in reducing the number of homicides and non-fatal shootings in Baltimore by 23.6 percent and 23.4 percent, respectively. A mid-year report showed that these numbers are the lowest ever recorded for the first five months of the year in the city of Baltimore. The report also showed that auto thefts are down 33 percent, carjackings are down 11 percent and that the city saw its lowest number of homicides in a single month this past April.
“I think the mayor has done something really noteworthy in this moment, in that he has remained steadfast and fixated on the needs of the people of Baltimore City, no matter the chaos that is happening all around [at a federal level],” said Alsobrooks. “The strategies that have been employed here deserve so much credit. He’s ensuring that the economic viability of this city continues to be at the forefront of his agenda. That viability is connected first to the safety of the people who live here. Nothing else matters if you don’t feel safe.”
This marks the third consecutive year of crime reduction in Baltimore. Alsobrooks also credited the mayor for his work regarding housing – both eliminating vacancies and implementing strategies to make sure housing is available and affordable to people throughout Baltimore.
Mfume, who served in the Baltimore City Council from 1978-’86 and worked with every mayor since 1979, credited Scott for being a “true leader.”
Mfume and the other speakers also addressed the expected burden on working-class families and children from the Trump administration’s Medicaid cuts. The 47th president officially signed his budget bill into law on July 4, which is projected to cut Medicaid spending by $1 trillion dollars over the next decade.
“It’s going to affect all of us, but it’s particularly going to affect people here in Baltimore City. It’s going to affect children, pregnant mothers and others trying to feed their children,” said Mfume. “When a child cries at night, he’s not crying in Black or White or Asian or Hispanic, he or she is crying in pain. So the work to try to restore these federal funding cuts is going to be a tough, tough task, but it is something that all of us in the delegation welcome.”
On July 14, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown joined more than 19 other states in suing the Trump administration for what they describe as “unlawfully” freezing federal funds Congress allocated for low-income and immigrant students for their education.
“I don’t want to speak for the attorney general, but I know for us in this city, throughout Baltimore and other states and cities around the country, that we stand up for basic democracy, basic services and basic things that the American people need,” said Scott. “This administration is doing wrong and illegal things, and this is just the latest example of that.”
Van Hollen echoed those sentiments, adding that he “applauds the state of Maryland” for filing the lawsuit.
“Just to underscore the fact that these funds have been appropriated by Congress [specifically for education] and signed off by the president, and now they’re trying to freeze funds and take them away from kids and students. So we will fight them in courts, we’ll fight them in Congress, and we need to fight them in communities all over our state and country,” said Van Hollen.
Regarding the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Scott and Van Hollen shared that all funding for its reconstruction is still there and has been unaltered.
“We’re also very pleased that the money is on track for replacing the Key Bridge,” said Hollen. “This was a tragedy for the city, state and really the country. We’re pleased that the federal government stepped up to make that commitment, and we’re turning that commitment on track.”