From the outside, it is impossible to fully grasp the day to day inner workings of Baltimore City Hall from the perspective of the woman currently sitting in the mayor’s chair, Catherine E. Pugh.
However, Mayor Pugh has been confronted with some titanic challenges during her first year in office and has been forced to make some difficult decisions in response. And people in Baltimore are judging Pugh based on her actions during the mayor’s tumultuous first year. The verdict seems mixed at best.
Pugh has notched some significant wins.
After violent clashes over Confederate statues in Charlottesville,Va.,in August, led to the death of Heather Heyer, a woman protesting against White supremacists, Pugh ordered statues honoring the Confederacy in Baltimore (including a statue of Roger B. Taney), taken down. In that unequivocal action, Pugh shut down what had been a protracted battle over Confederate monuments (which she inherited from the previous administration) in Baltimore literally overnight.
Sean Yoes (Courtesy Photo)
Also in August, Pugh announced a proposal to provide free tuition for Baltimore high school graduates, who attend Baltimore City Community College (BCCC), a move viewed as positive almost across the board. Specifically, I remember an elderly gentleman at a gas station emphatically pointing to the story on the front page of a newspaper announcing the initiative and saying something to the effect of, `This is big.’
But, perhaps the month of August was the highpoint of Pugh’s first year as mayor of Baltimore, because beyond those two victories additional clear cut wins have been elusive.
On the campaign trail Pugh promised if a bill to raise the city’s minimum wage to $15/hour got to her desk, she would sign it. Well, the bill made it to her desk in March and she promptly vetoed it.
There is an argument that a $15/hour minimum wage should have been implemented regionally through state legislation, to dissuade a business exodus from Baltimore to the surrounding counties. And it is a cogent argument. But, I don’t remember that being Pugh’s position during the campaign. There are a lot of people who will never let Pugh forget what they argue was naked political treachery on her part impacting one of the city’s most vulnerable populations, the working poor.
However, the ubiquitous bane of the Pugh administration has been the homicide rate and the embattled Baltimore Police Department.
On her watch, murder, violence and the BPD have continued to spin out of control.
It seemed clear by the summer that Baltimore was on pace to eclipse the record of 344 homicides set in 2015. Yet, it wasn’t until November, around the time of the murder of Alexander Wrobleski, 41, a White city resident during a robbery attempt in an upscale area of Locust Point, that Pugh declared crime was, “out of control.”
New tales of police misconduct seem to be spun every week connected to the nefarious, now disbanded Gun Trace Task Force. The FBI had to be called in by a seemingly hapless Commissioner Kevin Davis (some are puzzled by why Pugh continues to stick with Davis), to investigate the murder of Baltimore Homicide Det. Sean Suiter, because people from Roland Park to Park Heights believe Det. Suiter’s murder was an, “inside job.” Meanwhile, community leaders have yet to discern if Mayor Pugh actually has a crime plan.
Many believe the mayor marginalized AFRAM, a source of pride for many in this majority Black city and was on the brink of ending the MLK parade, until a furious pushback forced her to change course.
I believe Baltimore is one of America’s great cities, mainly because of its beautifully resilient people. But, pound for pound Baltimore may have more seemingly intractable, virulent maladies than any other big city. The point is, Pugh inherited a herculean task when she signed the oath book last December. Her supporters believed the competence, work ethic and creativity she exhibited as a legislator would serve her well as mayor. But, her greatest attributes have not been consistently apparent as she has grappled perilously through her first year.
There is an essential truth about being mayor of Baltimore; it is a grimy job. In order to do it effectively, you have to be able to metaphorically wield a large wrench with guile; to fix incessant, often daunting problems and to go upside the heads of opponents and sometimes even supporters to keep them in line.
It is unclear if Mayor Pugh is willing or able to pick up the wrench.
Sean Yoe is the Baltimore editor of the AFRO and host and executive producer of The AFRO First Edition, which airs Monday and Friday on the AFRO’s Facebook page.
