I'm younger than the mayor, but if it had been me out there talking to reporters this morning, I feel like there wouldn't be a lot of people online complaining about my age.
Makes me think that age isn't their main concern.
If we want more grocery stores in Baltimore, we should let them sell beer and wine. It's not Prohibition. We don't need to make it harder than it already is for grocery stores to turn a profit here.
Considering the project cost $61 million, I don't understand the editorial choice of spending half the article discussing the ~$200k (~0.3%) spent on bike infrastructure.
If anything, it highlights how bike infrastructure is the usually, by far, the cheapest improvement option.
After 8 years of construction and 31% over budget, the Central Avenue Streetscape is almost done. Baltimore's Board of Estimates is expected to approve another $6.5 million today to finish a project that was bogged down in cost overruns.
If you don't think good lighting makes a difference, walk thru Otterbein at night. Historic-style lights, not too tall and not too bright, all over the neighborhood. It makes a huge difference for perception of safety and general coziness.
Nearly half of Baltimore's vacant building owners pay less than $250 a year in property taxes. That's about 6,000 properties. If you're a homeowner, compare that to what you pay in property taxes. And ask your state delegates if they support a
#vacancytax
It's absurd that City Schools high schools start at 7:30am. Especially for those, like some of the young men I coach, who are three bus routes and 90 minutes from school.
Eric Costello was helping build a football field for a private school in the 12th District because a rich Republican donor wanted it, while simultaneously blocking the building of a football field at a public school (Digital Harbor) in the 11th. You can't make this up.
Wait:
1) 60% of BMore incinerated trash is compostable
2) Bresco incinerator gets millions in tax credits a year, after getting $0 for it's first 20 years.
3) Our asthma hospitalization rate is 3x the national average
4)
@CouncilmanETC
has gotten $3,150 from Bresco
Good to know.
When
@CouncilmanETC
said he couldn't support a bike lane on Sharp Street because it was a "threat to national security", I knew he really wasn't about breaking our city's dependence on cars. Honored to be the only council district challenger to receive this endorsement
Baltimore City has 15,000 abandoned homes that cost the City $200 million a year and tell far too many of our young people there’s no future in their neighborhood. We can solve this crisis by increasing property taxes on vacant and blighted properties.
A 10x vacancy tax would yield Baltimore $90 million a year. That's a game-changer for the City's ability to support the business, non-profit, and gov't efforts to rehab our 14,000 vacants. Please email your state delegates to support the vacancy tax before this upcoming session.
Just got the word that we OFFICIALLY maxed out the public match. We've now raised $155,000.
First campaign in City history to max out. It'll be great for democracy in Baltimore when a lot more candidates are doing this in 2028.
We need change. Change is coming.
It's important to remember that
@CouncilmanETC
received $27,000 from David Smith's family members on August 11th, 2023.
Friendly reminder that I will never accept more than $150 from anyone.
The difference matters.
Federal Hill Prep and Francis Scott Key are high-achieving schools where both lower-income and more affluent kids outperform expectations. Digital Harbor High School isn't that...yet. It'll be a priority of mine to help Digital, the city's 2nd largest HS, realize that goal.
Glad to see our financially-broke city is slowly moving away from our heavy subsidy for car parking.
That said, Baltimore could easily find an 8-figure revenue increase if we were serious about enforcing parking violations. And that's with our very lenient parking fees
Baltimore census tracts are 5x more likely to be disadvantaged than the rest of Maryland.
Our homicide rate is 5x the rest of Maryland. Our violent crime rate is 4x the rest of Maryland.
Ending concentrated poverty is a public safety plan.
Awesome opportunity to talk about my vision for Downtown in front of a packed house tonight! More photos to follow. Thanks
@downtownbaltimore
for hosting
As of today, legislation to enable a vacancy tax has made it through it's first pass on the House (HB0002) and Senate (SB0138). This will be transformative for Baltimore if we get this into law.
Digital Harbor High School (DHHS) families are experiencing unprecedented levels of food insecurity. The staff at DHHS recently created an internal grocery store, where students and their families can stop by and take what they need.
In our 15-member council,
@CouncilmanETC
is one of only 2 councilmembers to decline to sponsor BOTH the Inclusionary Housing bill AND the Off-Street Parking reduction for Inclusionary Housing bill.
The 11th District needs more than just campaign rhetoric on Inclusionary housing
26,000 veterans in Baltimore City, would be good to have 1 on the Council!
Honored to receive an endorsement from VoteVets, who support progressive candidates for office nationwide.
Trust me, read it.
Madison Park Improvement Association president (and our campaign treasurer) Omar Hamza's email to Council VP Sharon Green Middleton over the Anti-Complete Streets hearings.
A flagship newspaper serving the specific political goals of its owner is worse for democracy than no flagship newspaper. This is how we should explain our concern to regular (non-Baltimore-Twitter) folks. 1/
If you can't walk to a grocery store, your neighborhood isn't complete.
This is not possible in most parts of the 11th district - so we need to make sure every resident can easily get to a grocery store in their neighborhood.
#Baltimore
#Food
Grocery stores are vital to community viability and stability.
But the hoops you have to jump through to land one.
The deal to get Lidl to the Perkins Homes redevelopment
My commentary in the Sun this morning over next steps to fight the vacancy crisis, now that the Vacancy Tax bill has made it out of the General Assembly.
So we're continuing highway expansion projects but slashing transit services across Maryland? Very 1950s strategy. Thanks Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition for the tip on this. And
@RobbynLewis46th
, let us know how we can help
33-3.
Baltimore City Council District incumbents are 33-3 in contested primaries since 2007. If it feels like nothing ever changes, that might have something to do with it.
TBT to 3 years ago when Shofer's closed and I started a petition to get a grocery store there. Good idea then, and it's stayed a good idea for the 3 years Shofer's has sat vacant and we have had to go 1.5 miles for groceries.
#blanchardforbaltimore
Finance Dept is calling the City's $100 million projected "structural deficit" our worst in at least 17 years. Well, our 14,000 vacants cost us $200 million a year. So...how about a vacancy tax??? Let's kill 2 birds with one stone.
@reginatboyce
, please help
Great feedback session at the State Center community engagement event tonight. Let's get this right and make State Center a massive asset for our Midtown neighborhoods.
The Solo Gibbs Park splash pad in Sharp-Leadenhall has been closed since 2018, despite opening in 2013. It gets mentioned in a city budget line item every year. Community leaders complain about this every summer.
And kids love splash pads.
We’re honored to announce that Blanchard for Baltimore is the first campaign in Baltimore City history to ever meet the requirements for the City’s Fair Election Fund, a goal we’ve hit within five days of announcing the campaign.
Read the press release attached:
Honored to be the Maryland Child Alliance's first-ever political endorsement. Good neighborhoods need to be good for families too, and that's Birth thru 18. Check out the
@mchildalliance
, and especially the Baby Bonus Fund.
Baltimore needs a petition to end gerrymandering. Future redistricting should be done by an independent commission. Elected officials shouldn't draw maps.
After we knocked his house, a guy in Riverside emailed a list of questions, followed by " I have also contacted
@CouncilmanETC
w/the same questions and will compare your responses to ensure I make the most informed decision."
Can y'all imagine if more voters were like this?
Speaking of all the folks
@councilmanetc
is endorsing, he has still not explained to 11th district residents why he thinks Council President Nick Mosby is the type of leadership we need in Baltimore City. (1/2)
Looks like "predevelopment" of State Center starts/restarts on Wednesday. 21 acres (21 ACRES) of currently dead space in the most-transit-connected place in the City. One of the five biggest redevelopments in Baltimore over the next ten years. Huge deal, gotta get this right.
THANK YOU!! B/t Mon & Wed, 20 donors contributed $1,600. Of those, 17 are Baltimore City residents, so we've got a public match of $5,765 coming in. In total, we raised $7,365 in three days! Your support of our vision and campaign shows how much you want change in District 11!
Extremely excited to announce my candidacy for City Council District 11!
My campaign team and I are humbled by the opportunity to share our vision, win this election, and help make our neighborhoods places where our neighbors and our families will want to stay.
#Baltimore
Pumped to hear that
@AntonioHayes40
will be the cross-file sponsor for
@reginatboyce
's vacancy tax bill in the state senate. I hope Senator Hayes talks about the bill at the 40th District pre-session forum on Saturday morning. Let's make the vacancy tax happen 😎
I mentored a young man from Digital Harbor who failed the Maryland driver's ed test multiple times despite studying, & got in trouble for driving TO WORK w/o a license (b/c the bus system in East Baltimore isn't reliable enough for work, or school, or anything).
The strict requirements and high cost of driver's education are bringing many Marylanders into contact with the criminal justice system and funneling millions into evidence-lacking private companies.
Check out our latest on The Problem with Driver's Ed.
24% of Baltimore City Schools high schoolers attend schools performing in the top 33% Maryland high schools on Algebra I proficiency (Poly, City, Western, BSA, and Bard). Not that far from avg in a state with way less child poverty than Bmore
Thanks Josh Headley of
@Official_BPI
If you won't stand for Amazon firing workers for organizing, you shouldn't stand for property managers evicting tenants for organizing. Some tenants in this article feel they must hide their identity so they don't get evicted. Saw that same fear while door-knocking last week.
Honest question: in
@CouncilmanETC
's doorhanger, he mentions "supporting policies that promote...affordable and workforce housing." Any idea what he is referring to? I'm more familiar with him creatively opposing such policies.
1) Once candidates realize how public financing works, it's s going to change how politics works in Baltimore.
2) Good company here, huh?
3) Please note that Steven Johnson in the 6th qualified today too!
4) Hey look Mom, I'm in the Sun.
As councilperson, I'll support Complete Streets, traffic calming and safety, and more affordable, more abundant housing in the most central, densest, and transit-critical district in Baltimore.
This weekend, we had cold weather but warm and wonderful volunteers out meeting neighbors in Seton Hill, Madison Park, Bolton Hill, and Heritage Crossing. It is very clear that people’s desire for better leadership in city council isn’t ‘a peninsula thing.’
Great to see all the energy to end our vacant housing crisis at the BUILD event in West Bmore tonight. Pumped to hear Mayor Scott announce $150m TIF to rehab & reoccupy vacant homes in the city. That's a smart financial investment & the right way to strengthen our neighborhoods.
The parallels between the fight over the original Harborplace development and the current proposal are striking. Fascinating read by Giacomo Bologna at
@BaltimoreBanner
Hey Locust Point! This Wednesday 2/21, I’ll be at the Locust Point Community Association’s regular monthly meeting for a Candidate Forum, as will my opponent. I look forward to seeing many of you there and hearing your questions!
Our campaign has been launched for less than 36 hours, and we've already raised over $4,500 from 67 donors.
If you're a Baltimore City resident, you can help us reach our goal of 150 individual donors for the FEF match program by donating today!
After 3 years of saying 'no' to
@reginatboyce
's bill, the general assembly decided this year they liked it so much that it's been amended for ALL of Maryland (not just Baltimore City).
Governor's got to sign the state bill, and the City still has to implement it, but the Maryland General Assembly officially passed a bill yesterday to allow the City (and all counties now!) to enable us to increase taxes on blighted properties and vacant lots.
Delighted to report that our campaign has surpassed its goal of $7500, and we've now raised over $9000 in just five days.
We have 128 Baltimore City Donors - which means we only need 22 more to qualify for FEF matching.
If you can, please donate today!
Had a great time coordinating two alley cleanups on Saturday, in Mount Vernon and Madison Park! Thank you to all the participants who came out to help make our neighborhoods a better place!
#Baltimore
When she won the general election, she shattered the standard political perception of what Baltimore looks like, uniting the White L, Orthodox Jewish voters, our growing Asian & Latine neighborhoods, and making deep inroads into communities in the heart of the Black Butterfly. /3
"Next month, the National Aquarium will start building Harbor Wetland, a group of manmade wetland "islands" designed to attract native species like blue crabs, American eels, Eastern oysters and night herons."
The City only allocated $2 million for public financing this year (or ~.05% of our budget), which is close to the max amount a mayoral candidate can receive. Public financing will transform Baltimore politics, but if we want a robust democracy, we need to invest accordingly.1/
The primary elections are just over 4 months away, on May 14, & I’m excited about the traction our campaign has gained. 260+ donors, 100 guests at the launch party, and hundreds of conversations with residents. To all who have supported me in these ways: thank you, thank you!
Great article by
@justinjfenton
and the team of reporters on the donor habits of Republican Jack Luetkemeyer, the largest donor for Sheila and Costello.
How do we estimate the actual impact to the City's budget from the Harborplace redevelopment, after tax breaks and whatnot? Not like some magical "economic impact" number, but like revenues-minus-cost for the municipality?
Our campaign is powered by Baltimore City - which is why we've registered with the Baltimore Fair Election Fund match program.
Our goal is to reach 150+ individual contributors - so if you are a registered voter and can spare $1, please give today.
Honored to have a window sign at Brendali's on Light St! Thanks to Alex and his brother Santos for their friendship, their support of cleanliness and public safety in the neighborhood, and the chicken parmesan (plus the best tiramisu)!
Active community leadership, state-level support - that's how you get grocery stores in Baltimore neighborhoods! Great work Jack Danna and the Mt Vernon Belvedere Association
Got the chance to check out the awesome work my friend Derek Moore is doing in Madison Park. Derek got the permitting, funding, and artist (Quinn, pictured between Derek and I) for one Madison Park mural, and is lining up a second in the spring. Thankful to have friends like you!
As an American Government instructor at the Naval Academy, I would show a 60 Minutes video of how Sinclair was pushing pro-Trump messaging across it's many local stations. It would be very bad for Baltimore and Maryland if The Sun becomes that biased. 2/
Had a good community walk yest. w/ our
@BaltimorePolice
Southern Dist. Neighborhood Coord. Officers, Srgt. Rivera & Off. Owens. Excited to give a community perspective on public safety & hopeful for ideas they have for more face-to-face w/ our businesses, schools, and neighbors.
Great time and a great turnout at our launch party Sunday!! Special thanks to both
@CheckerspotBC
and
@AshleyEsposito_
for your courage in supporting a challenger you believe in.
It was great to see my friends
@AshleyEsposito_
and
@jisraelchilton
at the
@BaltimoreDems
event last week! I respect the work that Ashley and Jacob are doing in their respective areas, and applaud them for their efforts to make Baltimore City better.
Great meet-and-greet Monday night! Thanks so much to Fran and Nancy Landolf, who both opened their home to our campaign and managed to get 30 neighbors together for the discussion.
@jemillerbalt
Love it! I've done a lot of work with the older adults at Christ Church Senior Apartments to try to pressure the city of this. Just gonna point out that if anyone wants liveable streets in Downtown and around the Harbor,
#BlanchardforBaltimore
is the obvious choice in the 11th
The polling data is clear: the majority of Marylanders are calling on us to address housing affordability, and they are no longer willing to tolerate government inaction at any level. The time is right--we can make a difference in nearly every Maryland family's life and finances.
Updated location: launch party is at Checkerspot! Royal Sauce Food Truck (a personal favorite) will be outside from 6-7pm for folks who want to grab dinner. RSVP on the Eventbrite ("Blanchard For Baltimore")!