Charging Mayor Sheila Dixon with using city employees to campaign on her behalf, mayoral candidate state Del. Jill Carter held a news conference outside City Hall on Wednesday accusing the mayor of campaign ethics violations.
“She has not attended any of the candidate forums in the past month; instead, her staff has been campaigning for her,” Carter said. “It?s a misuse of the office of the mayor.”
Distributing a letter sent to the State Ethics Commission on Wednesday, Carter cited three candidate forums where the mayor?s Chief of Staff Otis Rolley III and Deputy Mayor Andy Frank attended on Dixon?s behalf: June 27 Baltimore Heritage Preservation Society forum at University of Baltimore, a July 14 Baltimore Muslim Council debate at Morgan State University and a forum sponsored by the Citizens for Washington Hill on Monday. The last candidate forum Dixon attended, Carter said, was sponsored by the Jewish Council on June 13.
“It?s been a month since she has shown her face,” Carter said.
But Dixon administration officials said both Rolley and Frank were not being paid by the city when they appeared on the mayor?s behalf.
“They were off the clock,” Dixon spokesman Anthony McCarthy said. “The three meetings that Ms. Carter cites, they were on their own time.”
Dixon campaign manager Martha McKenna said the mayor has a series of debates on her schedule.
“We have multiple debates confirmed in August and September,” McKenna said.
State ethics board officials did not return several calls for comment. However, city ethics board spokesman Avery Aisenstark said Carter?s allegations would be governed by the city ethics code.
“An allegation against city employee or officials would be a question under the city ethics code, not the state,” he said.
But Carter, who spoke as one of her campaign workers dressed in a chicken suit paraded in front of City Hall, said the issue was a matter of perception.
“This is a sign of disconnect between City Hall and the people,” she said.
