Sheila Dixon sits watching the flat-screen television mounted on the wall at the CBS Radio studio off Falls Road.
It?s her face that?s on television, next to the words “Investigation” and “Corruption,” which are written in big, bold, can?t-miss letters.
On the screen, Dixon, Baltimore?s mayor for the past 18 months, has a stern expression that stands in stark contrast to the green dress she?s wearing. She?s delivering a tongue-lashing to the media for reporting leaked information about a supposedly confidential investigation into a relationship she had with developer Ronald Lipscomb.
Watching the news report, Dixon?s eyes fix not on the words but on her outfit.
“That?s not a good color for me,” she says.
Dixon?s attempt at levity lightens the mood and draws smiles from those in the room. But the investigation into her actions remains all too serious.
Her Hunting Ridge house was raided, and a grand jury has convened to hear testimony about alleged “bribery, perjury and misconduct in office.” Sources close to the investigation say prosecutors are pursuing a more than 70-count indictment against her.
Still, Dixon, 54, would rather talk about other issues: crime, schools, tourism, transportation, the economy ? in short, the day-to-day functioning of city government.
If she?s afraid of going to jail, the mayor certainly doesn?t show it.
“I?m a little distracted, but what am I doing to do? Cancel all my meetings?” Dixon says. “I still have to run the city. People are expecting me to do my job.”
Tax dollars at play?
At the height of all this public scrutiny, Dixon has not gone into hiding. Instead, she has given several radio interviews and generally has been accessible to the media.
Sitting in a chair at the radio studio and looking relaxed, Dixon stuck to a mantra she?s repeated many times in recent days: She?s done nothing wrong. She?s allowed to have a boyfriend. Why can?t the prosecutors just clear her and move on already?
“We?re two consenting adults,” she says. “A person is allowed to have a personal life. There were no tax dollars involved in that relationship. I wasn?t the mayor then.”
Baltimore?s first female mayor ? and third African-American mayor ? Dixon talks about her plan for a longer school day and possibly year-round school. She speaks of the city?s remarkable turnaround in homicides and shootings. (Both crime categories are down by about 30 percent.) She points out the city is on pace for a record-breaking year for its hotels, with about 450,000 bookings predicted.
“People are coming,” she says. “I think the perception is changing. We need to do a better job in marketing the city. When people come here, they?re very pleasantly surprised. They enjoy the city, and they want to come back.”
Dixon was voted into office with 63 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary and 88 percent in the general election. By most accounts ? even from Republicans ? she has been a successful mayor. (A source inside the prosecutor?s office notes the irony that even investigators believe Dixon has done a good job.)
But what of her claim that “no tax dollars” were involved in her relationship with Lipscomb? On this point, prosecutors clearly disagree.
They allege Lipscomb, a prominent minority developer and owner of Doracon Inc., used his company?s vice president, Dennis Cullop, to funnel bribes to Dixon, who was then City Council president.
They say Cullop gave Dixon a $2,000 gift certificate to Mano Swartz Inc., a fur store in Lutherville. They say Cullop paid more than $1,500 for Dixon to fly to Chicago to meet Lipscomb.
The probe also has branched off into other areas, including a search of her tax records and an investigation into whether Dixon misused gift cards intended for needy families.
Prosecutors also have delved into Dixon?s affair with Lipscomb and her spending habits during that time. On a 2004 Chicago trip with Lipscomb, Dixon charged $4,410 at a Giorgio Armani store and $2,272 at the St. John Boutique.
When asked about her spending during a news conference, Dixon curtly responded that she knows how to “maintain a budget,” adding “I don?t buy that often, but when I buy, I buy quality.”
?No reason to disclose?
An affidavit for a search-and-seizure warrant at Doracon?s East Baltimore offices lays out, in great detail, the highlights of Dixon?s relationship with Lipscomb.
“They became very close over a two- to three-month period after he moved from his [marital] home in late 2003 and early 2004,” the document states. “At that time, Lipscomb was estranged from his wife.” Dixon, a single mother of two children, is divorced.
The couple dined at Ruth?s Chris Steakhouse, where Lipscomb gave Dixon gifts purchased on his company?s American Express card, and the then-City Council president gave Lipscomb workout apparel.
After dinners out in Harbor East, Dixon and Lipscomb “may have gone back to his place on two occasions,” the affidavit states, adding that “Lipscomb said there were occasions when he either traveled with Dixon or met her at various locations outside of Baltimore. For instance, Dixon attended a convention in Aspen, Colorado, and he flew out there and spent one night with her. On another occasion, Dixon met with Mayor [Richard M.] Daley?s wife in Chicago, Illinois, and again he flew there to spend the night with her. There was another occasion when they traveled to New York City by train.”
City Hall documents show that Dixon began recusing herself from votes involving Lipscomb?s companies after investigations into her activities with him began ? perhaps an indication that she realized she should have abstained from earlier votes.
So why didn?t she just tell people about her boyfriend and recuse herself?
“She was not required to,” her attorney, Dale Kelberman, says. “During the time she received these gifts with Lipscomb, he did not have a contract with the city. He was a subcontractor. In her position as president of the City Council, they only enter into the contract with the general contractor. They have no say over who gets to be the subcontractor. There?s no reason to disclose gifts received.”
This is exactly what angers Dixon: leaked documents and information appearing in the media, while she is left defenseless, not permitted to speak out ? on the advice of her attorney ? while she?s under investigation.
“My hope is that my hair doesn?t get grayer through this,” she says. “A lot of misinformation gets out there, and you can?t respond because of the investigation.”
What?s the big deal?
The ongoing probe has to be frustrating for Dixon, says prominent Baltimore defense attorney Dwight Pettit, who is watching the case closely and predicts an easy win for Dixon if the case eventually is tried in Baltimore City?s Circuit Court.
“The state should have moved ahead or dropped it,” Pettit said. “To continue to do this is unfair, and it reflects a certain prosecutorial hostility I?ve not seen before. If they have something, produce it. [Otherwise] get off the woman.”
Whether one believes Dixon is a villain, as the investigative documents portray or a victim, as her attorney says, there can be no doubt that Dixon?s many friends are standing with her ? from Gov. Martin O?Malley to state delegates to members of the City Council.
There is one notable exception, though.
City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who stands to become mayor if Dixon is forced to resign, has made no public statements on the issue. She did not respond to several requests for comment.
Lawmakers who back Dixon point out the practical part of the argument. The development deals in question were approved months or years in advance by the Baltimore Development Corp. and its president, Jay Brodie. They were backed by then-Mayor O?Malley and received uniform support from the Board of Estimates and the City Council.
In short, Dixon?s vote didn?t matter anyway. So what?s the big deal?
“Those bills passed either unanimously or with very token opposition,” says Baltimore City Councilman Robert Curran. “It wasn?t like there was any heavy-handed arm-twisting at all. Those bills passed on their own merits. I?m on record voting for them all, too.”
The mayor?s attorney agrees.
“All these deals came about not because they were recommended by Sheila Dixon,” he says. “The Baltimore Development Corporation initiates them. A lot of deals take months if not years with BDC. By the time they get to the City Council, it?s a done deal. It?s a great benefit to the city. They?ve been vetted through the process.”
Dixon says she?s grateful for the support she?s received from Baltimore residents, and she believes her public image remains strong.
“I?ve been in many communities, and people have been very supportive and encouraging,” she says. “I think people see I have great passion and drive and want the best for this city.”
