The city?s mayoral campaign got down to brass tacks Wednesday night as three candidates squared off before the Baltimore Jewish Council.
Billed as a candidate forum, questions from the audience fielded by Mayor Sheila Dixon, State Del. Jill Carter and City Councilman Keiffer Mitchell revealed stark differences among the trio.
Carter dropped the biggest bombshell of the evening, promising to fire Police Commissioner Leonard Hamm if she wins the election.
“We need a change in leadership at the top,” she said. “No crime plan is going to matter without new management.”
Carter said she would consider hiring former Police Commissioner Ed Norris in an advisory role to oversee an overhaul of the department.
But Dixon said that her comprehensive crime plan offered the best strategy.
“We?re treating the problem from a holistic perspective,” she said, citing her efforts to rebuild trust between the police and the community and target the city?s most violent offenders.
Mitchell said police staffing was his biggest concern.
?We don?t have enough officers, period,” he said. “We need to hire 300 more officers. They are overworked. We spend $37 million on overtime because we are short staffed.”
On the subject of city schools, Mitchell continued to call for mayoral control. Schools currently are overseen by the state and city.
“No one is held accountable for the failure of city schools,” said Mitchell. “I will work to put city schools under mayoral control, and I will be accountable.”
Dixon said her newly appointed school CEO, former Deputy Chancellor of New York City?s schools Dr. Andres Alonso, is proof that low graduation rates and poor test scores are soon to be a thing of the past.
On the issue of immigration, sharp differences appeared between Dixon and Carter.
“We have a chance now to embrace diversity and strengthen our city,” said Dixon.
Carter said she is concerned that residents are losing jobs to illegal immigrants.
“I here from people that illegal immigrants are taking jobs,” she said.
On the issue of illegal drugs, Dixon said she supports treatment.
“Drug treatment is needed so we can break the cycle,” she said. “We need to work with families and get to the root of the problem.”
But Carter said police also need to arrest high-level drugs dealers to put a real dent in the drug business.
“We need to stop the revolving door of low-level drugs dealers and go after the kingpins. We need to follow the money trail,” she said. “Otherwise we won?t make progress.”
