Sheila Dixon?s inauguration today marks a contentious 20-year journey and perhaps a victory after surviving a city ethics investigation involving contracts that ended recently when officials said she did nothing wrong.
The timing of that decision could not be any better for Dixon, who will make history today when she becomes the first female mayor of Baltimore. While she starts with a fresh slate, she carries a heavy load of problems that run deep in a city plagued by violent crime and troubled schools.
Dixon, 53, can draw on education experience that many hope will help make the difference. A former city school teacher, she said the difficulties she encountered teaching pushed her into politics in 1987.
“I just wanted to teach, but I was frustrated about what I had to deal with outside the classroom,” she said.
Funneling that frustration into a successful campaign for City Council, she has become a veteran voice for the city. Today she takes a seat that has been a launching pad to the office of governor. But first, she is pushing for change for the city when it comes to crime and education.
Dixon said she is in the process of discussing those changes in the police department with Commissioner Leonard Hamm.
“We both agree there needs to be a better balance,” she said of the city?s policing strategy. “We need to get the false arrests under control and officers in the community.”
As a former educator, education will be a major priority, she said.
“We need to focus on teaching children, and keep the problems outside the classroom from interfering,” she said.
Dixon said she also is currently reviewing 275 recommendations for problems her administration needs to address.
Marvin “Doc” Cheatham, president of the Baltimore City branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said his organization is optimistic about the Dixon administration.
“We are looking forward to a different approach to some of the problems, crime and schools,” he said.
Councilman Jack Young, District 12, said “she will be a good mayor” because she is a strong-willed leader.
For Dixon to keep her new job for the next four years, she will have to win election in the Sept. 11 primary.
At this point, she said, “I can?t think about that right now. People are expecting me to get things done.”
