Frank Conaway, Baltimore City Clerk of the Court, may be an elder statesman of city politics, but don?t call him old.
“I can outrun the younger guys easily,” said Conaway, 73.
Conaway, whose office at the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse on Calvert Street sits at the crossroads of the city?s judiciary, oversees a staff of 260 people and a $10.5 million budget. On his watch, hundreds of cases ? involving minor scofflaws as well as the most hardened criminals ? pass through the halls of the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse on Calvert Street, giving him a unique take on the city?s battle with crime.
“I talk to police officers every day and they tell me the same thing: Violent crime is not down,” he said. “Some say that it?s even getting worse,” he said.
The discrepancy, Conaway said, is one of the reasons he has continued to work as a public servant. And his commitment has rubbed off on his family: his daughter, City Council Member Belinda Conaway, D-7th District, is running for state senator; his wife, Mary, is the city?s long-time Registrar of Wills, and his son, Frank Jr., is running for state delegate in the 40th District ? the same district his father served in from 1979-83.
“Public service is a family passion,” said Conaway, who refers to himself as the political family?s “Papa Bear.”
The life-long resident of the city and one-time candidate for mayor said Baltimore has made progress, but not enough.
“Certain parts of the downtown have improved but other areas have been ignored,” he said. “We need to improve the entire city, not just one part,” he said.
For Conaway, the issue is parity, putting enough resources into lower-income communities and rebuilding important social infrastructure like schools.
“To a certain degree, integration hurt the African-American community,” he said. “Before integration we had the best African-American teachers who cared about us,” he said.
Even on the issue of punishing criminals, Conaway has a different take. “The conditions in our jails are horrible. We treat people like animals,” he said. “The people one day will come back into our community, and we will suffer if we don?t rehabilitate people,” he said.
Last week Conaway launched Metro Political Organization, a grassroots group that he said will help young people get involved in politics.
Marvin “Doc” Cheatham, president of the Baltimore Chapter of the National Association of Colored People, said Conaway is a valued public servant. “Frank Conaway gives tirelessly to our community and always to his constituency,” he said.
And while Conaway won?t confirm his plans for the 2007 mayoral race, he said he hasn?t ruled out a run.
“I always think about running for mayor, but I can?t look past one election,” he said, referring to the upcoming race for Clerk of the Court.
One thing he won?t contemplate is retirement. “That?s not for me,” he said. “I can?t sit around and do nothing ? I have too many challenges in my life.”
