Collecting the most votes of any delegate from the city in the recent primary election, Jill Carter has options come 2007, political experts say ? one of which may be running for the top job in Baltimore City.
“I?m considering running for mayor,” she told The Examiner. “But if I commit now, it will overshadow my work in Annapolis.”
“Everyone will say I?m doing this or that to become mayor.”
The second-term state delegate in the 41st district collected 12,890 votes, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections, more than any other delegate on the city slate, causing speculation that Carter may run for mayor in 2007.
“I do think I am the best qualified to bring the people of the city together,” she said, pointing to her diverse district.
Carter certainly has strong support from city voters, garnering nearly 25 percent more votes than the second-highest vote-getter Del. Kurt Anderson. Carter said her popularity is due to speaking out on controversial issues such as illegal arrests.
“You can either be popular with the people, or our colleagues, but not both,” she said. “A lot of people tell me to keep quiet, but I can?t ignore what?s going on in the city.”
Carter?s independence is partly a tribute to her pedigree, she said. The daughter of Walter P. Carter, a noted civil rights activist, she said her father?s passion for justice continues to influence her political career. Thus, she has made the city?s controversial arrest policy, resulting in nearly 100,000 arrests in 2005, one of her primary issues.
“It?s unjust to arrest so many people, and I don?t think in the long run it works,” she said.
C. Vernon Gray, professor of political science at Morgan State University, said while Carter has become a known political entity in the city, the jury is still out on her ability to win a citywide race.
“Certainly she has risen above the radar because she has out been outspoken on issue like arrests in the city that people tend to remember,” he said. “But running for mayor requires a much broader constituency than delegate,” he said.
