Council President

The City Council President is the second of three city-wide elected offices with power over our spending. In addition to being an at-large vote on City Council, the Council President’s Office is responsible for the operations of City Council. Finally, the Council President sits on the Board of Estimates, the body that awards contracts and oversees all city purchasing.

We sent our questionnaire to all filed candidates. Responses marked with a [...] indicate the candidate didn't directly answer yes or no, but may have provided a written explanation. Responses were edited for typos, but not substance.

You can find the full candidate surveys below, or scroll down to see candidate responses side by side for agree/disagree questions.


Candidates for City Council President

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Click on a candidate below to see their full narrative responses.


QUESTION COMPARISONS

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Hover or click on a candidate to see an extended response if the candidate provided one.

10. I support removing parking on a street if it would improve safety and increase mobility of people using that street.

This should be done in a way that makes best efforts to identify off street parking

We should prioritize the movement of people and the safety of residents.

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11. Minimum parking requirements are shown to increase housing costs while limiting potential density and making neighborhoods less walkable. I support following the lead of other cities that have removed minimum parking requirements from new development.

I agree that this should be our goal for all of the reasons stated above but at the same time we need to take into consideration the limitations of and lack of investment in our current public transportation system. The fact that it is not a priority directly impacts Baltimoreans dependence on cars.

I would support relaxing and/or removing parking requirements. Land use would be concentrated on creating a more walkable and green city rather than devoted to parking lots that are subsidized by residents.

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I would need more personal study.

12. Some cities require employers that subsidize parking also offer an option for employees to receive that subsidy as a cash payment. I support a mandate that employers offer parking cash- out so that employees can choose to pocket that money, use it for alternative transportation, or continue using that cash to pay for parking.

I agree that employers who subsidize parking should offer an alternative transportation option (ie. monthly bus pass) but not a cash pay out.

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13. Increasing density in areas of opportunity is proven to help individuals escape poverty. I support taller, denser, or larger buildings in areas they are now prohibited by zoning.

This cannot be done as one size fits all. I agree with increasing density in certain areas, but each of those areas need to be analyzed for their capacity.

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Cannot make a blanket assessment across all neighborhoods.

14. Transit oriented development can expand access to areas of opportunity by locating housing and retail along high frequency transit. Current zoning code only identifies these zones along subway and light rail routes. I support expanded Transit Oriented Development zoning to include areas within a quarter mile of high-frequency bus routes.

I would need to evaluate this a little more. On the surface this is a good idea, but a quarter mile is not the same in all parts of the city.

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15. It is now widely accepted that Single Family Residential Zoning was historically created to maintain racial segregation. I support removing Single Family Residential Zoning categories, allowing both single family and multi family residences to be built in all residential zoning areas.

Some areas have had a saturation of multi family units and can benefit from a more balanced mix of single family. This should not be done independent of a analysis of the area and a comprehensive community development strategy.

As Elizabeth Warren stated in the most recent Democratic Presidential debate, we need “race conscious laws” to reverse the historic injustices to people of color not just here in Baltimore City, but across the United States.

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Prefer not to support blanket policy across all neighborhoods. It is proper to have community input.

16. I support allowing existing residences to be split into apartments in all zoning categories without having to pass legislation for each conversion, increasing density in neighborhoods that were traditionally single family homes.

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I am not necessarily opposed to the idea of converting traditionally single-family homes into apartments. However, I do not want to see unethical landlords hastily convert properties into apartments resulting in shoddy work that ultimately the tenants must live with.

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Again, community input is critical

17. At 20mph, 90% of pedestrians survive being hit by a car. At 40mph, only 10% survive. I support enforcing a maximum speed limit of 25 mph on arterial streets, and 20 mph on local streets.

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I need more education on what is safe and pragmatic.

18. Allowing turns on red is a contributing factor in increased pedestrian injury and death. I support banning turns on red at all intersections that allow pedestrian crossing.

If this is what the data says we should not be knowingly putting pedestrians in harms way.

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19. Automated Speed and Red Light Enforcement Cameras are widely proven to reduce fatal collisions. I support using these cameras on any street, not just near schools and construction sites.

I agree in the expansion of the system. I would make certain that there are no inequities in the prevalence and location of these cameras.

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20. The Automated Speed Enforcement Camera current threshold is 12 miles per hour. I support cameras being able to issue citations for those traveling 5 miles per hour or more over the speed limit.

I don't disagree with lowering the threshold but I believe that 5 mph is too low.

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The cameras are consistently unreliable.

21. I would invest in automated enforcement cameras that will issue citations to private automobiles for being stopped or parked in bus lanes.

I can agree with this. I would like to know how much the fines will be.

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22. Dedicated bus lanes and bus boarding islands are proven to dramatically improve bus reliability and boarding times. I support removing parking or travel lanes to create bus lanes and boarding islands to improve bus performance.

As a Councilman I have gone so far as to support this for the improvements proposed for North Avenue.

However, I would like to have a conversation with the community or local businesses before removing parking spaces that could hurt a businesses’ ability to attract and retain customers.

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23. The city adopted the Greenway Trails Network plan that will connect existing trails such as Gwynns Falls Trail and Herring Run Trail to create a 35-mile trail loop that connects 80% of Baltimore’s neighborhoods to greenspace and recreational trails. I support the construction of these trail connections, even if it requires using grass medians or taking road space or parking space away from private automobiles.

I am currently a member of the Leadership Council for Rails to Trails, the lead sponsor of this effort. I'm a part of the Mayoral Committee that is leading the planning effort for this project. I have and continue to be very instrumental in the community engagement portion of the West Baltimore portion of the loop. My support for the utilization of the grass medians does not negate the fact that I believe that community buy in is critical to the success of this project. While this is a citywide project, any use of the median must have the support of the impacted communities.

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