Baltimore's Mayor Not Seeking Reelection

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is not seeking reelection.

Rawlings-Blake has been the city’s mayor since Feb. 4, 2010, when she took over following the resignation of Sheila Dixon amid a scandal over gift cards. She was elected by popular vote in November 2011.

“We all know that this is a very critical time in our city...in recovering from April’s unrest and managing our city through the multiple trials that are coming up,” Rawlings-Blake, 45, said at a press conference Friday morning.

Six police officers are facing trial starting next month in connection with the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Baltimore man fatally injured in police custody. Hours after Gray’s funeral on April 27, the city erupted into riotsand the community has been in the process of recovering ever since.

“Every moment that I spend planning for a campaign or reelection was time that I was taking away from my current responsibilities to the city,” Rawlings-Blake said. “Because of that, I’ve made the decision not to seek reelection.”

Rawlings-Blake added: “I have chosen to govern rather than to campaign.”

While meeting with people about her campaign efforts, Rawlings-Blake said she had the “constant feeling” that she “needed to be back at City Hall” working on the city’s issues.

“It was a very difficult decision,” the mayor said, but she said she was sure she needed to spend the remaining 15 months in office “focused on the city’s future and not my own.”

She said she hoped her track record would speak for itself as she left office, noting she helped reduce unemployment, reduce property taxes, bolster the city’s bond rating and cut infant mortality in half.

Rawlings-Blake lives in the city’s Coldspring neighborhood with her husband and daughter, according to her biography.

Among the reasons she is not seeking reelection is the desire to spend more time with her family, she said.

Photo Credit: Baltimore City.