The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • Page A11

11 NEWS BALTIMORE SUN FROM PAGE ONE ranging for potholes to be filled that affect residents most directly. The composition shifts at a glacial pace, with many of the legislators holding on to their seats for decades. When Agnes Welch retired last year after representing West Baltimore for 27 years, her colleagues chose her son and longtime aide, William Welch, to replace her, as a courtesy to the elder Welch. Only one council seat is open this year an East Baltimore district that has been represented for 20 years by Nicholas Six Democrats are angling for that seat; Brandon M. Scott, a protege of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, is considered the front-runner.

Scott, 27, who covered East Baltimore for Office of Neighborhoods, has never held public office. But he is backed by powerful fundraiser Colleen Martin-Lauer, whose clients include Rawlings-Blake and about half of the sitting council. Power of incumbency In most of the races, the sitting council member faces a crowd of challengers, who are likely to divide the anti- incumbent vote. For example, Carl Stokes, who was selected by his colleagues to fill the 12th District seat left open when Bernard C. Young became council president in February 2010, faces six challengers in the Democratic primary.

Stokes, who had served on the council from 1987 to 2005, had his eye on the office for much of his current stint on the council. But hours before the July 5 deadline to file to run for city office, he reversed course, dropping his mayoral ambitions and announcing plans to pursue re-election to his seat. Stokes, who helped found a charter school an East Baltimore, says he wants four more years to advocate for the residents of his district, which includes neighborhoods in center and east side. a very diverse said Stokes. a council person, the challenges are giving as much energy as possible to some of the weaker neighborhoods in the district, yet at the same time maintaining the services to neighborhoods that as Stokes has been one of the more independent members, leveraging his position at the helm of the Taxation and Finance Committee to challenge the hefty tax incentives awarded to large development projects.

But some of his efforts such as a proposal to slash property taxes drew criticism from Mayor Stephanie Rawlings- administration and little backing from his peers on the council. Challenging Stokes is an eclectic group of candidates, including some he advised before deciding to jump back in the race. Campaign signs mark different regions of the district. Orange signs bearing Odette name are most prevalent in Charles Village, and even the iconic alien on the roof of a home at Howard and 28th Streets holds acampaign sign for the community activist. The restaurants and bars in Mount Vernon are emblazoned with red-white- and-blue posters for Jason Curtis, including some signs exhorting residents to support Curtis so that the council includes a gay representative.

Signs for Maryland Institute College of Art film major Brown are most prominent near his East Baltimore home. Boy of Baraka Brown, 21, is living in his home on the east side while studying at the Maryland Institute College of Art on the west side. He wears button-up shirts and khakis to class, in sharp contrast to most of his artsy tattered clothes. He preaches at Zion Baptist Church on Sundays and is a board member at Taharka Brothers, a socially conscious ice cream company that fosters the careers of young men. a product of East Baltimore, I can no longer sit back and allow my generation to be placed on the back said Brown.

decided to run because the youth in Baltimore City have been undervalued and overlooked for too Brown was featured in the 2005 documentary Boys of which chronicled the experiences of four boys plucked from city middle schools and sent to live with host families in Kenya. Even as a 12-year-old, Brown showed unusual maturity, preaching passionately in his church and speaking poignantly about his battles with addiction. who has been a fan of Brown since his Baraka days, has appeared for him twice. Grass-roots organizer Ramos, 38, who has lived in Charles Village for the past year, is in many ways emblematic of that focus on grass-roots organizing. She helped found the Neighborhood Congress, which pushed for a community-focused agenda in the 1999 city election that brought to the office, and was the executive director of the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance, which came up with a report card to measure the health of the neighborhoods.

In 1997, Ramos helped lead efforts to transform a decrepit city library building in the 2600 block of St. Paul Street into the Village Learning Center, a community center that offers classes, computers and garden plots. After the city announced plans to close the library, Ramos helped found a nonprofit to manage the center and raise $700,000 to rehab the building. could happen anywhere in the said Ramos. council person needs to be a staunch advocate for the district and be the No.

1fan of the Ramos, who now runs a consulting business that has worked with progressive groups including St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center, the Safe and Sound Campaign and the Maryland Disability Law Center, has already drawn high-profile endorsements: Del. Mary Washington, Del. Maggie MacIntosh and Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke have rallied around her campaign. Ramos says that she would prioritize getting rid of vacant homes if elected.

She believes that the to program launched by Rawlings-Blake is a good step, but wants to push the housing department to target vacant houses in the district, particularly in the eastern neighborhoods, more aggressively. She says she would also start a district council of community leaders and fight for more after-school and summer work and recreation opportunities for youth. And she opposes the plan to build a juvenile jail in the eastern part of the district. not convinced that we need a youth jail. The statistics bear it said Ramos.

really need to invest more on our kids on the front If elected, Ramos, who has Puerto Rican roots, would be the first Latina, Seeking gay support Curtis, 41, has a lengthy history of community involvement. He came to Baltimore in 2001to manage the Peabody Court Hotel in Mount Vernon, and became president of the Mount Vernon-Belvedere For example, Welch, who was appointed to fill his former seat, is facing eight opponents, including political science professor John Bullock, Union Square Neighborhood Association President Chris Taylor, teacher Abigail Breseith and progressive activist Michael Eugene Johnson. The races that appear most competitive are the ones in which a single strong opponent has emerged to challenge an incumbent. In West 7th District, Nick Mosby, a video manager at Verizon, is taking on two-term Councilwoman Belinda Conaway. Mosby, 32, is the past president of the Bolton Park Neighbors Association in Reservoir Hill.

He says he wants to expand privately funded programs that bring teachers in growing fields to Baltimore classrooms. He also wants to help homeowners save on property taxes when they move into a larger home in the city. Mosby has won the support of Rawlings- Blake and Martin-Lauer. Conaway, daughter of a West Baltimore political dynasty, cites her success in passing legislation that benefits city families, such as a law that require the city to turn off water in vacant homes. She aims to work to help stop foreclosures and aid the victims of lead paint poisoning if re-elected.

She hashed out a compromise between Remington residents and the developers of aWalmart shopping complex last year although that area was cut from the 7th District under redistricting plan this year. Reservoir Hill, where Mosby lives, was added to the district. In Northeast Baltimore, Councilman Bill Henry faces a challenge from Scherod Barnes, former president of the Loch Raven Improvement Association. Although constituents give him high marks for responding to their concerns, Barnes has won the endorsement of state Sen. Joan Carter Conway and has Martin-Lauer, the fundraiser, working on his behalf.

Henry, 43, who is running for his second term on the council, backed opponent in last state Senate race. Barnes, 63, who heads community relations for P. Flanigan Sons, a road construction company awarded many large city contracts, says he plans to focus on constituent services in the district. running in the City Council is an extension of 34 years of community activism in Northeast he said. Henry, the only council member to keep an office in his district, says he helped residents with issues while working to improve city government.

been the council person I wanted to said Henry, who works in real estate part time. been responsive to constituent problems but also focus on citywide issues, not necessarily big splashy things, but things that make the city better. julie.scharper@baltsun.com twitter.com/juliemore Community Association a few years later, a position he still holds. He also chairs the board of the Midtown Community Benefits District. Signs in Mount Vernon urge patrons at gay bars to support Curtis, who would be the only openly gay representative.

Curtis fought successfully for the closure of Suite Ultra Lounge, a bottle club in the basement of the Belvedere building where he lives. The club was associated with some high-profile violent attacks and was considered a neighborhood nuisance. Curtis also worked to open a park at Calvert and Madison streets, raised money to plant trees throughout Mount Vernon and negotiated with the city over the new homeless shelter on Guilford Avenue that opened its doors last month. Curtis says he would work on and issues throughout the district and aggressively work to eradicate vacant commercial properties. you make $100,000 a year or $25,000 a year, you still want your street to be he said.

He is a familiar figure in the Mount Vernon neighborhood, where he patrols the streets with police officers on a Segway owned by the community benefits district. The extra police and the Segways are paid for by the community benefits district, which levies a surcharge on property taxes. He says the patrols have brought down crime in the neighborhood and could work in other areas. need to be more programs like we have in Mount Vernon where we actively invite police he said. are an extra set of eyes and Curtis, who was registered as a Republican until about six years ago, has been dogged in recent years by legal problems.

The Belvedere Condominium Association is suing him over $6,000 in unpaid condo and legal fees; a hearing is set for next month. Curtis said the suit arose from a misunderstanding over how much he owed. Curtis had a court case last year involving in back Discover card bills. That debt has since been settled, he said. In 2007, a woman who owned a business in the Belvedere pressed second-degree assault charges against Curtis, but the case was not prosecuted.

Curtis said he got into a with the woman, but did not touch her, and says that security videos back up his story. Other candidates in the district include Jermaine Jones, a labor activist whose family is fixing up a block of homes in Oliver; Frank W. Richardson, a Johns Hopkins security officer and community leader; and Ertha Harris, a longtime community organizer. Other races In the 12th District, as elsewhere around the city, the incumbent is likely to benefit from a wide field of challengers breaking up the anti-incumbent vote. 70 candidates try to crowd on to City Council CITY COUNCIL Frompage1 NOW PLAYING IN THEATRES EVERYWHERE Check local listings for theatre locations and showtimes SPECIAL ENGAGEMENTS NO PASSES OR DISCOUNT COUPONS ACCEPTED MOBILE USERS: For Showtimes Text DEBT with your ZIP CODE to 43KIX (43549) 1 THRILLERINAMERICA! HELEN MIRREN ACADEMY AWARD WINNER SAM WORTHINGTONJESSICA CHASTAIN AND TOM WILKINSON ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE EVERY SECRET COMES WITH A PRICE.

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