Local government

The city was once hailed for its response to addiction. But as fentanyl flooded the streets and officials shifted priorities, deaths hit unprecedented heights.

Canvassers poured over almost 5,000 provisional and mail-in ballots Wednesday, more than initially expected. Of those, about 2,000 were thrown out, and about 744 will be only “partially accepted,” or counted in statewide races, due largely to voters filling out ballots in the wrong council district or to unaffiliated voters erroneously participating in the May 14 closed primary, city Board of Elections representatives said Wednesday evening.

Baltimore County Council member David Marks says a critic of his approach to reforming the county Planning Board should participate in the council’s reform effort.

Honoring William Donald Schaefer by renaming the Key Bridge replacement after him would make perfect sense, says a Baltimore resident who cites Schaefer's “do it now” approach as Maryland’s governor and Baltimore’s mayor.

On Wednesday, canvassers will begin reviewing at least 6,000 additional provisional ballots and elections officials expect to use the rest of the week to tally up those votes.

“I need to do everything that I can to try to avoid the avoidable ones, and then try to help people once they have been evicted,” Cogen said.

Counting will continue through Friday with provisional ballots and late-arriving mail ballots that were postmarked in time — potentially making for a long and stressful week for candidates who are uncertain of their fates.

Communities must stand against the language that criminalizes and dehumanizes immigrants, says the managing attorney of an organization supporting immigrant survivors of gender-based violence in Baltimore.

When the mayor of Annapolis plans a $10 million, glass-walled maritime welcome center at City Dock — right on top of an $88 million public works project to save downtown by lifting part of it above climate-driven flooding — Historic Annapolis pays attention. The question is, is anyone listening?

Election day vote counts were reduced in races for City Council District 11 and District 8, two competitive races that are currently too close to call.

Dixon said she called Scott to congratulate him on Friday morning. “His success leading our city is success for us all, so I sincerely wish him all the best in his second term,” the former mayor said.

About 25,000 outstanding votes were expected to help decide at least three closely contested City Council races that have not yet declared winners.

Nick Mosby’s last campaign looked a lot like that of his ex-wife, Marilyn Mosby. What happens next for the onetime Baltimore power couple is anyone’s guess.

“In respect to all who voted, I’ll be waiting for the final outcome of the mail-in ballots before I make any further statements on the outcome of the mayoral primary,” Dixon said in a Wednesday statement.

The council’s budget leader and would-be kingmaker had a tough election night Tuesday.

Scott becomes the center of political gravity in Baltimore, now that he’s slated to become the first mayor to serve at least two full terms since 1999.

Not only did Mayor Brandon Scott, who has enjoyed higher approval ratings among white voters, have massive margins in the White L, he also ran close to former Mayor Sheila Dixon in the city’s majority-Black precincts, a Banner analysis of preliminary election data found.

Voters have become more familiar with mailed-in ballots over the last four years, experts said, which makes accounting for turnout a more arduous process.

Anne Arundel County school board candidate Sarah Lacey suspended her campaign in March, but nevertheless advanced in Tuesday’s primary to the November general election. Now it appears she will face incumbent Gloria Dent in District 1.

“Tonight, you made it very clear that your democracy was not for sale,” said Scott, a first-term mayor who narrowly defeated Sheila Dixon in 2020. “I am blessed to have another term to serve as your mayor.”