Democratic Mayoral Accountability Assembly Responses
1. Finance the construction of 28 new schools and renovate the remaining 134 so children are able to achieve in spaces that support academic excellence with the basic necessities of light, heat and air-conditioning, safe structures and up-to-date equipment.
YES – I will focus on growing our tax base in Baltimore so we can begin to contribute more to the capital and operating budgets of the school system. We receive a large percentage of the city’s funding from the state of Maryland. I will make Baltimore a stronger city economically and create partnerships with the corporate, non-profit, and philanthropic communities to build new schools and ensure our children are educated in safe and environmentally sound buildings. I am proud to be one of the founders of a new school in Baltimore – I know how to get this done and done right!
2. Create 55 high-quality recreation centers so that all neighborhood children have access to recreation. Since 1980, Baltimore has closed nearly 100 recreation centers, leaving young people with no safe place to play. Too often, many youth must choose between gangs or going at it alone in unsafe neighborhoods. Let’s give them a real choice by developing centers with sports teams, music, and art, with coaches and instructors who care about young people.
YES – I will make Baltimore a child-first city! We cannot succeed as a city if we don’t create opportunities for young people to excel. I want to restore and create recreation/community centers that provide young people a place to play and have fun with their friends and neighbors but where they also find mentors, get help with their homework, get job training and are safe from violence, bullies, gangs and drugs
3. Double funding for after-school programs to $10 million to give young people the chance to learn, play and explore.
YES – I will bring the philanthropic, faith, and business communities together to partner with me to meet these costs to enhance our current after school programs and reach out to residents and ask that they step forward to share with our young people their expertise in business, sports, the arts, music, literature and other experiences that will expand the horizons and dreams of our young people. Too many people think of our children as simply our “future.” I contend, however, that our children actually represent our most precious resource RIGHT HERE AND NOW!
4. Double youth employment from 5,000 to 10,000 jobs so youth don’t have to turn to the streets for opportunities. Teach them the discipline and value of work now so they are prepared for the future, and let them help provide for their families.
YES – I think doubling summer jobs is important but honestly, my goal is to give every young people that wants to work a year-round employment and internship opportunity that provides them with a stipend or a paycheck as well as giving them a work ethic and prepares them for a successful future in a field they want to explore.
5. Match dollar for dollar any public subsidies spent on the Convention Center, a new arena, Inner Harbor tourist attractions and any new large-scale downtown development. Invest those funds in new neighborhood developments and jobs for Baltimore residents. Baltimore has 26,000 vacant lots and buildings, sitting on abandoned streets. Baltimore does not have a shortage of affordable housing; we have a shortage of decent affordable housing. Rebuilding blighted neighborhoods is not just about bricks and mortar, it is about making neighborhoods places where families can thrive and grow, develop equity in their lives, attend excellent schools, shop, and be safe. Blight creates havens for drug dealing and violence and is a leading cause of poor health among residents. Baltimore must leverage the development downtown to rebuild uptown and ensure that the jobs that are created go to Baltimore residents.
YES – The 47,000 boarded up houses in Baltimore are a breeding ground for crime and despair. As mayor I will create a MARSHALL PLAN that moves quickly and with strategic vision to rehabilitate and restore blighted and abandoned areas of our city. It will require us to pull together every appropriate city agency in partnership with business leaders, the faith community, community development corporations, neighborhood associations and our non-profit institutions such as hospitals, universities and entertainment venues to create a strike plan and get it done. For far too long our city government has been developer driven, a Catherine Pugh administration will be a neighborhood driven MAYOR!