The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was February 3, 2016.

Elections[edit]

General election[edit]

Candidate list[edit]

Results[edit]

Baltimore Mayoral Election (2016), General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Catherine Pugh	57.61%	134,848
	Democratic	Sheila Dixon (write-in)	22.10%	51,716
	Republican	Alan Walden	9.96%	23,316
	Green	Joshua Harris	9.89%	23,155
	Unaffiliated	LaVern Murray (write-in)	0.02%	46
	Independent	Frank Logan (write-in)	0.01%	33
	Unaffiliated	Sarah Klauda (write-in)	0.01%	25
	Democratic	Mack Clifton (write-in)	0.01%	23
	Republican	Steven Smith (write-in)	0.00%	8
		Write-in votes	0.38%	885
Total Votes				234,055
Source: State of Maryland Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed September 9, 2019

Baltimore City Council Election (2016), Council President, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bernard C. "Jack" Young Incumbent	76.03%	173,065
	Republican	Shannon Wright	12.04%	27,408
	Green	Connor Meek	4.88%	11,119
	Unaffiliated	Sharon Black	3.68%	8,368
	Libertarian	Susan Gaztanaga	2.80%	6,380
		Write-in votes	0.57%	1,300
Total Votes				227,640
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed December 11, 2016

Baltimore City Council Election (2016), District 1, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Zeke Cohen	66.80%	12,548
	Republican	Matthew McDaniel	32.85%	6,170
		Write-in votes	0.36%	67
Total Votes				18,785
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed December 11, 2016

Baltimore City Council Election (2016), District 2, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Brandon Scott Incumbent	89.74%	13,366
	Republican	Gregory Yarberough	10.01%	1,491
		Write-in votes	0.25%	37
Total Votes				14,894
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed December 11, 2016

Baltimore City Council Election (2016), District 3, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ryan Dorsey	85.78%	14,190
	Green	Andreas Spiliadis	13.69%	2,265
		Write-in votes	0.53%	88
Total Votes				16,543
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed December 11, 2016

Baltimore City Council Election (2016), District 4, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bill Henry Incumbent	87.46%	16,042
	Republican	William Broaddus III	11.97%	2,196
		Write-in votes	0.57%	105
Total Votes				18,343
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed December 11, 2016

Baltimore City Council Election (2016), District 5, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Isaac Schleifer  (unopposed)	92.29%	15,095
		Write-in votes	7.71%	1,261
Total Votes				16,356
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed December 11, 2016

Baltimore City Council Election (2016), District 6, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Sharon Green Middleton Incumbent	90.43%	13,518
	Green	Richard Thomas White, Jr.	8.30%	1,240
	Democratic	Anthony White (write-in)	0.79%	118
		Write-in votes	0.48%	72
Total Votes				14,948
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed December 11, 2016

Baltimore City Council Election (2016), District 7, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Leon Pinkett III	82.94%	12,703
	Republican	Tamara Purnell	9.51%	1,456
	Unaffiliated	Nnamdi Scott	7.23%	1,107
		Write-in votes	0.32%	49
Total Votes				15,315
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed December 11, 2016

Baltimore City Council Election (2016), District 8, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kristerfer Burnett	91.20%	15,915
	Republican	Joseph Brown, Jr.	8.56%	1,494
		Write-in votes	0.23%	41
Total Votes				17,450
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed December 11, 2016

Baltimore City Council Election (2016), District 9, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John Bullock	91.22%	11,560
	Republican	Kenneth Earl Ebron, Jr.	5.22%	661
	Green	Jamie Latear Frierson	3.29%	417
		Write-in votes	0.28%	35
Total Votes				12,673
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed December 11, 2016

Baltimore City Council Election (2016), District 10, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Edward Reisinger Incumbent	78.63%	8,526
	Republican	Christine Digman	20.42%	2,214
	Green	Amanda Maminski (write-in)	0.48%	52
		Write-in votes	0.47%	51
Total Votes				10,843
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed December 11, 2016

Baltimore City Council Election (2016), District 11, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Eric Costello Incumbent (unopposed)	97.42%	18,268
		Write-in votes	2.58%	484
Total Votes				18,752
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed December 11, 2016

Baltimore City Council Election (2016), District 12, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Robert Stokes, Sr.	70.66%	9,916
	Green	Ian Schlakman	13.02%	1,827
	Unaffiliated	Dan Sparaco (write-in)	11.23%	1,576
	Unaffiliated	Frank Richardson	4.62%	648
		Write-in votes	0.48%	67
Total Votes				14,034
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed December 11, 2016

Baltimore City Council Election (2016), District 13, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Shannon Sneed	93.31%	12,423
	Republican	George Johnson	6.36%	847
		Write-in votes	0.32%	43
Total Votes				13,313
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed December 11, 2016

Baltimore City Council Election (2016), District 14, General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mary Pat Clarke Incumbent	91.32%	15,672
	Unaffiliated	David Harding	8.31%	1,426
		Write-in votes	0.37%	63
Total Votes				17,161
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Baltimore City," accessed December 11, 2016

Primary[edit]

Polling[edit]

Campaign finance[edit]

General election[edit]

Candidates for mayor and city council in Baltimore filed reports detailing campaign contributions and expenditures through August 23, 2016. These reports indicated $1,982,337.71 in contributions and $2,374,012.21 in expenditures during this period. Catherine Pugh (D) led all candidates with $1,427,808.41 in contributions and $1,327,962.92 in expenditures. Her totals represented 72 percent of all contributions and 55.9 percent of all expenditures reported by candidates during the August 23 filing period.^[21]

State law allows candidates with minimal campaign finance activity to file an Affidavit of Limited Contributions and Expenditures (ALCE) during each reporting period. The ALCE indicates that the candidate's committee did not raise or spend $1,000 or more by the campaign finance reporting deadline. Thirteen candidates filed affidavits for the August 23 reporting period.^[22]

Mayor[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Mayor
Catherine Pugh	$1,427,808.41	$1,327,962.92	$302,760.93
Alan Walden	$7,290.00	$3,878.87	$7,610.13
Joshua Harris	$1,018.87	$5,921.08	$904.77
Sheila Dixon	$178,957.96	$358,548.17	$4,480.24
Mack Clifton	ALCE	ALCE	ALCE
Steven Smith	ALCE	ALCE	ALCE
Frank Logan	$0.00	$1,037.90	-$1,962.45
LaVern Murray	$1,350.00	$300.00	$3,569.19
Sarah Klauda	ALCE	ALCE	ALCE

City Council President[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
City Council President
Bernard C. "Jack" Young	$71,496.41	$186,057.58	$469,450.63
Shannon Wright	$2,550.32	$2,255.00	$295.32
Susan Gaztanaga	ALCE	ALCE	ALCE
Connor Meek	ALCE	ALCE	ALCE
Sharon Black	ALCE	ALCE	ALCE

District 1[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
District 1
Zeke Cohen	$74,792.09	$31,962.27	$77,259.69
Matthew McDaniel	$5,150.74	$380.78	$12,239.82

District 2[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
District 2
Brandon Scott	$12,266.00	$15,200.33	$36,630.66
Gregory Yarberough	ALCE	ALCE	ALCE

District 3[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
District 3
Ryan Dorsey	$27,890.15	$32,999.74	$17,341.99
Andreas Spiliadis	$545.00	$1,547.23	$441.16

District 4[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
District 4
Bill Henry	$26,400.00	$45,778.61	$17,844.63
William Broaddus III	ALCE	ALCE	ALCE

District 5[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
District 5
Isaac Scleifer	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

District 6[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
District 6
Sharon Green Middleton	$5,919.00	$3,350.08	$59,718.50
Richard Thomas White, Jr.	$195.00	$0.00	$246.00
Anthony White	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

District 7[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
District 7
Leon Pinkett III	$32,373.69	$72,001.79	$12,829.18
Tamara Purnell	$4,490.18	$6,961.62	$100.29
Nnamdi Scott	$4,225.00	$1,127.49	$3,097.51

District 8[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
District 8
Kristerfer Burnett	$3,124.00	$33,166.39	$11,612.74
Joseph Brown, Jr.	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

District 9[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
District 9
John Bullock	$30,030.00	$53,959.37	$15,671.31
Kenneth Earl Ebron, Jr.	ALCE	ALCE	ALCE
Jamie Latear Frierson	ALCE	ALCE	ALCE

District 10[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
District 10
Edward Reisinger	$6,550.00	$38,792.27	$25,838.04
Christine Digman	ALCE	ALCE	ALCE
Amanda Maminski	ALCE	ALCE	ALCE

District 11[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
District 11
Eric Costello	$6,720.00	$72,026.71	$11,190.51

District 12[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
District 12
Robert Stokes, Sr.	$5,100.00	$15,682.36	$8,593.89
Ian Schlakman	$22,807.20	$15,554.29	$8,974.74
Frank Richardson	$1,190.00	$1,104.70	$475.51
Dan Sparaco	$3,205.00	$2,073.59	$17,163.08

District 13[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
District 13
Shannon Sneed	$15,367.69	$19,755.08	$40,769.97
George Johnson	$0.00	$675.25	$620.77

District 14[edit]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
District 14
Mary Pat Clarke	$3,525.00	$23,950.74	$31,661.86
David Harding	ALCE	ALCE	ALCE

Pre-primary reporting[edit]

At the time of Baltimore's January campaign finance filing deadline, former mayor Sheila Dixon was leading the polls in Baltimore's mayoral race, while campaign finance reports showed that state Sen. Catherine Pugh had more than twice as many funds on hand as Dixon. Meanwhile, Baltimore businessman and mayoral candidate David Warnock lagged in the polls, but raised more money than any other candidate, with over $900,000 cash on hand.^[23]

By the next filing deadline on March 22, Dixon had overtaken Pugh in terms of cash on hand, with a $100,000 advantage over her opponent. Pugh outspent Dixon during that stretch of time by a factor of almost 4 to 1, however, with $589,000 spent to Dixon's $148,000.^[24]

Warnock maintained his high levels of spending, with over $1.6 million spent in February and March. Notably, Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson was also a front-runner in terms of money raised, with $223,000 in contributions. McKesson's donations came in the form of nearly 5,000 contributions from every state, many of them less than $25.^[24]

Below are the six campaign finance reporting periods and filing deadlines for candidates in this election:^[26]

The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Issues[edit]

Write-in candidacy for Dixon[edit]

Former Mayor Sheila Dixon (D)

On October 11, 2016, former Mayor Sheila Dixon (D) filed paperwork to run as a write-in mayoral candidate in the general election. Dixon told local media that she filed as a write-in candidate in response to concerns by supporters about the conduct of the April primary election. The Baltimore City Board of Elections certified a primary victory for Catherine Pugh but conducted an audit of results after the certification was rejected by the Maryland State Board of Elections. State officials concluded that 1,650 ballots were handled outside of established protocols and eight data files went missing for a day. The post-audit count shifted 40 votes to Dixon and Pugh remained the Democratic primary winner.^[27][28]

Dixon placed first in 170 of the city's 200 precincts with majority black populations, while Pugh placed first or second in every city precinct during the primary. At the time of her write-in filing, Dixon had approximately $5,000 on hand after spending $1.2 million prior to the primary. By comparison, Pugh had $300,000 available in her campaign fund, Alan Walden (R) held $6,000, and Joshua Harris (G) reported less than $1,000 in his campaign fund. Dixon served as mayor from 2007 until her resignation in 2010 following charges of failure to acknowledge gifts from a developer.^[28]

General election debate[edit]

On September 27, 2016, candidates for District 1 and mayor discussed issues at a forum hosted by the Canton Community Association. The District 1 debate between Zeke Cohen (D) and Matthew McDaniel (R) highlighted stark differences between the two candidates. Cohen voiced support for city council measures to set a $15 per hour minimum wage and expand the Red Line light rail, while McDaniel opposed both measures. McDaniel said that he supported the installation of surveillance cameras on the outskirts of District 1, with Cohen opposing that measure.^[29]

The mayoral debate featured Catherine Pugh (D), Alan Walden (R), and Joshua Harris (G). Pugh and Walden said that they supported selling the city-owned Baltimore Hilton Hotel, while Harris countered that the city should continue running the hotel with a focus on improved efficiency. Pugh and Walden also said they supported a $660 million financing plan for a development project at Port Covington, with Harris expressing concern that the development's value would impact state-aid formulas for city schools. Pugh argued for a focus on Baltimore's positive aspects to attract prospective visitors and businesses. Walden expressed support for a light rail line on North Avenue along with expanded lines throughout the city. Harris stated that he would open a public bank and focus on attracting green manufacturing jobs to the city.^[29]

Race, law enforcement, and the ballot box[edit]

See also: Race, law enforcement, and the ballot box (2016)

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake

In April 2015, the city was at the center of intense protests and rioting after an African American resident, Freddie Gray, died during the course of an arrest. To read about this situation, click here.

On September 11, 2015, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D) announced that she would not run for re-election. She cited a desire to make sure any actions she took to help the city move past the protests did not come off as campaign tactics. Rawlings-Blake did not endorse any of the other candidates in the race.^[30]

Barry Rascovar of MarylandReporter.com wrote that the mayor's retirement announcement left the election "a free-for-all among a group of imperfect, little-known or inexperienced candidates."^[31] In total, 18 candidates filed to run in the primary for Rawlings-Blake's seat: 13 Democrats and five Republicans.^[32]

Lawrence Lanahan of Slate said that he expected a lot of national media attention for the race, particularly after Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson (D) filed to run for the seat. Lanahan wrote:

Following McKesson's announcement of his candidacy, State Rep. Jill Carter (D-41) called the activist's campaign "ridiculous." In a conversation with The Guardian, the Baltimore resident expressed concerns over McKesson's motives. "He has no authenticity and no base other than Twitter followers. I’m a little worried that his decision is another self serving scheme that will further divide our justice movement," she said.^[35]

Crime and the mayoral race[edit]

In March 2016, OpinionWorks of Annapolis conducted a survey of 407 people likely to vote in the Democratic primary of Baltimore's mayoral race. When asked the question "If you were to sum it up in a word or sentence, what is the most important thing you are looking for in the next mayor?" 21 percent of those polled responded that they are looking for someone who could cut crime in the city. Other top responses included honesty/ethics (16 percent), schools/youth opportunities (15 percent), and jobs/economic development (14 percent).^[36]

Baltimore's police union, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 3, did not endorse any mayoral candidate in the race, a significant decision given the importance of crime prevention to voters in the mayoral election. The FOP did choose to endorse city council members in 11 out of 15 races. It endorsed incumbents Brandon Scott (D), William Pete Welch (D), Edward Reisinger (D), Eric Costello (D), Warren Branch (D), and Mary Pat Clarke (D), with Bill Henry (D) the only incumbent not endorsed. It also endorsed challengers Brian Hammock (D), Jermaine Jones (D), Betsy Gardner (D), and Kristerfer Burnett (D).^[37]

Comments from Baltimore's 2016 mayoral candidates on crime prevention:

Sheila Dixon Sheila Dixon released a plan detailing her strategy to tackle crime in the city, emphasizing her experience as former mayor of Baltimore. Her plan was focused around four main points: targeting resources, committing to police accountability, coordinating city agencies, and working with community leaders. "I believe the No. 1 job of the mayor is to make the city of Baltimore safer for everyone. This has been a year of profound hardship for our city. With the painful loss of Freddie Gray, the entrenched conflicts that his death brought to the surface, and the horrifying spike in violence that followed, we all strive to find words of healing and actions to match. But that takes leadership, and that is what I’m offering the citizens of this city."[38] Catherine Pugh unveiled her plan to address crime in Baltimore. According to Pugh, this plan was heavily informed by her prior work on President Obama's task force to study unrest stemming from events in Ferguson, Baltimore, and elsewhere. Pugh's strategy had a strong focus on police accountability, as well as an increase in use of advanced technology to combat crime. "I will ensure that our Baltimore Police Department adopts standards and policies of accountability and transparency beyond the minimum required by law. I will not micromanage the BPD, but I will require that the department conform to a communal vision of our city."[39] Catherine Pugh Carl Stokes Carl Stokes released an anti-crime plan that outlined his strategy for crime reduction in the city. While the main focus was on long-term crime reduction through improving education and increasing opportunities, the plan would also target 238 repeat violent offenders for arrest. “To sustain a safe environment in the long-term, we must look at the interrelationship between crime and education, jobs, and recreation. Looking at short-term solutions we will look to passing new gun laws, community policing, and getting repeat violent offenders and the bad cops off the streets."[40] Elizabeth Embry released a plan detailing her strategy to combat crime in Baltimore. Her plan included a "district-by-district" strategy of addressing gang and gun violence and expansion of the CeaseFire and Safe Streets programs. At the same time, her plan aimed to reduce drug arrests by eliminating arrests for possession of marijuana and focusing on drug treatment. "It's about being tough on violent crime and gun crime. It's not about being tough on people who are the victims of addiction or poverty."[41] Elizabeth Embry Nick Mosby Nick Mosby unveiled his plan to address crime in the city. Mosby proposed a strategy that he called comprehensive, which included a strong focus on economic development and neighborhood revitalization. His strategy also recommended targeting repeat violent offenders and cracking down on police misconduct. "Under my administration, it stops. We aggressively go after the individuals and we stop aggressively going after communities."[42] DeRay McKesson released a plan to address crime in Baltimore, with a strong focus on economic revitalization and improved education. Additionally, the plan advised a restructuring of police priorities away from prosecution of non-violent offenses and toward "de-escalation tactics." Finally, his plan called for a repeal of Baltimore's controversial law enforcement officers' bill of rights. "I understand that issues of safety are more expansive than policing, and that to make the city as safe as we want it to be, we will have to address issues related to job development, job access, grade-­level reading, transportation and college readiness."[43] DeRay McKesson

Mayoral primary debate[edit]

The six Democratic mayoral candidates leading the polls participated in a mayoral debate on March 22, 2016. The debate took place at the University of Baltimore. Catherine Pugh, Sheila Dixon, David Warnock, Nick Mosby, Carl Stokes, and Elizabeth Embry participated in the debate.^[44]

Department of Justice report on police[edit]

On August 10, 2016, the United States Department of Justice released a 163-page report criticizing the city's police department for repeated violations of the constitutional rights of Baltimore residents with a focus on aggressive enforcement in black neighborhoods.^[45] These issues are attributed to a push for more confrontational police practices in the 1990s that carried over into subsequent decades.^[46] The department's review of Baltimore Police Department documents from 2010 to 2016 and interviews with city officials yielded the following conclusions:^[47]

• City police made more than 300,000 traffic stops from 2010 to 2015 with 44 percent of stops taking place in two predominantly black neighborhoods
• Police officers engaged in pat-downs, frisking, and strip searches during traffic stops without identifying grounds for searches
• 82 percent of traffic stops by the Baltimore Police Department involved black drivers, who constitute 60 percent of the city's driving-age population
• 91 percent of discretionary arrests for trespassing or failure to obey involved black residents, who constitute 63 percent of the city's overall population
• The Baltimore Police Department "uses overly aggressive tactics that unnecessarily escalate encounters, increase tensions, and lead to unnecessary force," including excessive force used against juveniles and residents with mental health disabilities^[47]

The report concluded that the police department's widespread issues developed because of "deficient policies, training, oversight, and accountability," though recognized the potential for reform due to community awareness of these issues.^[47]

Big money and a competitive race in Baltimore's First District[edit]

See also: Money in local elections (2016)

The race for the city council seat in Baltimore's First District, the city's economic center, was particularly contentious. Nine candidates were running in the primaries, several backed by large amounts of money. The three best-funded—Zeke Cohen, Scott Goldman, and Mark Edelson—each had more than $100,000 in cash on hand as of February 2016.^[48]

While Republican candidates for the seat had not yet raised as much money, the Maryland GOP promised more financial support from the state party to the winner of the Republican primary. Because of the contentious competition for the Democratic nomination, the state party saw it as likely that the well-funded Democratic candidates would be forced to spend a large part of their finances prior to the primary, making it easier for a Republican candidate to match their funding in the general election.^[48]

There were six Democratic candidates for the district's seat: Cohen, a nonprofit director who focused on education policy; Goldman, a veteran and Harvard graduate who emphasized safety and development; Edelson, an attorney whose proposals focused on transportation policy; Mark Parker, a Lutheran minister who emphasized the city's recent difficulties with race relations; Ed Marcinko, a retired DEA agent who voiced strong support for small businesses; and Sean Flanagan, a former community association president who claimed that he was the best candidate to serve neighborhood interests. Three candidates vied for the Republican nomination: Liz Copeland, a Social Services Department administrator and former Democrat; Matthew McDaniel, an attorney who claimed that the city suffers from lack of transparency; and Jennifer Susan Dudley, a school guidance counselor who wanted to increase police presence.^[48]

Cohen and McDaniel won nominations during the April 2016 primary. If McDaniel was successful in this election, he would have been the GOP's first success in securing a Baltimore City Council seat since 1963.^[48] In recent years, the district has become more conservative, with the majority supporting the Republican candidate for governor in 2014. While registered Democrats still outnumber registered Republicans in the district, this race could be seen as a litmus test of how conservative Southeast Baltimore has become.^[48]

(L-R) Liz Copeland, Jennifer Susan Dudley, and Matthew McDaniel were the Republican primary candidates for the District 1 seat of the Baltimore City Council. McDaniel won the primary and lost his bid to become the first Republican to win election to the city council since 1963.

City council races to watch[edit]

The Baltimore Brew, an independent news site covering Baltimore politics, highlighted three "races to watch" among the Baltimore City Council elections:

• District 13, where challenger Shannon Sneed (D) had a primary rematch of her 2011 race against incumbent Warren Branch (D). In 2011, Branch beat Sneed by only 43 votes. Sneed defeated Branch, Antonio Glover, Kenya Lee, and Ronald Owens-Bey in the 2016 primary. The Democratic nominee faced Republican candidate George Johnson in the general election.^[49]

• District 9, where challengers sought to end Baltimore's Welch family dynasty. Incumbent William Pete Welch (D) held the seat that his mother, Agnes Welch, held for 27 years before him.^[50] He was defeated in the Democratic primary by John Bullock. Kenneth Earl Ebron Jr. defeated Octavia Njuhigu in the Republican primary for the seat. Bullock and Ebron faced Green Party candidate Jamie Latear Frierson and independent Travis Robertson in the general election.^[49]

• District 3, where another dynasty came to an end. The Curran family reigned in Northeast Baltimore stretching back to the 1950s. Incumbent Robert Curran, however, retired due to health issues. Eight candidates vied for his seat in the primary: Beatrice Brown, Marques Dent, Ryan Dorsey, Jermaine Jones, Alicia Joynes, Steven Mitchell, Riha Richard, and George VanHook, Sr. Dorsey won the primary and faced Green Party candidate Andreas Spiliadis in the general election.^[49]

About the city[edit]

See also: Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore is an independent city in Maryland. As of 2013, its population was 622,104.^[51]

City government[edit]

See also: Mayor-council government

The city of Baltimore uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body while the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.

Demographics[edit]

The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.

Recent news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Baltimore Maryland election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also[edit]

Baltimore, Maryland	Maryland	Municipal government	Other local coverage
Baltimore, Maryland Cities in Maryland Baltimore County, Maryland	2016 Maryland elections Public policy in Maryland Influencers in Maryland Maryland	Top counties 100 largest cities Current mayors Current council officials	2016 municipal elections 2016 school board elections 2016 local ballot measure elections 2016 local judicial elections

External links[edit]

Suggest a link

• Maryland Board of Elections Candidate List
• City of Baltimore

Footnotes[edit]

v • e 2016 Municipal Elections Mayors Bakersfield • Baltimore • Baton Rouge • Chesapeake • Corpus Christi • Fresno • Garland • Glendale • Irvine • Lubbock • Mesa • Milwaukee • Norfolk • Portland • Riverside • Sacramento • San Diego • Santa Ana • Scottsdale • Stockton • Tulsa • Virginia Beach • Winston-Salem City Councils Anaheim • Anchorage • Arlington • Austin • Bakersfield • Baltimore • Baton Rouge • Chandler • Chesapeake • Chula Vista • Corpus Christi • Fremont • Fresno • Garland • Gilbert • Glendale • Honolulu • Irvine • Irving • Laredo • Lexington • Long Beach • Louisville • Lubbock • Mesa • Milwaukee • New York City • Norfolk • Oakland • Portland • Reno • Sacramento • San Diego • San Francisco • San Jose • Santa Ana • Scottsdale • Stockton • Tampa • Tulsa • Virginia Beach • Washington, D.C. • Winston-Salem Counties Bernalillo County, New Mexico • Clark County, Nevada • Cook County, Illinois • Harris County, Texas • Los Angeles County, California • Maricopa County, Arizona • Miami-Dade County, Florida • Orange County, California • Sacramento County, California • San Diego County, California • Travis County, Texas • Williamson County, Texas 2016 Local Elections Municipal Government • School Boards • Local Ballot Measures • Local Courts Other Ballotpedia Content Federal Politics • State Politics • Local Politics • Public Policy • Influencers • Fact check • The Tap

	v • e State of Maryland Annapolis (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2022 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy