Syphon6645 t1_j378tth wrote
Reply to comment by z3mcs in [WBAL] Baltimore Mayor Scott unveils state legislative priorities for 2023 by z3mcs
What has he done that has moved things in a positive direction?
z3mcs OP t1_j379lgt wrote
Iono, look it up if you want to be accurate when you talk about it.
Syphon6645 t1_j379si9 wrote
I can but wanted to know your thoughts.
z3mcs OP t1_j37be0f wrote
We don't have that kinda time, lol.
tl:dr - he's pretty much what I thought he'd be from watching him as a councilperson and during his run. Very what you see is what you get. He hasn't done anything transformative but he's started to lay the groundwork for the next person. If you (general you) expected him to come in guns blazing, you were disappointed. He's like the leader of the clean up crew. The place was wrecked and he is coming in trying to get things just running at a minimal level. He affects a lot of people reddit doesn't see or acknowledge. Him just being in a position of leadership affects a lot of people positively but that is invisible to most of reddit. He shows up a lot of places he should, and doesn't show up a lot of places he needs to. He disappoints folks like /u/jabbadarth and me all the time, much like a recent heralded president disappointed folks because he didn't come in swinging his [expletive] and changing every policy around. And then sometimes he's not responsive when he should be, to folks like jabbadarth who are earnest and vital members of the area. He has his reasons I'm sure, but some times it just feels like he chooses to ignore things that shouldn't be ignored. But there's a larger convo to be had around that that we don't have time for today. If I gave him a rating it would be "meets expectations" because I was never detached enough from the crime and violence of this city to expect he could come in and make a dent in three freaking years when hundreds of years of history have got us to where we're at. I listened to leaders at Hopkins, leaders in the community, aspiring political candidates and leaders of organizations like the police, to understand the limits of what he could accomplished. I posted research in here long before he ever ran (search the sub for it) that suggests Mayors basically have next to no impact on things like crime, etc.
and that's the tldr. You're not gonna waltz in and solve something like this, in 3 years.
Syphon6645 t1_j37dew6 wrote
I'm not expecting radical change at all. In the end, it's still the government and it moves slowly. It's not a corporation. With crime it's like losing weight. You need to implement things that at least slows things down. I just see it getting worse.
Like the American Rescue Plan Act. Who or what has benefited from that outside of handing out millions.
Have things gradually improved in some regard? I'm struggling to find anything positive and I want to. I love Baltimore but it's corrupt all over. It's not just him. He's just the head coach of the team.
z3mcs OP t1_j37e6th wrote
Well next year we'll have a new head coach. Who do you think it'll be? I think we're gonna have some of the same folks from before in the running - Scott, Dixon (ugh), maybe a new Miller-like outsider (but not Jayne, she's not doing that), the usual weirdos that have no shot that run, and whichever grifter wbff puts up. Now in 2028, ZC is on deck mos def. Hopefully we'll have flying hacks by then.
Syphon6645 t1_j37fm6j wrote
It's going to be the same thing over and over again until someone out of nowhere comes in a truly cleans house. It might be a different name but it's the same promises and same failures.
z3mcs OP t1_j37jj7s wrote
Who have you voted for in the past few primaries elections, if I may ask?
Syphon6645 t1_j37l10u wrote
I keep that to myself. I'm mostly a libertarian but not the typical beltway type. I'm fiscally conservative but generally I believe you can do whatever you want as long as it doesn't infringe on my rights.
z3mcs OP t1_j37mz4l wrote
Did you live in the city for the last few elections? Who were your top 2 or 3 candidates for Mayor (you don't have to say who you ultimately voted for) in 2016 and 2020?
jabbadarth t1_j37c8tv wrote
Well said.
What's funny is I've been guilty of the very thing I speak out against and that's expecting mayor's to make big changes in short amounts of time. It took decades to mess the city up this bad and for us to expect it to get better in any less time is naive at best.
My biggest complaint is that he doesn't seem to jave any overarching plans. He has done some good things and some bad things but I don't see a vision or plan as much as a guy who just jumps from thing to thing. I had hope when he brought in a city manager that he was on his way to removing himself from day to day minutia for a more comprehensive planning position but that seems to have not worked out.
z3mcs OP t1_j37dhyu wrote
Well I've enjoyed your comments over the years and I thought when you talked about how he wasn't responsive over various things (the funding for new gun toys comes to mind) I thought you were spot on. You should always be responsive or at least have an explanation for your constituents.
That said, sometimes I really do wonder how much of an undercurrent there is of a threat to him personally if he doesn't go along with some things.
Like, dude got mugged (like a push, not robbed) and essentially assaulted by that dude and nobody talks about it, like ever. And the BPD is obviously an organization that has no problem taking people out when needed. Did you catch that Bates said, and still believes, that the Suiter case is straight up murder? And that he had conversations with people close to the case and he believes that it is murder? Scott tries to run roughshod through things and he may end up like Suiter.
Now that said, that's not an excuse to whiff on a good amount of things. I just think he's done a good amount of things in addition to the whiffs.
And a, while we're talking about mayor stuff. This goof is about to rise from the ashes. Lets pray she doesn't.
jabbadarth t1_j37wgrc wrote
We deserve so much better...fucking Dixon
Also yeah I get there are tons of things that mayor's, governors, presidents promise that can't be done for any number of reasons but, as you said, transparency is paramount. I'd rather someone say I screwed up then to keep spouting bullshit that will never happen. Although I do think I am somewhat rare in that as most constituents just want results or at least feel good speeches in lieu of results.
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