>Scott said his top three priorities are public safety, the environment and infrastructure and quality of life.

>The mayor said he's seeking $20 million in state aid to help the Baltimore Police Department improve and modernize, $50 million to design and construct two new police districts in northwest and northeast Baltimore and $100 million to address vacant properties and eliminate blight.

>He admitted it's an ambitious agenda but said he's optimistic with the incoming leadership across state government in Democrats from Baltimore, including Gov.-elect Wes Moore.

I would like to know more about infrastructure and environments segments. I’m going to assume that throwing more money at police isn’t really gonna help crime but I drive on dogshit roads and scarily unmaintained bridges all over the place here & the recent D+ rating of the Chesapeake bay speaks for itself

> I drive on dogshit roads

🤝

>I’m going to assume that throwing more money at police isn’t really gonna help crime

Fun part is that the $70 million still wouldn't stop people from posting "Mayor Scott is doing nothing at all to stop the crime in this city! Our Police do a great job but he does nothing!!11"

I’m optimistic that having Wes Moore in the governor’s office will give Baltimore a lot more opportunities than previous administrations. There are so many good people, businesses, and non-profits in the city that want to see Baltimore be the best city it can be.

I think people truly underestimate how much it hurt this city having a governor who measured his own success by the failures of our city. I’m looking forward to seeing how Wes Moore can work with Mayor Scott and co.

If u read what he’s saying, which ppl like that of course would not, BS is obviously calling out hogan for not working with Baltimore city. Good riddance to that turd

> a governor who measured his own success by the failures of our city.

This is a hauntingly accurate way to put it. I could never quite conceptualize how he operated it but you nailed it. I'd give you gold if I had any. Now it's our job to scuttle his presidential run Inigo Montoya style when he announces.

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I would like to see what exactly he plans on doing with those funds if obtained. The entire city is mismanaged fiscally and in other regards and all that ends up happening is the blame game. Kids are dying and people have no hope. How aren't people more outraged?

Are kids still wearing coats in schools? How are those WiFi trash cans working out? Where has the covid relief funds gone?

Public safety? Why were those kids out of school? Was the family and/or guardians informed they weren't in school? The officers patrolling the areas didn't escort them back to school? There's a lot of collective blame to go around but zero actions by all parties. Don't tell me you care with your words. Do it with actionable items. We know it's tragic. It is over and over again all over the place.

Let's see detailed plans and actual action. For too long we hear about what they are gonna do. Screw your gonna!

INFRASTRUCTURE 🤤

It shouldn't stop people from saying it. Getting the funds or not action needs to taken and positive results need to be the outcome. The people of Baltimore need to get fed up with things Getting worse. Stop electing folks that don't do their job. We get fired if we fail. So should they. Stop blaming others and take action.

I'm fine with anybody saying what is being tried isn't working quick enough. But there are legit people who would swear in court, he's not doing a single thing. Not trying anything, just literally sitting on his hands and picking his beautiful, beautiful hair. That's obviously untrue, yet people still do it. Harrison said a couple years ago it would take like 8 years minimum to right the ship. That's a guy with, at the time, 35 years of police experience. 8 years! But people want to not only right the ship in less than half that time, but also get it full steam ahead. Preposterous. But I get how frustrating it is to see or god forbid, personally experience the violence. It feels unfair.

The real kicker in all this is, you ever see the comments that slip through with people talking about "oh, someone needs to do the stuff that nobody wants to do because it's political suicide blah blah" and they're talking about, or rather dogwhistling about stop and frisk and mandatory minimums or martial law or choose-your-own-outdated-or-unconsitutional-brute-force-policy-that-will-be-worse-in-the-long-run?

The real thing "nobody wants to talk about" that would actually address the problem is looking at the work of Professor Lawrence Brown and digging into that and the resources that need to go to certain areas of the city to restore what was taken away. People nearly always mean that first part, but the solution lies in the opposite of that.

What has he done that has moved things in a positive direction?

Iono, look it up if you want to be accurate when you talk about it.

I can but wanted to know your thoughts.

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.

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.

...How is getting more funds to be used for public safety (putting aside the efficacy of BPD at stopping crime for a second) not "taking action"?

The violence in Baltimore is a result of decades and decades of systemic disenfranchisment, exploitation, underinvestment, and lack of concern for poor people and Black people. It's baked into our economic system, our infrastructure, our law enforcement and justice systems, and yes, our political system. I'm not saying things couldn't be going faster, but expecting any mayor to in a single term "fix" issues which fundementally stem from generational poverty and systemic racism is pollyanish at best, and results in policy that actively makes those issues worse down the line (see broken widows policing).

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.

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.

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.

I agree. It's not going to improve overnight. Not expecting it to. All those things you stated are an issue and need to be resolved. This goes deep and I get that. I'm tired of hearing problems and not solutions.

How does asking for funding help with acting on solutions? Are funds being used currently to help with those issues? I believe a lot of those issues are free to solve.

Maybe the problem is the government as a whole. How is the government supposed to provide solutions when they are the problem? These issues are embedded in our society and let's assume they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. What now? Continue to watch the youth get slaughtered on the streets? Schools fail the kids? Admission fail the teachers? Infrastructure fail? Jobs leave? Resources diminish?

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.

What do we have to do to get Keith Ave/Broening Hwy repaired please help us :(

>Scott said his top three priorities are public safety, the environment and infrastructure and quality of life.

Am I crazy or isn't that four things?

What issues do you believe are free to solve?

Also, there's a massive difference between saying "these issues cannot be solved overnight" and "well I guess we shouldn't do anything ever."

Mayor Scott's focus on environmental issues is a good example of something that is fairly unlikely to result in short term returns, but will result in better health, employment, and economic trends over a longer timescale. The hard truth is that generations issues usually require generational inverventions (which of course does not mean we shouldn't address immediate issues simultaneously).

Not everything is corrected with funds like when minority men are sentenced longer to similar crimes because they don't have money for better lawyers. Or minority families being pushed out of neighborhoods because of gentrification. Politicians let that happen! It's not just corporate America.

You don't change how systems are run with just funding. It also comes down to policy changes and corrective actions towards those who do wrongdoing.

LOL you're both crazy, and it's four things. I mean environment and infrastructure is a combo category it seems, but that's funny.

Who have you voted for in the past few primaries elections, if I may ask?

...You think that politicians should just decree that the public defenders "be better" at being lawyers without spending money?

I can't think of what "policy changes and corrective actions toward those who do wrongdoing" means other than 'lock people up for longer' which (1) isn't free and (2) doesn't work.

I agree there are zoning changes that could be made that would reduce displacement, although I disagree tha alone would be sufficient to ameliorate the issue

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.

I'm typing in those little block. Obviously, "being better" is a generalization. Most public defenders are underpaid and overworked. There aren't enough of them either. That's nationwide. There are policy changes and others things that can be done to help.

Locking people up? No, but firing when not doing their job, yes. There are other ways to discipline folks.

The fact that he thinks of "environment and infrastructure" as one thing is probably a good sign. A lot of spending in this country doesn't consider those linked so you get like... a state passing laws about emissions reductions at the same time as they spend billions on widening highways. The built environment is the environment in some sense.

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?

Hogan is the least of Baltimore City's problems

>Stop electing folks that don't do their job.

We don't elect BPD

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.

> The mayor said he's seeking $20 million in state aid to help the Baltimore Police Department improve and modernize, $50 million to design and construct two new police districts in northwest and northeast Baltimore...

Can't wait for yet another year of seeing/hearing Harford County and out-of-state clowns continue to talk about how "this is what happens when you defund the police" despite literally the opposite happening.

> ...and $100 million to address vacant properties and eliminate blight. > > He admitted it's an ambitious agenda but said he's optimistic with the incoming leadership across state government in Democrats from Baltimore, including Gov.-elect Wes Moore.

...show the plan?

But it’s easier to blame him.

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Ha, I think it might be slightly bad writing with not enough commas used, lol. I actually took it as three things---infrastructure and quality of life grouped together, in the sense of infrastructure condition being a quality of life indicator. So maybe it should read: Scott said his top three priorities are public safety, the environment, and infrastructure & quality of life...?

The Governor of MD not supporting or active detracting the largest city in his state for almost a decade straight is definitely a problem

“Just $70 million more for the police I swear this time it’ll work”

So his top 4?

I would like to hear what “infrastructure” means.

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