Rikki Spector has been a member of the Baltimore City Council since 1977. She sums up her political experience by saying that she “has worked to improve the quality of life for her constituency”. If the democratic candidate is elected on November 8th it will be the beginning of her 7th term of office since she was appointed to take the job.
The City Council’s respect for this matriarchal figure must be immense. Rochelle “Rikki” Spector is the council’s representative on the City Planning Commission. She is their representative on the Maryland Association of Counties. She is the liaison for City Council to the Mayor’s Task Force for Annapolis. And she is a member of the National Association of Counties.
Recently, online source ABC 2 reported that this City Council member Spector uses her spending fund to pay for repairs to her own car. She says that the car is necessary for her to represent her constituency; therefore, where she goes the car has to go too and safely.
Some of the communities located in district 5 of Baltimore City are Woodmere Association, Pimlico Community Council, Northwest Community Action Center, Jones Falls Coalition, Park West Community Association, Bonfield Association, and Fordham Court, Inc. This list is quite a bit more extensive, and you can find it on the Baltimore City Council web site.
Rikki Spector’s Republican opponent, Ari Winokur, says that many of his Baltimore neighbors describe the city as “spiraling down”. A recent census specified the number as a 30,000 resident exodus.
Mister Winokur does not spend much time talking about his credentials which, however, do include computer teacher and systems engineer for Friedman Computer Solutions. He wants Baltimore City Council to pass a transparency bill to elucidate where the taxpayers money is going. He says that sensibility and transparency in government offices will renovate a system that is long overdue for an overhaul. He describes his approach as that of an “optimistic problem solver”. Does that sound like an oxymoron? Some people do enjoy problem solving.
Ari Winokur wants Baltimore City taxes to compete with rates in the surrounding areas. He would endeavor to create incentives that would encourage Baltimore City employers to hire Baltimore City residents. Winokur is looking for ways to spur small business growth too.
He advocates for keeping hardened criminals locked up. As a citizen in the 5th district he participates in a radio unit of Citizens Patrol.
In fairness to the Republicans running for city offices in November, if the democrats have any new ideas, they are not getting the word out to the public. They are depending on their political machine, the magical status quo safety net, and voter apathy.
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