Adam Meister's scribe spreads his innate enthusiasm for all things Baltimore--and, in particular, the political inner workings of his beloved hometown.

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I name names- Who gave money to pro-slots groups

Baltimore sustainability plan meeting with Sheila Dixon

Water bills and the water bill woman

The Confiscated Assets for Neighborhoods (CAN) grant program bill

Miscellaneous Thanksgiving thoughts

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake

Sharon Green Middleton

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To Win a Baltimore Council Seat it Helps to Have a Known Name or Family Member

7 comments

August 7, 11:54 PM

by Adam Meister, Baltimore Politics Examiner

Baltimore voters love to elect the same names over and over again. If they are familiar with a name they seem to always select it in the voting booth. Currently on Baltimore City Council there are nine individuals (out of fifteen council members) who are/were either related or married to prominent Baltimore citizens or elected officials. These connections and names helped these council people attain the power they currently have.

Name	District	Comments
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake	Council President	Her father was Delegate Howard Peters "Pete" Rawlings.
Nicholas D'Adamo Jr.	2nd	Son of Nicholas D'Adamo Sr.
Robert Curran	3rd	Part of the Curran family dynasty of Northeast Baltimore
Bill Henry	4th	Son of Bill Henry Sr. who ran for office long ago and at one point was either a Baltimore liquor or restaurant inspector. He is pretty well known around town. A pretty cool guy if you ask me.
Rikki Spector	5th	She took over the job from her (now deceased) husband Allen Spector in 1977 when I was 6 months old.
Sharon Green Middleton	6th	Her husband is Glen Middleton the head of a powerful union that most everyone on city council bows down to in fear.
Belinda Conaway	7th	Her father is Frank Conaway Sr. Clerk, of the Baltimore City Circuit Court. Mary Conaway Register of Wills is her mother. Her brother is... read for yourself.
William H. Cole IV	11th	His Father is William Cole III a respected and known citizen of south Baltimore.
Warren Branch	13th	His brother is State Delegate Talmadge Branch.

For more info: Baltimore City Council.

Topics: City Council , Rikki Spector , Bill Henry , Robert Curran , Bill Cole , Belinda Conaway , Sharon Green Middleton , Stephanie Rawlings-Blake , Warren Branch

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I name names- Who gave money to pro-slots groups

3 comments

December 1, 12:01 PM

For the last few months I have been talking about how the pro-slots people would raise a lot more money than the anti-slots people. The Sun reports that this is exactly what happened. Below is a list of entities that gave more than $3000 to... Read More
Topics: Slots , Peter Angelos

Baltimore sustainability plan meeting with Sheila Dixon

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November 30, 11:37 PM

Check out this bureaucratic chart. We sure do have a lot of departments and offices. The office of sustainability is part of the department of planning. It is new and somewhat ambiguous. Below is an email I received last week... Read More
Topics: Sheila Dixon , Office of Sustainability

Water bills and the water bill woman

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November 29, 4:16 PM

Water bills infuriate many citizens of Baltimore every 3 months or so. A water bill is one of the most frustrating aspects of Baltimore city living. The water billing process is mysterious and for some it seems to be random. If... Read More
Topics: Jack Young , water bills

The Confiscated Assets for Neighborhoods (CAN) grant program bill

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November 28, 12:27 PM

The following email from Bill Henry is floating around cyberspace. I thought I would share it: "I am writing to ask you to support my Confiscated Assets for Neighborhoods (CAN) grant program bill, which is currently being considered by the City... Read More
Topics: Bill Henry

Miscellaneous Thanksgiving thoughts

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November 27, 2:26 PM

There is supposed to be a massive redevelopment project at the Rotunda in Hampden. It has not started yet though. The developers are not worried about the 800 employees of nearby Zurich leaving. If I was a potential retailer who was looking for space... Read More
Topics: Slots , developers

A sad trip back to my 92Q article

2 comments

November 25, 5:08 PM

Yesterday when I was about to pick up my trash can in the alley behind my house I saw something that made me flashback to the 92Q piece I wrote last week. I saw a kid who was at most ten years old walking quickly down the alley. He would randomly stop... Read More
Topics: drugs , Reservoir Hill , 92Q

Could Stephanie Rawlings-Blake end up Lieutenant Governor?

3 comments

November 25, 8:26 AM

There is a rumor going around that states that Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown is being considered for a spot in the Obama cabinet. If he is selected then Governor Martin O'Malley must pick a person to replace him. On the Baltimore Sun message board... Read More
Topics: Martin O'Malley , Stephanie Rawlings-Blake , Peter Franchot

Ben Cardin emails me back about the bailout after two months

5 comments

November 24, 11:00 AM

At the end of September I wrote Senator Ben Cardin about voting against the trillion dollar bank bailout. On Friday night his office finally wrote me back. The email is below. The email has a lot of words but basically says nothing. Nebulous... Read More
Topics: bailout , Ben Cardin

Section 8 rentals in your neighborhood

9 comments

November 22, 9:43 PM

Many home owners in Baltimore can not stand section 8 renters. Section 8 renters are notoriously horrible neighbors who trash their houses and cause all sorts of disturbances. I know this is not the politically correct thing to say but it is true.... Read More
Topics: developers , section 8