Podcast appearances and mentions of mary pat clarke

It is the Midday Newswrap on today's show. Baltimore's go-it-alone approach to holding companies accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic continues to pay off. This week, the city won yet another huge judgment. WYPR's Health Reporter Scott Maucione has the latest. Plus, Aman Azhar of Inside Climate News reports on efforts to end Maryland's use of energy generated by trash incineration. Advocates have long railed against waste-to-energy plants, but now lawmakers are signaling their appetite for change.  And, we remember a titan of Baltimore politics. Mary Pat Clarke passed away this week. Former Baltimore City Councilman Anthony Ambridge reflects on her life of service.Email us at midday@wypr.org, tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott joins Midday to discuss his priorities as he enters a second term. What are the prospects for projects planned with federal assistance? While President Joe Biden made promises to Baltimore, the administration of President-elect Donald Trump may not offer continued support. We also discuss Baltimore Safe Streets, a prominent part of the city's violence reduction strategy, the passing of the influential Mary Pat Clarke and the status of repairs following underground fires in the city near the electrical infrastructure.Email us at midday@wypr.org, tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

Yesterday, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Jr. held a news conference with the city’s Inspector General, Isabel Mercedes Cumming, and the Baltimore County Inspector General, Kelly Madigan, to discuss the release of a joint report about serious problems with the city’s water billing system.  The two inspectors general estimate that the city and county have lost millions of dollars in water and sewer revenue.   This despite the $133 million dollars in contracts that have been awarded over the past ten years to improve the water system and billing processes.  We’ll have more on this latest outrage from City Hall a little later in the program, but first, Tom welcomes a woman who has certainly witnessed her share of outrages during her long tenure in Baltimore City Government.  Former City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke joins me.  She retired earlier this month after more than three decades on the Baltimore City Council, representing the old 2nd and later the 14th Districts. Her service on the council included two different tours of duty as Council President - the first woman ever elected to the post. Mary Pat Clarke joins us today on Zoom. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

micarie.kemp@morgan.edu (Micarie Kemp)

Michael Harrison is the soon-to-be-former Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department, and if he and Mayor Catherine Pugh have their way, he will become the permanent Chief of Police of the Baltimore Police Department sometime in the next few months.Several members of the City Council and other elected officials have expressed cautious optimism after the announcement yesterday of Mr. Harrison as Commissioner Designate. The surprise announcement of Harrison’s appointment follows the sometimes chaotic selection process of Mayor Pugh’s first nominee, Ft. Worth police chief Joel Fitzgerald, who withdrew his name from consideration on Monday. By yesterday morning, the Mayor had announced her intention to nominate Harrison, amid calls for a confirmation process that will be thorough and transparent. Mayor Pugh joined Tom Hall on Midday yesterday. Today on Midday, members of the Baltimore City Council join Tom to talk about the confirmation process moving forward. Robert Stokes, Sr. represents the 12th District. He is the Chair of the City Council’s Executive Appointments Committee. Kristerfer Burnett represents the 8th District. He is the vice chair of the Executive Appointments Committee. Mary Pat Clarke represents District 14. She is also a member of the Council’s Executive Appointments Committee.

Martha McKenna, a Democratic political media consultant, has spent much of her career working to get Democratic women into office. At their consulting firm, McKenna Pihlaja, Martha and partner Jennifer Pihlaja make TV ads for candidates, among other advocacy and communications work. Born and raised in Baltimore, Martha, a longtime adviser to former Baltimore mayor Sheila Dixon, also had stints on Mary Pat Clarke’s 1995 mayoral campaign and at Emily’s List. Martha also chairs Emerge Maryland, which identifies and trains women to run for office in the state. Martha talked about getting her start in politics, her campaign success and failures and how to fill the pipeline with female candidates.

Mary Pat Clarke represents Baltimore’s 14th district in the City Council, which includes about 46,000 residents in neighborhoods including Homewood, part of Charles Village, Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello, Waverly and half of Hampden. At a time when women were a minority in city politics, Mary Pat became the first woman elected president of the Baltimore City Council in 1987; she discussed how the council hasn't advanced much in terms of representation from women. Mary Pat spent nine years away from city politics after mounting an unsuccessful bid for the mayor’s seat in 1995, returning to teaching, but after Baltimore residents voted for single-member council districts, she ran for office once again in 2004 and has represented the 14th district since. In April, Mary Pat introduced a bill to raise the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. Last week, that bill failed to pass by the necessary votes, and it will be sent back to committee. Mary Pat, who will face Republican Thomas Boyce in November’s general election, talked about who inspired her to get into politics, feeling like an outsider, the challenges of her job and finding a home in Baltimore.

Today you’ll hear two candidates for the 14th District of the Baltimore City Council, representing neighborhoods that include Charles Village, Homewood, Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello, Waverly, and half of Hampden. Our guests are Mary Pat Clarke (1:15), the incumbent city council member in the 14th District, and her challenger, Terrell Williams (27:52), a 34-year-old regional cafeteria manager for Baltimore City public schools.