(BALTIMORE – May 19, 2024) – Now that last Tuesday’s primary election is in the rearview mirror, it is time to get back to the business of making Baltimore better. Let me first say that I salute the candidates who have done the boldest thing any American can do outside of the military – and that’s putting one’s entire self out there for the world to judge. The most dangerous situation for a soldier is war. For the candidate, the most dangerous position is to be on “Front Street under public scrutiny.” I think that takes a lot of heart. In addition, the candidate’s loved ones tend to be the biggest volunteers. And don’t forget your friends.
All of that takes a lot of guts. And then, after knocking on doors, calling for events, sending emails, taking pictures, kissing babies, and still trying to do the regular stuff like pick up the kids from school and go to the market – to say the least, running a political campaign is the equivalent of a small business and in this day and time, that includes the social media crews and the video editors.
With that said, the leaders have been chosen. For any outgoing elected officials, it is time to wrap up that body of work and get ready for your next station in life. Baltimore City Councilman Robert Stokes fits that category. Jermaine Jones challenged him and won with 52.49% of the vote in the 12th district.
Baltimore City Councilman Eric Costello (50.76%) narrowly defeated Zac Blanchard (49.24%) in the 11th district. And while Councilman Antonio “Tony” Glover (13th), Councilwoman Phylicia Porter (10th), Councilwoman Sharon Green-Middleton (6th), Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer (5th), Ryan Dorsey (3rd), and Danielle McCray (2nd) all handily won their respective races and Baltimore City Councilwoman Odette Ramos (14th) and Councilman Mark Conway (4th) winning unopposed, Councilman John Bullock (9th) had three challengers. Bullock managed to garner more votes (54.58%) than the three – Sonia Eaddy, Matthew Johnson, and Venroy July – combined.
Bilal Ali loses in a nailbiter against Paris Gray (40.90%) in the 8th. Tori Rose (40%) made a dent into Baltimore City Councilman James Torrence (60%). However, it was not enough to win this time. In the 1st district, Mark Parker will be the new Baltimore City Councilman. The AFSCME-endorsed Parker was also a beneficiary of the support of the new City Council President Zeke Cohen, who may be the biggest winner of them all. There are already talks of him becoming mayor in the near future.
ELECTION RESULTS – BALTIMORE CITY
Mark Parker & Family
Dear friends and neighbors,
First, this is going to be way too long, which is how you know it came directly from me in the emotional aftermath of this eighteen-month-long saga. The first part contains thank-yous, and the second part is a reflection on this experience, this opportunity to serve, and the work ahead of us.
__________
Thank you for your trust, for this responsibility, and for this opportunity to serve alongside you as councilperson here in Southeast Baltimore. I am so grateful and I am excited for all that we will accomplish together for our communities and our city.
First of all, thank you to my family. To Christine, as complete and beloved a partner in life and adventures and parenting and service to our communities (since spring 2001!!!!) as I could ever imagine, and far better than I deserve. To Luke and Sarah, who bring joy and grounded-ness and love to our family, and whose growing connection with this city and their neighbors fills me with pride and wonder. To my twin brother, Andrew, who puts his amazing gifts, energy, and drive to work every day as a parent, spouse, and public servant. To my parents, who have always supported us in everything, who set a profound example of public service in their personal and professional lives, and who taught us what it means to love and engage in our communities and city.
A huge thank you to our team. We knew that building a campaign capable of reaching all of our neighbors would take people of great skill, capacity, knowledge, experience, and positivity. I am so grateful for Tanner, Christian, Colin, Dave, Alan, Kara, Cindy, Yvenlee, Elli, Suzette, and Dayra for their sacrifices, hard work, professionalism, and dedication. Thank you to Jeff for support, clarity of thought, insights, and energy. Thank you to AJ for being a steadfast friend and partner, and doing the work early on to get us organized, funded, and on track. I’m grateful as well for the partners of all of those people for making sacrifices which allowed them to give so much of themselves to this effort (especially Debbie, Emily, and Corey). When you have something significant to accomplish, you can never have enough good people on your side.
To all of our volunteers and leaders and friends who knocked doors, made calls, sent texts, hung signs, stuffed envelopes, hosted house parties, sent letters, make donations, and, most importantly, spoke with their neighbors—thank you. This was a huge effort and it was only remotely possible because of all that you did and gave to make it happen.
To our broader coalition of colleagues, mentors, and partner organizations who believe in our vision and our campaign, who share similar values and a commitment to the well-being of all people and all communities in this district and this city, and who came together with public support, with financial support, with volunteers on the doors and at the polls, to amplify our message and extend our reach. I am so honored to be joining Zeke Cohen, Comptroller Bill Henry, Delegate Luke Clippinger, and Ashley Esposito for Baltimore City Board of Education in elected office here in our city. I am so appreciative of the advice and guidance of Jim Kraft and the late Carolyn Krysiak. And I look forward to continued partnership with AFSCME Maryland, Baltimore Teachers Union, 32BJ SEIU, CASA in Action, Jews United for Justice, Clean Water Action Maryland, the Sierra Club Maryland Chapter, Progressive Maryland, the Baltimore Industrial Group, the Carpenters, LIUNA, and many others.
To all those neighbors and leaders, past and present, who have given so much of themselves to sustain, nurture, and transform the Highlandtown community over the past 25+ years. You welcomed this newcomer from South Baltimore back in 2009, helped me to learn and grow into my public service here, and have shown so much love for my family over the years. Thank you for your trust and for your partnership.
And, finally, I am grateful for those who shared this experience with me in the most complete way possible—my fellow candidates, Vote Liam Davis and Joe Koehler For Baltimore City Council. People laughed at me (maybe not always kindly) for saying it, but I didn’t approach this campaign as one in which we were running “against” each other—rather, each of us was running “for” the same position because each of us has such a heart for the city and a compelling desire to serve our community. The same was true in 2016, and I’ve been glad to sustain great relationships with my fellow candidates from that election over the years.
For those who don’t know, Liam and I have known each other well for more than a decade, with mutual respect and appreciation for our commitment to the city and the way we fulfill that commitment in our personal and professional lives. When I need help with something, I know that I can count on Liam—including after the worst bicycle accident of my life, when I wiped out on a dangerous road surface under the Greektown-Highlandtown underpass in the middle of a nighttime rainstorm. Liam reached out that night to make sure I was okay, and had a repair completed within 24 hours. I will never forget his kindness. We have always found good and significant ways to work together to strengthen our communities, and I know that we will have even more opportunities to do so in the future. Southeast Baltimore is filled with gifted, dedicated, collaborative leaders—and Liam and Joe are two of the best.
_____________
Running for public office in a community like ours is this incredibly intimate thing. Sure, there are the impersonal things: social media posts, mail being sent out, flyers on doors, e-mails in abundance. But at the heart of a campaign for city council are thousands upon thousands of real connections, those one-on-one conversations that come dozens or hundreds of time a day: on the phone, in the park, after a community meeting, outside of school, out for coffee, and, over and over again, when this dad/community leader/pastor from Highlandtown knocked on your door, upset your dog, woke up your sleeping toddler, and asked for some of your time—all to share a bit about myself and, more importantly, to learn some of your story and your lived experience here in Baltimore. It requires vulnerability on the part of the candidate, to be sure, but also on the part of all of you. And in that shared vulnerability, in those conversations over the course of the eighteen months of this campaign, there is the opportunity to form a genuine connection and, ultimately, to build trust.
Yes, in those conversations we spoke about policies from education to housing to transportation to safety to taxes to trash to parks to main street businesses. And we shared stories about kids and communities, about school and work, about what life looks like for us in Baltimore.
But in the end, I was asking you to trust me. To trust me with this particular role as an elected public servant in and for our community. To trust me to show up for you and with you, and your neighbors, whether in the midst of a crisis or when dealing with long-standing challenges or when there are real opportunities to make significant changes to the well-being of our communities. To trust me to listen and to learn. To trust me to lead with compassion and with a consistent regard for the full humanity and dignity of all of our neighbors in this unimaginably diverse district that we share.
That is my commitment to each of you, and to our communities. That is the kind of person, the kind of public servant, that I hope to be and strive to be as I lead and serve alongside you here in this city. We are all in this together, always. The only good, sustainable, meaningful progress we make comes from our collective effort and steadfast commitment to our shared success. The only future worth building for our district and our city is one in which everyone can experience and participate in livable communities.
We have lots of work to do together. I am excited and grateful to have earned your trust and to serve alongside you as your councilperson as we work together to build the communities and city we all need and deserve. – Mark Parker