Baltimore City Council District 03 Choose 1
DUTIES: Baltimore’s law-making body is the 15-member City Council. The 15th member, the city council president, is elected city-wide. The primary responsibilities of the city council are to: Enact ordinances (laws) and resolutions of the city,Review and enact the annual Ordinance of Estimates (Operating and Capital Budgets),Enact revenue ordinances necessary to meet the anticipated expenses of the budget.SALARY: $78,577 as of 2023TERM: 4 yearsHOW ELECTED: Baltimore City is divided into 14 council districts. The voters of each district elect one member to the city council. In execution of their responsibilities, City Council members represent their district’s interests and serve their constituents as advocates with city government agencies.
Biographical Information
Background: What in your background and experience qualifies you to be a member of the Baltimore City Council?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Crime: What specific plans would you propose to reduce homicides, violent crime, theft and vandalism in Baltimore?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Education: How would you fund public education in Baltimore, while assuring the quality and ongoing structural maintenance of school buildings?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Health: What strategies do you have to address continued health disparities in Baltimore? What will you do to make sure that the Health Department has the resources it needs to serve all residents?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Climate and Environment As we face climate change and sea level rise, what would be your priorities to increase sustainable practices by the city and to increase the city’s resilience?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Housing: What strategies do you propose to remove or rehabilitate vacant buildings and provide affordable housing through the new inclusionary housing bill and other means?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Council Size: What are the advantages and disadvantages of reducing the size of the City Council?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Biographical Information
Campaign Twitter
@Team_Dent
Campaign Website
http://www.marquesdent.com
Campaign Email
thefriendsofmarquesdent@gmail.com
Campaign Facebook
http://facebook.com/marquesdent
Campaign Instagram
dentmarques
Campaign Mailing Address
3710 Mary Avenue
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Baltimore, MD 21206
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Baltimore, MD 21206
Background: What in your background and experience qualifies you to be a member of the Baltimore City Council?
As a former US Air force Captain and former member of the Baltimore city Democratic State Central Committee I have worked with and provided services to my neighbors and community.
Crime: What specific plans would you propose to reduce homicides, violent crime, theft and vandalism in Baltimore?
Reducing homicides, violent crime, theft, and vandalism in Baltimore requires a multifaceted approach that addresses root causes while also implementing targeted strategies to address immediate concerns. Here are some specific plans that could be proposed:
Community Policing and Engagement:
Implement community policing programs that foster trust and collaboration between law enforcement agencies and residents.
Increase the presence of police officers in high-crime areas through foot patrols an
Education: How would you fund public education in Baltimore, while assuring the quality and ongoing structural maintenance of school buildings?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Health: What strategies do you have to address continued health disparities in Baltimore? What will you do to make sure that the Health Department has the resources it needs to serve all residents?
Funding public education in Baltimore while ensuring the quality and ongoing structural maintenance of school buildings requires a combination of financial resources, strategic planning, and oversight mechanisms. Here are some approaches that could be considered:
Dedicated Funding Streams:
Advocate for dedicated funding streams for public education, such as a specific portion of local tax revenue or state funding earmarked for education purposes.
Explore alternative sources of funding, such as
Climate and Environment As we face climate change and sea level rise, what would be your priorities to increase sustainable practices by the city and to increase the city’s resilience?
As climate change and sea level rise pose significant challenges to cities like Baltimore, increasing sustainable practices and enhancing resilience are critical priorities. Here are some key strategies that could be prioritized:
Climate Action Plan:
Develop and implement a comprehensive climate action plan that outlines specific goals, targets, and strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing renewable energy adoption, and enhancing climate resilience.
Engage stakeholders from
Housing: What strategies do you propose to remove or rehabilitate vacant buildings and provide affordable housing through the new inclusionary housing bill and other means?
To address the issue of vacant buildings and provide affordable housing in Baltimore, several strategies can be considered, including those outlined in the new inclusionary housing bill and other means:
Vacant Building Remediation:
Implement targeted strategies to identify and address vacant and blighted properties through proactive code enforcement, property tax incentives, and rehabilitation programs.
Streamline the process for acquiring and rehabilitating vacant properties by removing barri
Council Size: What are the advantages and disadvantages of reducing the size of the City Council?
Advantages:
Cost Savings: A smaller City Council would likely result in reduced operating costs associated with salaries, benefits, office space, and administrative expenses for council members and staff.
Disadvantages:
Reduced Representation: A smaller City Council may result in reduced representation for certain communities or demographics within the city, potentially leading to a lack of diversity and inclusivity in decision-making.
Increased Workload
Biographical Information
Campaign Twitter
@electryandorsey
Campaign Website
http://electryandorsey.com
Campaign Phone
410-929-5386
Campaign Email
ryan@electryandorsey.com
Campaign Twitter Handle
@electryandorsey
Campaign Mailing Address
3317 Crossland Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21213
Baltimore, MD 21213
Background: What in your background and experience qualifies you to be a member of the Baltimore City Council?
In my two terms on the City Council I have passed legislation on a wide range of subjects. My bills created the Inspector General’s Office, gave independence and support to the Ethics Board, strengthened financial disclosure requirements, protected housing voucher recipients against discrimination, and made streets safer for all, to note a few. I’ve handled 4500+ constituent cases and brought millions of dollars in recreation, libraries, public infrastructure, and grants to my district.
Crime: What specific plans would you propose to reduce homicides, violent crime, theft and vandalism in Baltimore?
I will continue to support effective violence interruption programs like Safe Streets and accountability for violent offenders. But we also need revenue to fund recreation and a wide range of social programs, and we need to create jobs, and to stop unsustainable rises in housing costs, and have more people walking on streets, all of which requires population growth that cannot be achieved without building tens/hundreds of thousands of new housing units throughout the city.
Education: How would you fund public education in Baltimore, while assuring the quality and ongoing structural maintenance of school buildings?
Build housing. Without population there are no taxes to fund education or anything else, and we continue to lose population despite having a market demand that would allow us to increase our population by at least 5300 households per year if only the dwelling units existed. And if we increase housing, especially in high-opportunity neighborhoods, we’ll improve the baseline of challenges we have to overcome in the classroom and reduce overall education costs.
Health: What strategies do you have to address continued health disparities in Baltimore? What will you do to make sure that the Health Department has the resources it needs to serve all residents?
Increase dwelling units, especially in middle-income and high-opportunity neighborhoods. Segregation by housing typology perpetuates concentrated poverty, which correlates to disparate outcomes. The Health Department runs on dollars. Build more walkable neighborhoods through denser and more diverse housing that attracts grocery stores and creates jobs, and we will improve overall health and produce greater tax revenue to further our ability to fund critical health programs.
Climate and Environment As we face climate change and sea level rise, what would be your priorities to increase sustainable practices by the city and to increase the city’s resilience?
Denser housing. Middle-income, low-density neighborhoods have the highest carbon footprint per household (and most are at higher elevation levels) but produce substantially less tax revenue and are far more costly to provide public services.
We also need to convert/remove impervious surface at a massive scale, daylight the Jones Falls and other storm water infrastructure, rapidly build out an expansive network of bike and bus lanes, and designate car-free zones Downtown and on key streets.
Housing: What strategies do you propose to remove or rehabilitate vacant buildings and provide affordable housing through the new inclusionary housing bill and other means?
Reform zoning that prohibits adding housing on 70% of our land and makes it difficult where vacancy is highest, where multi-family housing is the only economically viable way to rehab at scale. Our current zoning laws make it impossible for supply to meet demand, so property tax assessments have doubled in the last decade, and rents have risen similarly. We need to allow multi-family housing by right in all residential districts and eliminate the barrier of off-street parking requirements.
Council Size: What are the advantages and disadvantages of reducing the size of the City Council?
None. The idea has no merit. The only change we need to make to the Council structure is to eliminate the Council President as an at-large elected position (and rotate the position every two years). That we publicly elect a Council President is truly an aberration of democratic norms, and it is a principal source of the City’s dysfunction. Like in virtually every legislative body worldwide, all members should be presided over by one of their own, chosen by the members.