Baltimore City Council District 04 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
Campaign Twitter
twitter.com/@conway4bmore
Campaign Website
http://www.conway4baltimore.com
Campaign Email
info@conway4baltimore.com
Campaign Facebook
http://facebook.com/conway4bmore
Campaign Instagram
instagram.com/conway4bmore
Campaign Twitter Handle
@conway4bmore
Campaign Mailing Address
4904 York Road #4644
Baltimore, MD 21212
Baltimore, MD 21212
Background: What in your background and experience qualifies you to be a member of the Baltimore City Council?
As a first term Councilmember I have focused on public safety, government accountability, economic development, & the environment; making significant progress on all fronts. I led the effort to establish the Police Accountability Board and to restore local control of the BPD. I passed legislation to hold city agencies accountable for performance, formed a business improvement district, & set the city on a path toward a sustainable future. I will continue to focus on these issues in my next term.
Crime: What specific plans would you propose to reduce homicides, violent crime, theft and vandalism in Baltimore?
1. Support at risk youth & young adults (training, jobs, housing, mental health). 2. Find sustainable way to fund focused deterrence efforts after ARPA funds expire. 3. Improve BPD recruitment and retention in order to hold offenders accountable. 4. Work with the State to ensure convicts get the support they need behind bars and before release. 5. Support Returning Citizens with mental health, training, employment, & housing to prevent recidivism
Education: How would you fund public education in Baltimore, while assuring the quality and ongoing structural maintenance of school buildings?
We need to revisit the city's PILOT agreement with our nonprofit institutions in order to lighten the fiscal burden on the city. We will also need to work with the Department of finance and the Office of Performance Innovation to identify areas where we can cut ineffective, inefficient, or redundant programs. Any remaining gap in services will require increasing revenue through additional fees or taxes.
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?
In order to improve health disparities in Baltimore we must ensure that underserved communities have the basic necessities like grocery stores, open space that is safe for residents to be active and exercise. We need to remove barriers to a healthy lifestyle and work within the community to help residents improve habits while ensuring all residents have access to physical and mental health support. We will need to partner with philanthropic, state and federal partners to get there.
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?
In order to improve the city's resilience we need to 1. Identify the areas that are most vulnerable to climate change (flooding, urban heat island effect) 2. Develop an infrastructure plan to adequately address the threats 3. Work with philanthropic, state and federal partners to fund the plan 4. Ensure all new development considers the impacts of climate change in their plan
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 remove or rehabilitate vacant homes quickly we need to speed up the INREM process by adding more resources to DHCD and fine tuning the office that processes the paperwork. Next, we'd need to reduce barriers to housing development by streamlining permits and inspections for multi-unit projects. Finally, the city could consider a revolving loan fund to gap financing to projects that need capital to get the project off the ground.
Council Size: What are the advantages and disadvantages of reducing the size of the City Council?
The only argument to make for reducing the council size is that the city has lost population over the last 50 years, however I don't consider a reduction a benefit. Reducing the council size will make it harder for residents to connect with their council members as they balance more constituents and more problems. You will be more likely to interact with staff. Councilmembers will also have less capacity to think critically about how the resolve the city's problems & pass effective legislation.