Baltimore City Council District 14 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
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@odetteramos
Campaign Website
http://odetteramos14.com
Campaign Phone
4438018137
Campaign Email
odette@odetteramos.com
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http://facebook.com/odetteramosbaltimore
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@odetteramosbaltimore
Campaign Twitter Handle
@odetteramos
Campaign Mailing Address
408 E 31st St
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Baltimore, MD 21218-3408
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Baltimore, MD 21218-3408
Campaign You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/odetteramosbaltimorecityco5953
Background: What in your background and experience qualifies you to be a member of the Baltimore City Council?
Over my 32 years in Baltimore, I have been an organizer and advocate for tackling vacant properties and ensuring people can stay in their homes, and providing more affordable housing. I am continuing that work in the City Council during my first term, including expanding the tools for combating vacant properties, passing inclusionary housing policy that will work, and more. It has been an honor to serve in this capacity and I’d like to do so again.
Crime: What specific plans would you propose to reduce homicides, violent crime, theft and vandalism in Baltimore?
The police cannot do it all themselves. We have to look deep into what the root causes of crime are, and why people are choosing to do these things. The City’s reduction in homicides is attributed to working on finding the people doing the violence and taking them out of that life unless they want to meet with consequences (GVRS). The same has to be said for providing resources to our youth. I want to also see stable housing and rehabbing vacant properties will make a difference.
Education: How would you fund public education in Baltimore, while assuring the quality and ongoing structural maintenance of school buildings?
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future dictates the funding that must be allocated to education, and also how it will be spent. Jurisdictions are looking at ways to raise revenues to pay for our obligations and fully fund our schools. Diverting from the police budget is one way to do that, but also strategic investments in eliminating vacant housing through rehab to increase our tax base. Capital needs can be addressed through more borrowing.
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?
The health department is 80% grant funded, and we will need to make sure those grants stay in place while working to get more general fund resources. My answer to health disparities is improve the quality of housing and rehab vacant properties. Increases in mold and lead are found in neighborhoods with increased vacant properties and poor housing conditions. This will lead to better health outcomes.
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?
I am working on flood mitigation across the city, especially in two specific areas in my district-35th and Hillen and the Stony Run. The studies that have been done for these areas will be a model for other parts of the City as we think through how we prepare for the 100 year storms that are happening every 3 years. I will be introducing a bill to create requirements for deconstruction, rather than demolition, to reduce the waste into our incinerator and waste stream, and curb illegal dumping.
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?
It is impossible to answer this question in 500 characters. Please see my op-ed in the Baltimore Banner on combating vacant properties. https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/opinion/community-voices/vacant-houses-baltimore-city-council-2UZCBNEFBBDSTDOINLYXMRMS3I/ Our inclusionary housing bill that I sponsored is clearly a model for the rest of the nation. I will work to continue to implement the policy so that residents can live in true mixed income communities.
Council Size: What are the advantages and disadvantages of reducing the size of the City Council?
There are no advantages to reducing the number of City Council districts, therefore having fewer city council members. Each district would be much larger. With the current staff capacity (one city council member and three staff) there would never be enough capacity to serve the entire district. Communities that are already marginalized would stay that way, because we would be answering our squeaky wheel constituents and not being intentional about who needs services.