The mayor of Baltimore announced that she's not interested in another run for mayor. The drama around the Freddie Gray tragedy made her a lightening rod.
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was inspired to go for higher feats. She is one of the most attractive mayors in the United States. She had a bright future. All of that was cut short when allegations of a stand down during the riots came forth. Allegations of mismanagement and the payout to the Gray family may have sealed her fate.
Many in law enforcement and residents see her as inept. Even people close to her felt that a path to reelection would be extremely difficult. So like many politicos, they'll say that it's not about me, it's about the people and the city.
"It was a very difficult decision, but I knew I needed to spend time focused on the city's future, not my own," she said. When asked if she had effectively made herself a lame duck, Rawlings-Blake said that was not the case and that she was now focused on working for the city. She said she did not want every decision she made over the next 15 months to be evaluated in the context of a political campaign. "I'm focused right now on governing, rather than campaigning for mayor at this critical time in our history," she said.
Rawlings-Blake made the announcement at a news conference called only 90 minutes earlier, a move that comes just days after officials said the city would pay Gray's family $6.4 million to settle civil claims over his spinal injury. The mayor said she believes she could have won re-election, pointing to her work on the city's budget and pension system. However, she said, not seeking re-election was the best decision for the city and for her family. Among other things, she said the city needed to get through the trials of the six police officers charged in Gray's death.
And she decided it's not worth fighting for. So Rawlings-Blake decided the time to move on is now.
Baltimore has 619,000 residents in the city.
This year alone there's been over 200 victims of gun crime.
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