Mayoral Questions are submitted by Lou Fields of behalf of the members of Baltimore’s African American Tourism Industry.


 
 
Question 1
Recently Bethel AME Church, reportedly without community input, demolished the historic Freedom House located at 1234 Druid Hill Avenue.  The Freedom House was once the home of the NAACP-Baltimore as well as the home of Harry Cummings, Baltimore’s first black city councilman and also the home of Juanita Jackson Mitchell, Maryland’s first African American woman to pass the Maryland Bar.
As Mayor what controls will you put in place to save, not allow powerful entities to tear down Baltimore’s historic buildings?  Would you ask Pastor Reid to re-build this historic part of Baltimore’s history.

1.  This 2016 election for Mayor of Baltimore has two visions of future development.  Cindy Walsh envisions developing all surrounding communities as they exist with small business economies, mixed-income housing, public institutions like public schools, rec centers, health clinics, with a grand green public space central to the community redevelopment with a grand greenhouse, barn for animal husbandry, trees, and orchard----IN EACH COMMUNITY---to make sure that construction and fresh food is the first economies rebuilt.  Each community should have as well a recreational attraction that will bring citizens from other communities.  Citizens in these surrounding communities will then have opportunity in having a small business, rehabbing or buying a new home or renting, having a fresh food source, all of which will stabilize these communities moving towards reducing crime and violence.  To answer the question above-----if you are going to rebuild existing communities----you will preserve historic sites no matter race or class.

What Baltimore Development Corporation and their politicians have in store is replacing the surrounding  residential communities with global corporate campuses and global factories-----as in East Baltimore with Johns Hopkins which is still expanding.  That will lead to complete demolition of neighborhoods with little chance of historical buildings being given a priority.  This is a vision most citizens in Baltimore do not hold.  I move away from a Master Plan that has Baltimore as an International Economic Zone and rebuild our city and communities with local economies, small manufacturing plants, and lots of green space and recreation.
 
 
Question 2
Last fiscal year over $20 million Baltimore City Tourism Dollars flowed through the city budget per the administration to city agencies including Department of Planning, Visit Baltimore, Baltimore City Heritage Area, however none of those dollars went to any African American organizations, what would be your plan to fairly distribute these dollars?
A part of that funding provided by the city was city bond bills earmarking millions of dollars for wealthy multi-million cultural institutions, however none of these dollars went to any black cultural institutions, under your administration how would this change?
 
2.  Cindy Walsh intends to dismantle the connections of City Hall to two powerful institutions----as in Baltimore Development----and rebuild all Baltimore City agencies out to every community.  Hiring from communities people who will serve the communities.  Bringing Baltimore Development from a quasi-agency back into the city fold and restructuring it as representative to each community.  We will have small business owners, community banks, citizen activists, homeowners, and as you request tourism will reflect all of those communities.  I will not tie Baltimore City to any more Wall Street financial instruments/bond debt.  This city has plenty of revenue sources coming from Federal, state, and local funds and we will double the budget simply restoring oversight and accountability and rebuilding public interest into partnerships and contracts.  This will then flow to each community through agencies one of which will promotion. 
Question 3
Another entity subsidized by city funding is the Charm City Circulator, although facing severe deficits; service has been extended to include Locust Point, BMA, Charles Village and other points north of Penn Station; however Director William Johnson refuses to extend service ten blocks from Johns Hopkins Hospital to service the Great Blacks in Wax Museum.  Also no service to Historic Pennsylvania Avenue, how would your administration deal with this perceived inequality?

3.   Cindy Walsh is the top public transportation advocate in this election.  I ride public transportation as my main source of locomotion.  I will end what is the plan to privatize Baltimore City public transportation with VEOLA and others.  The Circulator is VEOLA and private.  I do not mind all kinds of transportation options---trolleys, Circulators, buses, but I would maintain the public structure and its integrity over creating separate private transit.  You must do this in order to have different transit connect in a time schedule for transfers etc.  Once you stabilize our public transit then communities may want to augment with these private transit options.  All communities would be served by public transportation and rates would be kept as low as possible.  I would subsidize rate controls. 
 
Question 4
Reportedly, Baltimore tourism generates $5 billion a year in revenues, yet there are few Black Owned businesses in the Inner Harbor, no black restaurants, few black retail shops, etc, what is your plan to effect change in Baltimore tourism for the betterment of Baltimore Black Businesses and its majority black population?
 
4.  I envision a remake of Inner Harbor with a small business development amongst our bigger corporations.  I think that thought is already being considered.  When you have a downtown with mixed-income as I describe small and moderate-sized businesses and not only national chains, then you see a mix of Baltimore’s cultural base AND THAT is what tourist come to see and experience.  So, there will be plenty of cultural businesses downtown and around the Inner Harbor each of which can advertise destinations in surrounding communities for further enjoyment.  When a candidate envisions growing Baltimore’s local, small business economy as the primary structure to provide a healthy, stable economy free from Wall Street boom and bust and corporate monopoly, there is opportunity for all citizens.  We can have our global market economy to augment our stable, local economy. 
 
 
Question 5
At the February 4 forum, when asked about providing designated funding without requiring matching funds or pay first and be reimbursed later stipulations for the Arena Players, Great Blacks and other Black cultural institutions, your response stated you would agree to do.  Is that true?
 

5.  First, I will take exception to this question since Cindy Walsh was not invited to participate in this Feb 4 forum.  I am the candidate for Mayor of Baltimore that will provide these funding structures and you would not even have to ask---it would be built into Baltimore City restructuring. 
 
 
 
Question 6
Two major issues confronting young Black males are high rates of unemployment and high percentage of high school drop outs, if elected Mayor, how would you address these troubling and complex issues?
 
6.  Cindy Walsh is the public education candidate. I am an educator and have strong advocacy for public schools in all communities, staffed for meeting all the needs of each community.  I will make sure all Federal, state, and local education funding gets to our classrooms and funds come to all schools equally.  I want our high schools to have well-resourced vocational shops and technology labs so students get a taste of a career before heading to external part-time jobs or internships.  I will encourage community citizens to partner with schools including small business-owners wanting to augment our vocational classes.  After-school programs need to be tied to our public schools with funding going to these schools and then augment those programs with any non-profit that wants to expand educational opportunity.  I will be looking to bring back to our budget much revenue that is lost to misappropriation and waste and there will be a strong stream of city funding to all of our public schools.If you plan to rebuild Baltimore with a local, small business and small manufacturing economy all high school grads will find opportunities right from graduation.  Those choosing an academic track will find grants and subsidized higher-education in the city.  I will strengthen all of our public universities and community colleges continuing Baltimore’s reputation as a higher-education powerhouse.  Rebuilding City Hall agencies out to our communities means more hiring for public sector jobs and these offer entry-level and professional positions for our citizens and new grads from high school and college.
 
 
Question 7
In 2005, working Mayor O’Malley and others, we were able to have the city shop design and erect four historic in Fell’s Point, the current administration has refused to replace. Currently, all four signs are missing.  Under your administration would you replace those signs as well as the badly worn CHAP signs on many of our historic sites?

7.  Absolutely. 
 
 
Question 8
Many cities including Harlem in NYC ceremoniously rename certain streets to honor notable persons.  Would you support the ceremonial re-naming of Fulton Avenue as Frederick Douglass Avenue and North Avenue as Harriet Ross Tubman Boulevard inasmuch as Tubman made her first of her many slave rescues in Baltimore?


8.  I have not been privy to conversations on citywide consensus of street-naming.  I imagine a district city council person places this request before the city council and this will move such a project forward.  If the Baltimore City Council votes for such naming of streets I will certainly approve that vote. 
 
 
Question 9
Recently, the Baltimore City Council passed CC 15-0204R to establish the Baltimore City Commission on African American Business, Tourism, Entertainment, Heritage & Preservation, if elected Mayor would your administration wholly support this commission?
 
9.  Absolutely 
 
Question 10
Recently, it was reported that Visit Baltimore provided a $250,000.00 grant to Light City Festival, however rarely, it ever, has Visit Baltimore provided that level of support to any local entity. How would your administration address this?


 10.  Baltimore City is in tremendous need of festivals, street artists, community events all across the city.  Every citizen I speak to is tired of having a city with no public venues of entertainment and that includes festivals et al.  My administration is about bringing vitality to all our communities, public voice, and accentuate our cultural diversity.  We have seen many new citizens all having cultural heritage to share and we will exhibit this as part of our tourism marketing.