Baltimore mayor shows she's not easily rattled

[Auburn85 438]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/articl...H2_EjwD95KH5282

By BEN NUCKOLS

BALTIMORE (AP) — It was easy to find the symbolism in Mayor Sheila Dixon's first public event since being indicted on theft and perjury charges.

With the song "Eye of the Tiger" blasting through speakers, the embattled mayor donned red boxing gloves Saturday and climbed into a ring to perform cardio-kickboxing with a dozen others to promote physical fitness.

But the event didn't go as planned. The boxing ring couldn't handle the workout and soon collapsed beneath them. No one was hurt; Dixon, unfazed, climbed out and continued her workout on the gym floor.

It was vintage Dixon, showing once again that she's not easily rattled. Her demeanor remains unchanged, despite allegations that she took gift cards intended for needy families and lied about gifts from her developer ex-boyfriend.

"It is a regrettable moment in our history, for sure. It's not to be taken lightly," said City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, a staunch Dixon supporter. "But it's not a showstopper. It's not something to stop the wheels of a successful administration."

After all, as Dixon's attorney said after she was indicted Friday that she is not charged with bribery. Nor is she charged with racketeering, extortion or fraud, all of which carry more severe penalties. Nowhere in the indictment is an allegation that Dixon allowed money to influence her job performance.

"Any accusation of wrongdoing is embarrassing," said Larry S. Gibson, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law and a veteran political operative. "But considering how comprehensive and how long and how expensive this investigation was, it is almost a clean bill of health for city government."

Dixon, a Democrat, was already under investigation by State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh when she became mayor in January 2007. The first black woman to hold the office, Dixon took over as the city's chief executive after Martin O'Malley was elected governor.

When asked at the time about the probe, which focused on her financial dealings as City Council president, she denied any wrongdoing and expressed confidence that it would end without charges being filed.

Dixon remained confident, even when prosecutors searched her home last summer. She criticized Rohrbaugh for allowing the probe to drag on so long and wondered aloud what his investigators were looking for.

They found, among other things, several unredeemed Toys R Us gift cards that were purchased by a city agency for distribution to needy families. According to the indictment, Dixon on several occasions solicited gift cards for the poor and used them instead for her personal holiday shopping.

For the rest of her time in office — her current term runs through late 2011 — she risks being linked perpetually with gift cards the way disgraced former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was associated with flirtatious text messages.

"It's not as embarrassing as it was for Detroit, but this is pretty bad," said Matthew Crenson, professor emeritus of political science at Johns Hopkins University.

Dixon's supporters, though, can be found on both sides of the city's stark racial and economic divide.

"In general, the public has been pleasantly surprised by the effectiveness of her tenure as mayor," Crenson said. "I've talked with people in upscale neighborhoods who are pleased to see that the leaves are getting picked up and the garbage is disappearing faster."

In addition, homicides were down in 2008 to their lowest total in 20 years, the population is no longer declining and the city can expect an economic boost from military base realignment.

Soon after she took office, Dixon's resolve was tested when a fire department recruit died during a training exercise that was riddled with safety violations. She quickly fired the head of the department's training academy and had its procedures overhauled.

When the city experienced a surge in homicides during the first half of 2007, she replaced the police commissioner, and violent crime immediately began to decline.

These and other moves bolstered confidence in her abilities and allowed her to easily win a full, four-year term. In September 2007, she won a seven-way Democratic primary — the only important race in a city where four in five voters are Democrats — with 63 percent of the vote.

The questions about her ethics never went away, but they didn't dominate the conversation. At the boxing center Saturday, Dixon made didn't address the allegations directly but made veiled references to her plight.

"There are going to be challenges, obviously, everyday that we face in our lives," Dixon said. "But I believe Baltimore city is going to soar in 2009."

[AFTiger 282]

Party identification: midway through the story.

Can we say Democrat Party. a party of organized crime or is that a double negative?

[TigerHeat 9]

Party identification: midway through the story.

Can we say Democrat Party. a party of organized crime or is that a double negative?

"Enron, Halliburton, blood for oil, polar bears targeted by Bushco...."

The Dems are the party representing hope and change, unless you live under their rule. Then they represent poverty and the loss of liberty under the pretense of "help", "progress", "safety", and "aid".

Please don't tell the Great One's soon-to-be-created domestic military force that I said that. I'd hate to go to a concentration camp job transfer.