I don't know what he looks like, who he voted for in the past three elections, where he lives, anything beyond the 4 simple points on his website, yet I find him to be the most appetizing mayoral candidate for Baltimore yet.
Why? From Smith's website.
Education
Baltimore's failure to invest in our children is a failure to invest in our future. The sorry state of our school system has created generations without hope who see the only way out as a life filled with drugs and guns.
Crime
Baltimore's infamous homicide rate is the direct result of the drug war that rages in our neighborhoods. Until we reevaluate the War on Drugs we will never get rid of the gunmen that terrorize our streets.
Simple facts, but powerful in the vacuum of talking points from city pols. One word, REEVALUATE just makes my day. Now whether Smith means this in modest or radical terms, I am not concerned. Here is a man who sees the status quo is no longer working, and that a fundamental change in our THINKING about the "drug war" is necessary before any changes happen.
Its a shame the only one saying it has little chance to win in Baltimore, where the Democratic Primary picks the next Mayor.
2 comments:
i was told by the petitioner guy at sowebofest that andrew smith lives in fells point. that's all i know about him. as far as his "platforms" go, he suffers from the same problem as adam meister, which is that he offers no solutions, only a list of problems. anybody with half a brain can look around and see these problems for themselves. it is refreshing in the sense that the people who are currently in control of the city's political machine and who will probably remain in control of it for a long time to come don't come out and declare these problems as explicitly, but people aren't going to vote for these dudes if they don't have any sort of suggestions about what exactly to do about the problem. (no, i don't consider reevaluating the drug war a solution; it's naive to think that the federal and state governments would allow the mayor of baltimore to suddenly decriminalize drugs in the city)
Of course, its no where near a solution, but it at least signals a change in perception. Maybe one that could lead to increased spending on drug treatment and a re-evaluation of policing strategy.
Just looking for some sort of ray of hope.
Post a Comment