Baltimore City State’s attorney Ivan Bates is throwing his weight behind former mayor Sheila Dixon for Baltimore mayor in the May primary. Both are Democrats.
Meanwhile, Scott also picked up two very influential endorsements on Monday. U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, both Democrats, are putting their weight behind the incumbent. The trio has worked together extensively since the Key Bridge collapse nearly two weeks ago, appearing together in near-daily press briefings and status updates.
“Mayor Dixon is the only person in this race, who has a proven track record of not only lowering homicides and violent crime to historic levels, but also focusing on the reduction of quality of life crimes that led to one of the safest times in our city's history,” said Bates during a Monday press conference at Dixon’s Remington campaign headquarters.
Homicides nationwide dipped during Dixon’s 2007-2010 tenure. Baltimore recorded a 20% drop in homicides in 2023 — compared to an approximately 13% drop across the country. Despite that, both Dixon and Bates stress that Baltimoreans do not feel safe due to low-level quality of life crimes.
“It’s about being respectful and accountable to your community,” said Dixon.
Bates’ endorsement comes days after the attorney told the Sun that “philosophical differences” have emerged between him and current Mayor Brandon Scott, who is also running to keep his seat in the primary. Bates said he didn’t feel supported by Scott in the fight to change juvenile justice laws in Annapolis or on the citation docket.
Dixon says she supports the citation docket, which mandates community service for low-level crimes.
“I need a partner,” Bates said last week. Scott accused Bates of playing “political games.”
“There should be no politics involved in public safety,” said Mayor Scott in reaction to Bates’ endorsement of his competition.
The citation docket was a major part of Bates’ 2022 campaign platform for Baltimore State’s Attorney. Since his election, the docket has been slow to see any success. According to reporting from the Daily Record, as of February there were only 37 citations that made it to court over a seven month period.
Dixon endorsed Bates in his 2022 bid for lead prosecutor against Marilyn Mosby.
The news of Bates’ endorsement of Dixon broke this morning on Fox45, the conservative-leaning local affiliate of the Sinclair Broadcasting Group. An hour later, Dixon’s campaign sent out an embargoed release telling reporters of the impending endorsement.
Both Dixon and Bates have given extensive interviews and town halls at the station. Dixon spent time teasing a run for office last summer on Fox45 before she officially launched her campaign in September. David Smith, the chairman of Sinclair Broadcasting Group, has given $100,000 to a Super PAC that is allowed to campaign in favor of Dixon although it cannot work directly with her campaign. That PAC is also funded by $100,000 from John Luetkemeyer of Continental Realty Corp. Smith is also now the co-owner of the Baltimore Sun.
A Baltimore Banner poll from ten-months ago showed that Bates had the highest level of approval citywide among local leaders.
Barely an hour later than Dixon’s press conference with Bates, Scott stood flanked by Senators Cardin and Van Hollen outside of Penn Station to receive their endorsements. They praised his ability to lead during challenging situations like the coronavirus pandemic and the Key Bridge collapse.
“But it's not just his leadership during tough times. It's the way he has positioned the city from day one to be successful into the future for every resident of this great city,” said Van Hollen.
