Mayor-Elect Brandon Scott will be sworn into office on Dec. 8. (Courtesy of Facebook)

By Devin Walker
Special to the AFRO

Some Baltimore voters expressed interest in pursuing change in their political representation, however, the results of the Nov. 3 election showed otherwise.

Democratic candidate Brandon Scott scored 153,707 votes or nearly 91%, becoming the 52nd mayor of Baltimore. Scott’s Republican opponent Pastor Shannon Wright only received 15,598 votes or 9%.  

On Election Day, Wright made the following statement on her Facebook page, “My main opponent has grown up in Baltimore, but his real education has been under corrupt leaders at City Hall. He says he is different; he says he has new ideas, but he’s the same old ideas and ideals of 53 years of one-party corrupt rule. Why else would past mayors endorse him if he was really going to change the city?”

Democratic candidate Nick Mosby scored 80% of the votes for Baltimore City Council President. Mosby received 128,345 votes compared to his Republican opponent Jovani Patterson’s 29,781 votes.

Upon losing the election, Patterson said in a statement, “Thank you, Baltimore! I will always be grateful for this unique and awesome opportunity to help change and guide the conversation of our great city.” 

Unlike Republican incumbent President Donald Trump, who lost the popular and Electoral College vote to Democrat Joe Biden, the GOP gained seats in Congress and in state and local elections. 

That was not the case in Baltimore.

Although City Hall will continue to be led by the Democratic Party, city residents still expect change. Both Scott and Mosby promise to break the cycle of ineffectiveness that has plagued the city for the past 20 years. Safety is the top priority for both men. 

In 1990, under three-term Democratic Mayor Kurk L. Schmoke, Baltimore recorded 305 homicides. This was the largest number of homicides since 1972 when 330 people were killed. The murder rate has continued to rise since 1990. From 2015 through 2019, Baltimore recorded a total of 1,662 homicides, an average 332 violent deaths per year.

In an interview with USA Today, Mayor-Elect Brandon Scott said, “Every year that I’ve been breathing, Baltimore has been one of the most violent cities in the country. We need to do it a better way because the old way isn’t working.” 

Scott also said that the majority of violent crimes are committed by a small group of people against another small group of people. Scott promises to focus on reducing the crime rate. 

The writer is a student in the Morgan State University School of Global Journalism and Communication.