Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, September 11, 2015

Earlier today, I announced that I have decided not to seek reelection as Mayor of Baltimore.

This was a difficult decision. I love serving as Mayor and am proud that I have been able to serve the citizens of Baltimore for nearly 20 years as an elected official. However, as I prepared to engage in a vigorous mayoral campaign and participated in planning meetings with my campaign team and volunteers, I came to the realization that every moment that I spend running for mayor would take away from the urgent responsibilities to the City that I love.

This is a critical time for our City.  Over the next 15 months, my time would be best spent on continuing to move this City forward and build upon our progress, without the distraction of campaign politics. As I work with the U.S. Department of Justice to reform our police department, as I fight for more recreational opportunities for our youth, as I seek to attract new businesses and new investments to Baltimore, I do not want every difficult decision to be evaluated, questioned and critiqued within the context of how it affects a political campaign.

I am proud of my accomplishments as Mayor: instituting  pension reform, developing the City’s first 10-year financial plan, achieving our City’s highest combined bond rating in decades, implementing ethics reform, reducing property taxes, investing in repairing our police department’s relationship with the community, reducing unemployment by a third, attacking blight through Vacants to Value, providing job opportunities for youth through my Hire One Initiative, reducing teen pregnancies by a third, and securing more than $1 billion for school construction, among many others.  Many of these decisions were tough politically, but I have always believed in doing what was right over what was popular.

Much work remains to be done, and I will spend the remaining  15 months of my term as Mayor continuing to be focused on our City’s future and moving this City forward.  I will continue efforts to improve police-community relations and decrease violent crime.  I will continue to fight for City Council approval of my ambitious plan to invest $136 million in Recreation Centers for our communities.  I will continue to create opportunities for new jobs and attack neighborhood blight.

On a personal note, after nearly two decades in elected office serving the citizens of Baltimore, it is a little hard to imagine what is next for me, and for my family.  My 11-year-old daughter has never been alive at a time when I have not been in elected office. I am not sure we know what to expect.  But I do know that I am grateful for the opportunity to have served for all of these years.

I want everyone to know that the business of government will continue and I will continue to work to Grow Baltimore. 

I love this City, and I pledge to work for this City’s future, both during my remaining term as mayor and beyond.

This originally appeared in the Rawlings-Blake Review. If you do not receive the Mayor's weekly newsletter, subscribe here.