Former Councilman Jody Landers joins race for Baltimore mayor

Former Baltimore City Council member Joseph T. “Jody” Landers III plans to announce his candidacy for mayor Wednesday at a trendy new eatery in Lauraville.

Landers, executive vice president of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors since 1998, plans to make reducing the city’s property tax a dominant theme in his campaign as well as restructuring new ways to deliver city services. He also plans to focus on the impact of the foreclosure crisis on Baltimore’s neighborhoods, garnered from his first-hand knowledge of the disaster from working with the local real estate community.

He will announce his candidacy at 1:30 p.m. at Chef Mac’s and All That Blues, a supper club in the 4700 block of Harford Rd., known for spicy Cajun cooking.

“It’s only appropriate to start my campaign in the community where I was born, raised and currently reside,” Landers said, in a statement. “My decision to pursue the mayor’s office is  based on personal frustration observing the continued decline of the city’s population and city services over the past 20 years. Baltimore cannot continue with the same old policies that have been adopted in the past.”

Landers has also served as executive director of the HARBEL Community Organization. He was elected to the council in 1983 to represent the 3rd District in northeast Baltimore, and lost a bid for city comptroller in 1991. After that, he left public service.

He graduated from Morgan State University with a degree in business. He was raised in Hamilton and attended the old St. Dominic’s Elementary School, which closed and is now senior housing.