I know it’s the right thing to do, a member of the House of Delegates told me 25 years ago on the eve of a critically important vote, but I like it down here. A yes vote — the right ...

Tagged with: C. Fraser Smith

This message came with the endless snow via e-mail. “During the Blizzard(s) of 2010, I finally got around to reading my autographed copy of ‘Here Lies Jim Crow,’ the writer began, referring to my book on civil rights in Maryland. ...

Tagged with: C. Fraser Smith

Seismic news broke last week — almost. A blogger, citing unnamed sources, reported that Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski was stepping down. She wasn’t running for re-election. She was retiring. A 9 on the political Richter Scale — had it been ...

Tagged with: C. Fraser Smith

As Baltimore welcomes its second female mayor, it may seem jarring to ask the following questions: Who are the city fathers? To preserve my politically correct credentials, let me quickly add city mothers. “City fathers,” of course, is a term ...

Tagged with: C. Fraser Smith

Mavericks have seen a bit of a comedown recently. Their independence has had a kind of PR cast, as if the image of independent was more political theater than reality. And even if accurate, the maverick thing looks thin compared ...

Tagged with: C. Fraser Smith

Some 1,000 protesters signed up to decry Mayor Sheila Dixon’s taxpayer-funded golden parachute this week. Some of them shouted their disapproval in front of City Hall. They were there for their own tea party. How could a public official, convicted ...

Tagged with: C. Fraser Smith

Here we go again. More accurately, here we don’t go. The year 2010 begins with the prospect of a 90-day snore in Annapolis. Legislators and governors don’t like to do much in an election year. At the top of the ...

Tagged with: C. Fraser Smith

The roller coaster stopped for Mayor Sheila Dixon Wednesday inside a Baltimore courtroom. With blinding rapidity, she had moved from low expectations, to high marks — and almost instantly to object lesson. Some politician or other is always stumbling into ...

Tagged with: C. Fraser Smith

Here endeth the year in which newspapers as we knew them were declared more or less dead. Some cling to the hope the report was premature, a Twain-like overstatement as it were. And yet, if newspapers were animals, we would ...

Tagged with: C. Fraser Smith

The transition must surely have begun. City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake must surely be preparing for a new title: Mayor of Baltimore. The incumbent, Sheila Dixon, has been convicted of embezzlement. She ignores calls for her resignation. She’s a tough ...

Tagged with: Baltimore C. Fraser Smith