2024 Mayoral Candidate Environmental Forum Questions & Answers
On Wednesday 2/27/24 I had the honor of being invited to speak to constituents, environmentalists, and the media at the 2024 Mayoral Candidate Environmental Forum, hosted by Baltimore Green Space and several other local environmental groups. As there are several candidates running, I did not get the opportunity to answer each question during the event and would like to share them here!
1. This year's Mayoral Candidate Environmental Forum was organized by a coalition of environmental groups, community leaders and faith-based organizations. This group represents a broad cross-section of Baltimore’s community members who care about and prioritize environmental and public health, and who want elected leaders to understand that clean air, land, and water and plentiful, well-maintained, green spaces make our neighborhoods safer, cleaner, and more desirable places to live, work and play. Given this background, please share with the audience what your administration’s priority will be when it comes to addressing air & water pollution, tree canopy, park maintenance, multi-use trails, and climate resilience.
Environmentalism is a key cornerstone of my campaign because the environment affects everything we do from crime to education to transit. You can’t see these as discrete and separate issues, they’re all connected. When it comes to pollution, one of my first priorities is to make the incinerator obsolete and get coal out of Curtis Bay so our air is safe and breathable. I would also dedicate efforts to restoring our offshore oyster beds that naturally purify the water and ensure we maintain stricter standards in our waste water treatments so that less pollutants can get into the environment. I’m dedicated to planting more trees alongside other organizations and making sure the city isn't charging these organizations for planting trees that benefit all of us. Regarding park maintenance, I want every neighborhood to eventually have their own park and green space of their own, something they can enjoy and be a part of. Multi-use trails are also something I would dedicate resources too as I want an interconnected city that would allow you to easily travel from one of the city to the other without the use of a car.
2. Baltimore’s painful history of racism and segregation led to stark disparities among neighborhoods regarding tree canopy, air quality, summer temperatures, public health, transportation investment, biodiversity, and sewer backups. City efforts have had little positive impact on these longstanding inequities. What will your administration do to direct resources more equitably to improve the lives and the green infrastructure of community members in our most impacted neighborhoods?
The first thing my administration will do is look at the areas of highest need and the areas that have historically received the least resources from the city. Those areas will receive the bulk of the resources to bring them up to where the wealthier neighborhoods currently are. I will make sure the areas that lack parks and green spaces are at the top of the list when determining where to place new green spaces. I will initiate pollution clean-up programs in the areas that have the highest levels and historically received the least help from the city, starting with Curtis Bay. I will also work with various nonprofits and other organizations to spread education and awareness of how residents can help and participate in the restoration of their neighborhoods so it becomes a collaborative effort with the city and residents can feel confident that the city has not forgotten them.
3. Inequitable access to transit limits job opportunities for many in Baltimore. At the same time, emissions from personal cars and trucks-- the source of most vehicle miles in our region--pollute Baltimore’s air and threaten public health. Both issues can be addressed by focusing resources on regional approaches to reliable mass transit and alternatives that make walking and biking safer, such as multi-use trails and expanded bicycle infrastructure. How will your administration work with the State to improve Baltimore’s transit network and connectivity, to complete the Baltimore Greenway Trails Network, and promote equity, job opportunity, and the environment?
As an individual who is legally blind in one eye and doesn't drive, I have leaned heavily on public transportation over the years and I know the struggles of trying to get around Baltimore without a car especially when trying to get to work or appointments on time and how much more complicated it is to travel this way with young children. I plan on expanding the local circulator to cover more of the city. I will also create a regional transit authority that can complement the MTA and would like to see the return of Baltimore's iconic streetcars as a more environmentally sustainable option than our current buses and would also draw in tourists. I also want to expand coverage of mobility lanes that will allow for safer, faster transit for buses, bikes, emergency vehicles, and pedestrians. My goal is to allow people to travel from one side of the city to the other with the same speed and convenience as if driving in a car.
4. Many cities and counties across the country innovatively address environmental and public health challenges by the use of green stormwater infrastructure, citywide waste reduction and composting, offering free transit to all communities, investing in multi use trail networks, or committing to large-scale tree planting to combat the effects of climate change. What innovative environmental or public health best practices would your administration implement in Baltimore?
From its founding, the inner harbor has been a vital resource to Baltimore City and I would strive to dedicate funding to programs that work with the state Department of Natural Resources and nonprofits and the National Aquarium to help grow and sustain the aquatic fauna of the harbor such as oysters that are natural water filters and their habitats can provide homes for other native aquatic species. I would also work with the city council to create legislation requiring all new commercial buildings to have green roof gardens or terraces so that the tree canopy can grow upwards as well as outwards.
5. City agencies and programs in Baltimore are often reported to work at cross purposes. To make our city cleaner, greener, and more equitable, we need leaders that prioritize innovative collaboration, and elimination of obstacles in city protocols. Describe your willingness to create a Deputy Mayor for Sustainability to integrate green infrastructure and coordinate across agencies and with external resources.
During my time working in the Mayor’s Office, I served as a liaison between constituents and various city agencies so I’m aware of how uncooperative they are and how often emails and messages go ignored, so creating a new position to help coordinate between agencies and ensure communication is flowing freely to better support a greener, stronger city is something I am committed to. Mayors can’t do everything themselves and need a good support staff to work with to ensure that policies are actually being implemented efficiently. Navigating City Hall and our government agencies can be a maze of bureaucratic red tape even for city employees, so realigning and restructuring our agencies and creating new positions to allow for smoother communication and implementation of policy is something I will make a priority in my first 30 days in office.
6. Recent failures in DPW’s notification system left community members in the dark about drinking water contamination. How will your administration ensure rapid and widespread public notification of drinking water contamination, taking into account that all community members are not connected to social media?
I intend to create an emergency notification team that will have set, practiced emergency protocols that allows them to notify the public of important information through a variety of avenues including social media, press releases and commercials on radio, television, and digital news sources, phone call campaigns, and door to door teams handing out flyers detailing the situation, what steps are necessary to ensure resident’s health and safety, and how to learn more about updates. This team will have firm, frequently practiced standard operating procedures that allow the team to respond to a crisis in such a way that within 24 hours, all city residents will learn of the situation, even on weekends and holidays. I will also ensure that the emergency notification team and all other agency heads have clear, decisive chains of command to ensure information flows to the people quickly and accurately.
7. Infrastructure projects such as water & sewer and other utilities require changes to the landscape and require meaningful community engagement, often absent from the process. Recent DPW restorations in places like Lake Ashburton and Chinquapin Run are examples where these projects were not well vetted with the community or monitored for environmental best practices. If given the chance to serve as Mayor, what changes will you make to DPW’s current practices to ensure communities are able to weigh in on or stop projects involving stream restoration and significant tree removal?
Under my administration I will ensure that all major water and sewer projects within neighborhoods must go through three public response meetings before being implemented, one during the day, one in the evening, and one on the weekends to ensure the maximum amount of public input possible. We will also to make sure to advertise these meetings through mailed flyers, telephone calls, social media and local news so that as many people know about them as possible.
8. The City's 10-Year Solid Waste Management Plan calls for investing in new composting and recycling infrastructure to divert our waste from incinerators and landfills and create good green jobs. Will you invest in these and other Zero Waste solutions as Mayor? How will you prioritize them in DPW's capital and operational budget?
I will be taking resources from departments and offices that have been historically overfunded to give to areas that have been historically underfunded. I will make sure that DPW has the funding to not only create and maintain composting and recycling infrastructure but also create contracts with non government agencies to create public sector composting and recycling plants and operations to ensure maximum green infrastructure while reducing the need for landfills and incinerator and by moving funding and resources to them to put to these new endeavors.
9. Vibrant, well-maintained parks are cornerstones of every great city. Baltimore’s Department of Recreation and Parks has responsibility for improving and maintaining over 5,000 acres of parkland, including 25 miles of trails, and achieving the City’s adopted goal of 40% tree canopy. BCRP's comprehensive plan includes a funding strategy to ensure that its capital investments and operations can be sustained and maintained over time. What is your plan to prioritize and sustain investing in BCRP's comprehensive plan, particularly in the face of other competing priorities, and do you support a state-city partnership at Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park as part of BCRP’s comprehensive plan?
Firstly, I plan on increasing BCRP’s budget so they actually have a budget to operate on. One thing I would like to do to increase and maintain our parks and tree canopy is to get local community organizations involved also so that we can maximize the resources needed to turn the city green. Every neighborhood deserves to have their own parks and green areas. As someone who used to work with the state Department of Natural Resources, I am more than willing to reach out to my old colleagues and state agency leads to create a city-state partnership to maintain and grow Baltimore into the greenest, healthiest city in the USA.
10. Baltimore has developed and adopted strategies and comprehensive plans for greening, sustainability, and climate resilience (2018 Green Network Plan, 2019 Sustainability Plan and 2023 Climate Action Plan). Progress has been stymied by agency resistance to change and lack of collaboration among agencies and potential non-profit partners. Nearby cities like Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. have demonstrated how innovation and collaboration, when prioritized by city leaders, can improve outcomes and leverage additional resources. How would you hold agency leaders accountable for implementing adopted city plans and collaborating with other agencies and city stakeholders, and how will you restore faith in your leadership and vision?
I will demand the resignation of any agency leaders that are unwilling to implement the city’s plans for a green sustainable city. Anyone from any city agency unwilling to do their job and collaborate and work with other agencies to make the city better, can put their resignation on my desk and we will find someone else willing and capable to do what’s needed to make our city green and sustainable.
11. Many of Baltimore’s forest patches and green spaces exist outside parks. Our city has over 1,000 community-managed green spaces and over 2,000 forest patches on land that can be bought and sold. These forest patches have higher cooling and stormwater benefits for climate resilience than street trees. Communities often care for these areas providing recreation, wildlife habitat, gathering spaces, community gardens, and other local benefits. What measures will your administration put in place to ensure that such parcels remain in community control and resist development pressures?
In conjunction with City Council and the people of the city, I would work to turn these green spaces into public commons which will be held in public trust in perpetuity. These spaces with this new change in the charter will never be able to be sold to private individuals and will always be green spaces owned by the people to be enjoyed by the people. There’s plenty of land for development, we can more than afford to keep our green spaces green forever.
12. Please tell us your stance. Would you support stronger pollution and monitoring controls on the CSX coal terminal in Baltimore to protect nearby residents? Or do you support the idea of displacing community members near the terminal rather than requiring pollution controls?
I find it both immoral and unethical that a city would even consider displacing its own population rather than fight corporate pollution. The very concept of displacing our people is anathema to my morals. Therefore, my administration will do everything we can to work for a coal-free Baltimore and initiate a process to clean the pollution from Curtis Bay.
13. The City’s Sewage Onsite Support (SOS) program should provide direct cleanup assistance for residents who experience a sewage backup that was caused in part or in full by a condition in the City-owned portion of the collection system, rain or shine. EPA and MDE have directed the City to do just that, but DPW is fighting this directive. Will you commit to implementing this policy within the first 30 days of your term so that thousands of Baltimore residents can get help from sewage backups that are not their fault?
Yes, within my first 30 days I will do everything in my power to enforce that DPW create a plan and begin providing cleanup for residents dealing with sewage backups caused by city owned infrastructure. The people of our city should not be paying for the mistakes their government has made, regardless of whether it's unintentional or not. Our people should not have to clean up the messes left by DPW.
14. Maryland law requires public notification signage be posted along waterways used for recreation and contaminated by sewage overflows. Blue Water Baltimore’s water quality data consistently shows high bacteria levels, caused by sewage overflows, in the Baltimore Harbor after rain. Sewage overflows impact the Baltimore Harbor in both wet and dry weather. With increasing water recreation in the Baltimore Harbor, residents and visitors have the right to know about changes in water quality. If elected, would your administration commit to routine bacteria testing in the Baltimore Harbor and reporting the results to the public? And will you direct DPW to install these signs in accordance with state law?
Yes, upon becoming mayor I will have regular, routine bacteria testing of the harbor and all results will be on a public database anyone can view without the need for MPIA requests. I will put all signage necessary by law where required and even have more signage than required so the public is well aware of the situation in the harbor.
15. Vacant land and green spaces have been inequitably distributed and invested in over time in Baltimore City. The city has created very few new parks in underserved neighborhoods but instead utilizes its Program Open Space funding on park improvements. What would you propose to address this inequity and better serve communities?
I propose as a way to deal with vacant properties and green spaces we utilize eminent domain to purchase whole blocks of vacant properties to create a park in every neighborhood possible. I will focus on the areas that have gotten the least amount of help from the city in this endeavor and they will get priority over areas that already have strong green infrastructures.