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Mayor O'Malley's new Chief of Staff Clarence Bishop
I want to take this opportunity to formally introduce you to Clarence Bishop, my new Chief of Staff and senior staff person on economic and business matters. In light of ongoing reports regarding the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association (BACVA), an agency responsible to Clarence, your awareness of him and the scope of his responsibilities, as well as my thoughts on BACVA are appropriate at this time.

Following the decision of the U.S Olympic Committee not to accept the region’s bid to host the 2012 Olympic games, we were fortunate that Clarence chose to join us in such an important capacity. It is not very often that a person with Clarence’s skills and experience becomes available for any high level job, especially one in public service. He knows government, he knows business and he knows the Baltimore community.

Clarence is currently overseeing the administrative aspects of the Mayor's office, while also serving as my point person for all things of an economic development and business nature. This also includes advancing gains in minority business expansion and the continuing deliberations on Maglev. Also, he will provide management oversight to projects such as the West Side Development, the East Side EBDI Redevelopment project, the Pimlico Race Course, and the redevelopment of the Uplands area in West Baltimore.

Agencies in Clarence’s orbit of responsibility include: BDC; the Mayor's office relations with GBC, GBA, and the Downtown Partnership; the First Mariner Center, the Parking Authority, Planning Department, Office of Employment Development, and BACVA. I feel he will be particularly skillful in getting these entities to work together for the benefit of the City. In just a few short months, he has already improved the performance of virtually everyone around him, raising the expectations and performances of colleagues who have quickly come to depend on his skill sets.

Prior to his role in the Olympic initiative, Clarence spent more than 22 years in executive leadership and management in local and federal government. His tours include several senior management positions with the U.S. Product Safety Commission, directing the staffs of two highly respected U. S. congressman as well as senior staff roles with the U.S. Department of Commerce. A native Baltimorean and graduate of our city schools and Morgan State University, he also brings a rich volunteer history, as board member of the Downtown Partnership, the Inner Harbor Master Plan, the Mayor’s Cultural Tourism Council, and most notably, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association (BACVA).

Mayor O'Malley Presents Redistricting Plan to Council
Referendum forces Downsizing
As mandated by law, Mayor Martin O'Malley today presented to City Council the decennial Baltimore City redistricting plan, a proposal complicated by a recent referendum which required City officials to reduce the size of the council by almost 25-percent.

Because the City's Republican and Democratic primaries are currently scheduled for September 2003, the map must be presented to the Council by February 1, 2003. The Council has 60 days to approve the redistricting plan. If Council amends the plan, it can still be vetoed by the Mayor. Mayoral veto can only be overridden by a supermajority of the council, which would entail 15 votes. If no plan is adopted within 60 days, the Mayor's original plan is automatically adopted.

For the Hispanic community that means that Spanish Town remains in the 1st. district but only John Cain lives in it. The other cityh council persons, Nichilas D'Adamo and Lois Garey are now out of it, both living in the newly formed 2nd. This creates the possibility that a Republican, Joe Santoni of Santoni's market may have a real possibility of capturing the 1st. distric. He has already tried once and a victory will make him the first Republican to sit on the City Council.

This also means that, for the first time a Hispanic may have a chance of running for and capturing the district. This is an exciting possibility that needs to be explored and considered carefully.

See the map of the new districts at http://baltimorecity.gov/news/images/new_council_map_roads.pdf