Politics

Many in Baltimore Community React with Skepticism to O’Malley’s Claims of Progressive Bona Fides

Published

9 years ago

June 9, 2015

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley speaks before signing a bill abolishing capital punishment in the state during a ceremony in Annapolis, Md., Thursday, May 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

by Roberto Alejandro
Special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspaper

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley officially entered the presidential race May 30 with a speech in Baltimore’s Federal Hill, but many in Baltimore are skeptical of both his chances as well as the idea that he is a legitimate liberal alternative to Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“[O’Malley’s candidacy] is still a long shot,” wrote John Bullock, professor of political science at Towson University, in a statement to the AFRO. “He is trying to present himself as a credible alternative to Clinton, but that may not be successful unless she falters. In his announcement, he attempted to appeal to progressives, but Bernie Sanders has the strongest record in that area.”

Indeed, O’Malley made his case for the Democratic nomination during his announcement speech on the strength of a series of supposedly progressive accomplishments during his time in city and state government.

“Together, we made our city believe again and we invented a better and new way of governing called CitiStat, and we got things done. Together, we made our state’s public schools the best in the nation. We made college more affordable for more families. . . . We led our people forward through a devastating recession and we took greater care to protect the land, the air, and the waters of our Chesapeake Bay. And we passed the DREAM Act and we passed marriage equality. Together, we raised the minimum wage and we maintained the highest median income of any state in the nation,” said O’Malley, according to a video of his announcement speech on his campaign website.

But it is not only Sanders’s progressive record that O’Malley will have to overcome, but the skepticism of those who lived through the era of these alleged progressive accomplishments and remember it differently.

“It’s the job of people like myself and others who know O’Malley, who directly engaged and challenged his policies as it relates to Black people to elevate the stories about the things that he did during his time as governor, his time as mayor, to push back against that idea (of O’Mally as a progressive),” said Dayvon Love, public policy director for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, referring, in part, to O’Malley’s institution of zero tolerance policing during his time as Baltimore City mayor and the O’Malley administration’s support for a $100 million youth jail that was halted by grassroots efforts a number of years ago.

For Leo Burroughs, chairman of the Committee of Concerned Citizens, that history of pursuing policies that were often deleterious to persons of color makes O’Malley more of a “blue dog Democrat” than a tried-and-true liberal.

“[O’Malley is] extraordinarily good at wheeling and dealing in ways that are not in the best interest of the poor, Blacks, or the middle-class. Horrible thought this guy running…but he knows how to reconfigure and reinvent himself,” said Burroughs. “He feigns being some kind of a liberal—this guy was never a liberal; he was always Mr. Zero Tolerance and he’s still Mr. Zero Tolerance.”

To media consultant and political strategist Catalina Byrd, the persons speaking in support of O’Malley at his announcement event were representative of the alleged disconnect between the politician’s rhetoric and policies, of which Burroughs and Love spoke.

“The people that he had speaking for him . . . either weren’t here (in Baltimore City) when he was mayor, or lived outside the city and don’t know what type of mayor he was, or were not impacted—based on their social status, or their fiscal status—by the type of governor that he was, and can’t make the connection and the correlation to how he has failed at every level besides just winning every election. He’s failed in terms of leadership and new direction for both the city and the state,” said Byrd.

In his announcement speech, O’Malley said his accomplishments in Maryland were a function of new leadership and perspective, but it seems he will have to do a better job of convincing the nation this is what he brings to the table than he has some of his previous constituents.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

6 days ago

April 26, 2024

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MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.