BALTIMORE — A great deal is set to change after this Tuesday's election, but one thing in Baltimore is staying the same: the amount of members on the City Council.
A group of advocates celebrated the results of a ballot measure which could have cut the number of councilmembers almost in half. Voters denied the measure, keeping the membership at 14.
"The voters of Baltimore City were loud and proud in their opposition to Question H," said Ricarra Jones, political director for 1199 SEIU, as she began a Thursday afternoon news conference.
Folks at the Thursday celebration said downsizing the council would have left Baltimore vulnerable to wealthy interests. A coalition of opponents - dubbed 'Baltimore City Not For Sale' said in a news release it knocked on more than 3,000 doors.
"We proved when we educate and organize voters, we win. When we fight, we win," said Courtney Jenkins, president of the Metropolitan Baltimore Council of AFL-CIO unions.
Susan Russell, a volunteer with Jews United for Justice, spoke to voters about declining the measure, and said the effort to defeat it was due in part to the work of hundreds of volunteers.
"The thought of outsiders using their wealth to exert political control in Baltimore deeply angered me," Russell said.
According to the Maryland Board of Elections, voters rejected the charter amendment 62 percent to 37 percent.
The "PEACE Baltimore" group supported Question H - arguing it was "long overdue" local reform to reflect the city's declining population, and would help save taxpayers money.
Opponents Thursday expressed gratitude 100,000 voters agreed with them.
"Let me be clear: this fight was about more than just the reduction of the City Council, or any single policy issue. It was about keeping our local democracy intact, about maintaining our power, our communities, as people who deserve to have a say in what happens here," said Ashley Esposito, a member of Baltimore for Democracy and the city school board.
WMAR asked Jenkins why unions took up this particular fight.
"This is a working-class city," Jenkins responded. "And any issue like that impacts the members we proudly represent. But also, unions fight for democracy and fair representation inside the workplace. So what happens is, that translates to the neighborhoods and communities we live in."
