BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts rebuffed Mayor Brandon Scott's demand to immediately remove its Chief Executive Officer, Donna Drew Sawyer.
Scott called for her removal after backlash from an initial decision to cancel the City's Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade.
The Mayor said he'd lost confidence in Sawyer's ability to lead citing other past missteps including "the flawed scheduling of Artscape on Rosh Hashanah."
In a letter to the organization Scott demanded that Sawyer step down by January 15, vowing to withhold funding from the organization unless the change was made.
Scott also threatened to hand over the organization's responsibilities to other City agencies if Sawyer stayed on board.
RELATED: Baltimore MLK Day parade back on, Mayor demands BOPA executive's removal
On Tuesday after learning Sawyer would not be removed, at least for now, Scott did just that.
He appointed Tonya Miller Hall, the organization's Chief Marketing and Programs Officer, as his Senior Advisor for Arts & Cultural Affairs.
According to Scott, Hall will act on behalf of the Mayor and City of Baltimore to develop "a fresh perspective and strategy for revitalizing our communities and harnessing Baltimore's rich artistic talent and cultural assets to enhance the quality of life for all residents."
As for the MLK Day Parade, it will be held at noon on January 16 at the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Eutaw Street.
