The race to become Baltimore City's next mayor shrunk by one on Wednesday when City Councilman Nick Mosby decided to take himself out of the running.
"It was the most difficult decision of my life, but it was for the right reasons," Mosby said.
City Councilman Nick Mosby's decision to drop out of the mayoral race didn't come easy, but he has no regrets.
"When I entered the race it wasn't really about me it was about the city and moving the city in a new direction. I'm excited. I'm still going be here and I'm going to be very participatory in the progress of the city of Baltimore, but this chance of going at Mayor didn’t just work out this time."
After his exit, Mosby joined other key leaders throwing his support to State Senator Catherine Pugh.
"She's well positioned to connect with federal and state partners to ensure that the resources are coming into Baltimore."
Wednesday Pugh gained endorsements from Jamal Bryant, former National NAACP President Benjamin Jealous and Baltimore Attorney Billy Murphy. They agreed it was a difficult decision but said there's a lot at stake.
"We cannot go backwards, we must go forward. We cannot have the country question the future of Baltimore."
"It's an opportunity to move past the unrest that happened last year to really infuse some fresh ideas."
Dr. Mileah Kromer, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Goucher College agrees this mayoral race is a very important election for the city. While it's close between Catherine Pugh and former mayor Shelia Dixon, Kromer believes Pugh's following may give her an edge in the race. She also adds Mosby's departure could help.
"When we break down Catherine Pugh's numbers, she's getting from those who are college educated individuals are breaking for Catherine Pugh winning votes in the Western district where Mosby's from will be essential for her building the coalition to beat Shelia Dixon."
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story mistakenly stated Kweisi Mfume had endorsed Catherine Pugh. As of April 14 that was not the case. The story has been updated to reflect the correct information. ABC2 regrets the error.
