Soccer Dad

Dean of Howard endorses Howard Dean

The Baltimore Sun reported today that "Schmoke walks fine line in backing Dean." Former Baltimore Mayor and the dean of the Howard University Law School, Kurt Schmoke endorses the former Vermont governor. Ah but there's a catch:

As someone who 15 years ago earned recognition - notoriety, mostly - for his bold suggestion that illegal drugs be decriminalized, Schmoke has had to walk a fine line in supporting any national candidate.

"There are places that I go, and you say my name and it's immediately vilified," he said in a recent interview at his law school office.

But Schmoke has plenty of expertise to share. That's right.

Schmoke knew he could help advise Dean on urban policy.

Um, I hate to bring it up but as mayor Schmoke was a failure. And that's putting it nicely. For ten of the twelve years he he was mayor, Baltimore had a murder rate of over 300.

To put that into context, New Yorkers, by a tiny margin, showed Mayor David Dinkins the door and elected Mayor Rudy Giuliani, when the murder rate in NY reached 2100. New York has ten times the population of Baltimore. So for 10 of the twelve years he was mayor, Schmoke presided over a murder rate that was nearly 50% higher than the rate that got Dinkins booted.

Since being elected, Schmoke's successor, Mayor Martin O'Malley has presided over a reversal of the out of control crime problem. Still he hasn't done enough. I suppose that's a story for another day.

To be comparable to New York in terms of murders per year, Baltimore would have to have a murder rate of about 70. It does not appear to be happening anytime soon. And it is Dean Schmoke and his mismanagement of Baltimore that is largely responsible for that situation.

Alas Schmoke shows no remorse for his incompetence in his job as mayor - that probably was responsible for more deaths than bad Firestone tires - instead he merely passes off his diffidence to his controversial stand on drugs. Please. If I were Howard Dean I'd run away from Schmoke because, despite being elected three times, he was a monumental failure.

Posted by SoccerDad at December 23, 2003 1:09 PM