2007 Baltimore mayoral election

none January 2025 October 2021 2007 Baltimore mayoral election Flag of Baltimore, Maryland.svg Presidential no 2003–04 Baltimore mayoral election 2003–04 2011 Baltimore mayoral election 2011 November 6, 2007 Sheliadixon07 (1).jpg Sheila Dixon Democratic Party (United States) 36,726 86.28% 3x4.svg Elbert Henderson Republican Party (United States) 5,139 12.07% Mayor Sheila Dixon Democratic Party (United States) Sheila Dixon Democratic Party (United States) The 2007 Baltimore mayoral election was held on November 6, 2007. Because Baltimore's electorate is overwhelmingly Democratic, Sheila Dixon's victory in the Democratic primary on September 11 all but assured her of victory in the general election;http://www.wmdt.com/wires/displaystory.asp?id=65600131 October 2021 she defeated Republican candidate Elbert Henderson in the general election by an overwhelming majority. Dixon, who as president of the Baltimore City Council became mayor in January 2007 when Martin O'Malley resigned to become Governor of Maryland, was the first woman to be elected to the office. Background and candidates Martin O'Malley, the winner of the previous mayoral election, was elected governor of Maryland in 2006. Therefore, city council president Sheila Dixon became mayor for the final year of what had been O'Malley's term, and subsequently ran for reelection to a full term. Other candidates for the Democratic nomination included city councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr.; Andrey Bundley, a former school administrator who was O'Malley's only major opponent for the Democratic nomination in 2003; Frank M. Conaway Sr., the only person, other than Dixon, in the race to have won a citywide election, who withdrew before the primary, Maryland state delegate Jill P. Carter;http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=8ff3cfdd-ef68-4971-9787-d6062bda00b9July 2017 InternetArchiveBot yes and perennial Baltimore-area candidate and social activist A. Robert Kaufman. Elbert Henderson was the sole candidate for the Republican nomination; he was the Republican nominee in the previous election, losing by a wide margin to O'Malley.https://www.baltimoresun.com/2007/07/03/2007-city-candidates-set/ 2007 city candidates set John Fritze and Sumathi Reddy baltimoresun.com 2017-09-18 2017-12-07 https://web.archive.org/web/20171207091837/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bal-md.ci.filing03jul03-story.html live Kweisi Mfume, former Congressman and president of the NAACP, was at one point rumored to be considering a run, but ultimately chose not to join the race. The Green Party did not nominate a mayoral candidate.http://www.baltimoregreens.org/candidates_2007.php Baltimore Green Party 2007-07-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20070930020548/http://www.baltimoregreens.org/candidates_2007.php 2007-09-30 dead Dixon had the advantage of incumbency, but Mitchell, who was seen as the mayor's most prominent opponent, hoped to overcome that advantage with a grassroots campaign.http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/elections/bal-mayor1108,0,2190324.story Topic Galleries – baltimoresun.comAugust 2026 medicmedic The beginning of Dixon's term and campaign was dogged by an ethics investigation, although the city's Board of Ethics ultimately found no reason to prosecute her.http://wbal.com/commentary/defilippo/story.asp?articleid=53965 WBAL Radio - Maryland's NEWS TALK SPORTS Station 2007-06-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20070927231806/http://wbal.com/commentary/defilippo/story.asp?articleid=53965 2007-09-27 dead An upsurge of violent crime in Baltimore during the first half of 2007 affected early campaigning. Dixon launched a number of anti-crime initiatives, focusing on illegal guns.https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/us/03baltimore.html Baltimore Mayor Unveils Strategy to Attack Increase in Gun Crime Melody Simmons The New York Times 3 May 2007 15 June 2018 16 June 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180616001927/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/us/03baltimore.html live Mitchell's initial campaign moves focused on crime; Carter, criticizing Dixon's administration for what she called overzealous policing, promised a total revamp of the police department, stating that "if we had leadership in this city, we would have already changed police commissioners." The Baltimore police commissioner later resigned his post on July 19, in an act that some observers felt would affect the course of the race.http://wtop.com/?sid=1193365&nid=104 WTOP: Washington, DC's Top News, Traffic, and Weather WTOP 2007-07-27 2007-09-27 https://web.archive.org/web/20070927210229/http://wtop.com/?sid=1193365&nid=104 live July 2007 With less than two months remaining before the Democratic primary, Carter officially announced her candidacy, and poll of likely Democratic voters commissioned by the Baltimore Sun showed Mayor Dixon holding a comfortable lead over her nearest challenger. The poll, released on July 16, 2007, had Dixon leading Councilman Mitchell with 47 percent of the likely primary voters to Mitchell's 15 percent. The rest of the field was in single digits, below the poll's margin of error, with 28 percent undecided. Although candidates would not be required to release fundraising numbers until August, Dixon was reported to have sizeable lead in this area as well.http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-te.ci.mayor16jul16,0,6341243.story?coll=bal-home-headlines https://web.archive.org/web/20070930035419/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-te.ci.mayor16jul16,0,6341243.story?coll=bal-home-headlines dead Dixon dominates field -- baltimoresun.com 30 September 2007 30 September 2007 August 2007 With little more than a month left until the primary election, Dixon further distanced herself from her primary opponents. On August 3, 2007, Mitchell's father resigned as treasurer of his son's mayoral campaign after it was discovered that he spent more than $40,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses.http://www.wbaltv.com/news/13813364/detail.html https://archive.today/20070516080128/http://www.wbaltv.com/news/13813364/detail.html dead Mitchell's Father Quits As Campaign Treasurer - Baltimore News Story … 16 May 2007 16 May 2007 Despite this incident, Mitchell said that his campaign remained focused on the problems facing Baltimore City. Meanwhile, Carter focused her campaign on the impending 50% BGE rate hike calling for re-regulation, reforming public education, and effective policing, and restoring integrity to City Hall while continuing her attack on Dixon by charging her with not showing at local political forums and for sending city employees in her stead. At a press conference outside City Hall, Carter and a campaign worker dressed in a yellow chicken suit handed out copies of a letter she sent to the State Ethics commission complaining about the practice. September 2007 Just over a week before election day, a September 2 Baltimore Sun poll had Dixon maintaining her strong lead. According to the Sun, "Dixon leads City Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. by 46 percent to 19 percent – a 27 percentage-point spread – according to the poll conducted by OpinionWorks, an independent Annapolis-based firm." According to a number of experts, the race never really became competitive. Lenneal J. Henderson, a professor at the University of Baltimore's School of Public Affairs, said, "I think it is over. It would take a huge misstep on the part of Sheila Dixon for her not to win this one.http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-te.md.ci.poll02sep02,0,2074461.story Dixon keeps strong lead – baltimoresun.com 2007-09-02 https://web.archive.org/web/20070930023846/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-te.md.ci.poll02sep02,0,2074461.story 2007-09-30 dead" Bundley (4%) and Carter (2%) showed no improvement over the previously released July poll. Democratic Primary On the night of the primary, less than three hours after the polls closed, Mitchell conceded defeat and Dixon claimed victory in the primary election. Televised debate On Monday night, August 27, 2007, all eight democratic candidates for Mayor appeared in a debate televised by Maryland Public Television and WBAL-TV. During his introduction, candidate Conaway announced that he was withdrawing from the race and throwing "his money and support" behind candidate Mitchell.http://wbal.com/news/story.asp?articleid=62412 Frank Conaway Drops Out of Mayor's Race at Candidates Forum - WBAL Radio - wbal.com 2007-08-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20070927231647/http://wbal.com/news/story.asp?articleid=62412 2007-09-27 dead The debate lasted fifty-five minutes with each candidate giving an opening and closing statement and answering questions posed by reporters in between. The debate was sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Greater Baltimore Committee. Fundraising Baltimore's WJZ-TV reported that the Dixon campaign said that as of August 30, it had more than $480,000 left to spend in the final two weeks before the September 11th Democratic primary. Carter's campaign reported having just over $8,000 on hand,http://mdelections.umbc.edu/campaign_finance/sumprocess.php?fsk=A00000362420070001 Campaign Finance Database – Summary report search results 2007-09-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20080811012146/http://mdelections.umbc.edu/campaign_finance/sumprocess.php?fsk=A00000362420070001 2008-08-11 dead and Bundley's campaign reported having $15,000 left as of the mid August 2007 campaign reporting date.http://mdelections.umbc.edu/campaign_finance/sumprocess.php?fsk=A00000485920070001 Campaign Finance Database – Summary report search results 2007-09-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20080811012141/http://mdelections.umbc.edu/campaign_finance/sumprocess.php?fsk=A00000485920070001 2008-08-11 dead Mitchell had just over $115,000 in cash on hand as of August 26.http://wjz.com/local/local_story_242201349.html wjz.com – Dixon Keeps Fundraising Lead With New Poll Ahead 2007-09-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20070927195538/http://wjz.com/local/local_story_242201349.html 2007-09-27 dead Primary election results These are the final, official results for the Democratic primary, as reported on the city of Baltimore's election board Web site.http://www.baltimorecity.gov/government/elections/results/ Baltimore City Elections Board City of Baltimore, Maryland – Official Website www.baltimorecity.gov 2007-09-13 2007-10-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20071011155700/http://www.baltimorecity.gov/government/elections/results/ live Candidate Votes % Sheila Dixon 54,381 63.1% Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr.20,37623.7% Andrey Bundley 6,5437.6% Jill P. Carter 2,3722.8% A. Robert Kaufman 8851.0% Mike Schaefer 7620.9% Frank Conaway 5330.6% Phillip Brown 273 0.3% Elbert Henderson ran unopposed in the Republican primary. General election campaign Because of the city's overwhelmingly Democratic tilt, campaigning largely ceased after the primary, with Dixon and other citywide candidates maintaining "bare-bones" campaign staffs.http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.ci.voters06nov06,0,5862973.story Topic Galleries – baltimoresun.comAugust 2026 medicmedic On a low-turnout general election day, Dixon defeated her Republican challenger with more than 86 percent of the vote. Mayoral endorsements A number of city groups offered endorsements of the various candidates over the course of the campaign: Democratic Party Republican Party Candidate Endorser Date of Endorsement Comments Andrey Bundley none listed yet no endorsements listed on campaign web-site Phillip Brown none listed yet no campaign web-site yet Jill P. Carter ACORNhttp://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/elections/blog/2007/07/miscellany_1.html Sun reporters discuss news related to the 2007 local election 2007-08-01 https://web.archive.org/web/20070930044633/http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/elections/blog/2007/07/miscellany_1.html 2007-09-30 dead July 31, 2007 Community organization that spearheaded campaign for Question P in 2002 Frank Conaway Withdrew 8/27/07 Sheila Dixon SEIU June 12, 2007 national union of service workers, with local in Baltimore United Auto Workers June 20, 2007 Laborers Baltimore Washington Council July 12, 2007 national union of construction laborers and public employees representing 5,000 laborers in Baltimore Md & DC State Council of Machinists July 2, 2007 all machinists locals in Baltimore UNITE HERE July 12, 2007 represents 20,000 hospitality, food service, laundry, retail and apparel workers in Baltimore and the surrounding region. Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters July 14, 2007 represents 12,000 members Baltimore Retired Police Benevolent Union July 14, 2007 represents retired Baltimore police officers. Baltimore AFL-CIOhttp://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.ci.union21jul21,0,6345829.story Labor group backs Dixon, Rawlings-Blake – baltimoresun.com 2007-07-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20070930032813/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.ci.union21jul21,0,6345829.story 2007-09-30 dead July 19, 2007 all AFL-CIO affiliated unions in Baltimore Peter Franchothttp://wbal.com/news/story.asp?articleid=61086 Mayoral Endorsements Keep Coming - WBAL Radio - wbal.com 2007-07-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20070927231822/http://wbal.com/news/story.asp?articleid=61086 2007-09-27 dead July 24, 2007 Maryland state comptroller, polled well in Baltimore City Elijah Cummingshttp://wbal.com/news/story.asp?articleid=61816 O'Malley to Endorse Dixon; Dixon Backs Rawlings-Blake - WBAL Radio - wbal.com 2007-08-12 https://web.archive.org/web/20070927231640/http://wbal.com/news/story.asp?articleid=61816 2007-09-27 dead August 12, 2007 Maryland congressman, polled well in Baltimore City Martin O'Malley August 13, 2007 Maryland governor, polled well in Baltimore City Kweisi Mfumehttp://www.wbaltv.com/news/13879503/detail.html O'Malley, Mfume Endorse Dixon In Mayor's Race – Baltimore News Story – WBAL Baltimore dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070927040731/http://www.wbaltv.com/news/13879503/detail.html 2007-09-27 August 13, 2007 former Maryland congressman, former head of the NAACP Progressive Maryland August 22, 2007 statewide progressive organization with over 1,000 Baltimore members The Baltimore Sun September 2, 2007 Baltimore's major daily newspaper The Baltimore Afro-American August 25, 2007 published weekly Desiree Dotson Withdrew – 19 March 2007 A. Robert Kaufman none listed yet no endorsements listed on campaign web-site Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr.Douglas GanslerJanuary, 2007 Maryland Attorney General Baltimore FOP July 24, 2007 organization of police officers Baltimore City Sheriff's Office Lodge July 31, 2007 organization of deputy sheriffshttp://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.ci.sheriff31jul31,0,5286836.story Topic Galleries – baltimoresun.comAugust 2026 medicmedic Baltimore City Firefighters Local 734 August 9, 2007 organization of active and retired firefightershttp://wbal.com/news/story.asp?articleid=61734 Mitchell Picks up Firefighters' Endorsements - WBAL Radio - wbal.com 2007-08-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20070927231751/http://wbal.com/news/story.asp?articleid=61734 2007-09-27 dead Baltimore City Fire Officers Local 964 August 9, 2007 organization of active and retired fire officers Frank Conaway August 27, 2007 Baltimore City Clerk of the Courts, former 2007 mayoral candidate. City Paper September 5, 2007 Baltimore City alternative newspaper, published weekly Mike Schaefer none listed yet no endorsements listed on campaign web-site Elbert Henderson none listed no web-site yet General election results These are the official results for the general election, as reported on the city of Baltimore's election board Web site.http://archive.baltimorecity.gov/portals/0/agencies/elections%20board/public%20downloads/2007%20GENERAL%20election%20results.pdf Statement of Votes Cast Baltimore Elections Board July 5, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150706030438/http://archive.baltimorecity.gov/portals/0/agencies/elections%20board/public%20downloads/2007%20GENERAL%20election%20results.pdf 2015-07-06 dead Candidate Votes % Sheila Dixon 36,726 86.28% Elbert Henderson5,13912.07% Other city elections All other Baltimore city officers were also up for election simultaneously with the mayor, including the fourteen members of the Baltimore City Council (elected from single-member districts) and the City Council President and City Comptroller (both elected citywide). Incumbent comptroller Joan Pratt ran unopposed in both the Democratic primary and the general election, and none of the twelve council members seeking re-election faced serious competition in either election; one ran unopposed in the primaryhttp://www.elections.state.md.us/elections/baltimore/2007_primary_results.html 2007 Baltimore City Primary Official Election Results Maryland State Board of Elections www.elections.state.md.us 2007-11-08 2016-03-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180714/http://www.elections.state.md.us/elections/baltimore/2007_primary_results.html live and seven ran unopposed in the general election. All fourteen council members returned in the general election were Democrats, as has been the case in every election since 1939. The race for the Democratic nomination for City Council President was perhaps the closest of the election cycle. The two major candidates were incumbent Stephanie Rawlings Blake, a former council member who had been appointed to fill the position with Dixon became mayor, and Michael Sarbanes, a community activist and the son of former United States Senator Paul Sarbanes and brother of U.S. Congressman John Sarbanes. A July poll had the two virtually tied, with 27 percent of respondents favoring Sarbanes and 26 percent favoring Rawlings Blake, with Councilman Kenneth N. Harris Sr. a distant third at 8 percent.https://www.baltimoresun.com/2007/07/17/a-tight-contest-for-front-runner/ A tight contest for front-runner Sumathi Reddy baltimoresun.com July 17, 2007 2021-10-04 2021-06-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20210625020435/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2007-07-17-0707170079-story.html live Rawlings Blake subsequently overtook Sarbanes, however, and won the primary election with 49 percent of the vote to Sarbanes' 38 percent. In the general election, the incumbent handily defeated her only opponent, Green candidate Maria Allwine, garnering 82 percent of the vote. References 30em External links City mayoral race begins to take shapeAugust 2026 medicmedic, Baltimore Sun, November 9, 2006 Dixon's campaign leads in fundingAugust 2026 medicmedic Baltimore Sun, November 14, 2006 Candidate Web sites Andrey Bundley official site Jill Carter official site Frank Conway official site Sheila Dixon official site https://web.archive.org/web/20070617182017/http://www.sheiladixon.com/home June 17, 2007 Robert Kaufman myspace site Keiffer Mitchell official site Mike Schaefer official site Michael Sarbanes official site Category:2000s in Baltimore Category:2007 Maryland elections Baltimore Category:November 2007 in the United States Category:Mayoral elections in Baltimore