It is possible for Baltimore to have a visionary mayor

I admire Dan Rodricks’ fervent loyalty to Baltimore, but think decades of failed city leadership have lowered his expectations and narrowed his ability to see what the city could be with a “visionary” mayor he seems too exasperated to believe possible. (“A visionary mayor would be nice, but focus on Baltimore’s big, fundamental problems will suffice,” 7/12/2019)

Of course city residents deserve potholes filled, water mains fixed and safe neighborhoods. Families also deserve schools where all students can read, write and solve math problems necessary to live and work, and jobs for them when they graduate until they retire.

None of that can happen, however, with someone who is just a “placeholder” — as Jack Young described himself upon taking over from disgraced Mayor Catherine Pugh. What does a man who has presided over Baltimore’s decline for 21 years in his position on the city council, and now as interim mayor, offer current residents and potential ones? His passion for managing with less?

Baltimore can’t be any more efficient. It has already lost too many people and businesses paying taxes to support its current infrastructure. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s current financial crisis is just the latest example. Building a bigger convention center or keeping the Preakness Stakes won’t turn the city around. It’s time to admit those facts and elect someone who will cut Baltimore’s sky-high property taxes in half to give current residents a reason to stay and prospective ones a huge incentive to move.

There’s a lot to love about “Smalltimore.” As G.K. Chesterton wrote, “The man who lives in a small community lives in a much larger world. He knows much more of the fierce variety and uncompromising divergences of men.” But Baltimore needs to be a bigger small town not just to survive but to thrive as Mr. Rodricks so clearly wants for his beloved city.

Only a mayoral candidate willing to lead its expansion through a property-tax cut and show the public how should be considered for the job.

Marta H. Mossburg

The writer is a visiting fellow with The Maryland Public Policy Institute