How Not to Get Re-Elected

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon has proposed legislative changes to the city's charter that would make it easier for the city to buy commerical goods and services (not a bad thing) but would also reduce the control and oversight of taxpayer funds by the public and City Council (a really bad thing).

Two charter amendments Dixon introduced in the City Council would reduce public notice requirements for purchases over $25,000, allow the city to adjust spending controls more freely and make it easier for the administration to win approval for over-budget spending.

The legislation comes a year after Dixon faced criticism for her spending practices as City Council president.

A series of articles in The Sun documented her involvement in a contract that benefited a company that employed her sister. Dixon was also criticized for paying $500,000 to a former campaign chairman's company without a contract.

And earlier this month, The Sun reported on questionable purchases by the Baltimore Fire Department that circumvented the city's typical spending practices.

Dixon, who became Mayor after previous Mayor Martin O'Malley was elected governor is facing an election this year and it seems to me that this move just does not make sense if you are asking the voters to return you to office. Dixon's leading opponent, Councilman Keiffer Mitchell, is in exactly the opposite camp on spending matters, actually proposing rules that would limit the spending authority of the mayor.

In a city where public budgeting and funding are, at best, an iffy affair, getting lesser controls over spending seems to be a silly move in an election year.