Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon was indicted today on multiple charges by a Maryland state prosecutor.  The 12 counts in total include alleged theft, perjury and misconduct by Charm City’s first female Mayor. Dixon also now holds the dubious distinction of also being the first sitting Mayor of the city to be criminally charged.

At the heart of the allegations is the Mayor’s business relationship with her former boyfriend Ronald Lipscomb, a well connected real estate developer in the city, who this week was also charged with bribing a member of the Baltimore City Council.  Lipscomb allegedly gave Dixon over $15,000 in gifts while doing business with the city.  But perhaps the lowest alleged wrongdoing by the Mayor are charges that she used $3,400 in retail gift cards, donated to her office specifically to help needy families, to buy electronics equipment for herself, her staff and her family at Best Buy.

As a Baltimore resident this is truly saddening news.  Not only do Baltimoreans (obviously) deserve a City government and Mayor’s Office that they can trust is above corruption, but the sheer pettiness of some of these allegations, should they prove true, is just astounding.  Someone who would risk their career for such a pittance and in such a despicable, amoral way doesn’t deserve to anywhere near the levers of power in any community.

You can takepart in actually helping people achieve a better life in the City of Baltimore by checking out the College Bound Foundation.

LINKS:

Baltimore Sun:  Mayor Sheila Dixon Indicted

Reuters: Baltimore Mayor Dixon indicted - state prosecutor

NY Times: Baltimore Mayor indicted in theft and perjury case