BALTIMORE (AP) — Greater than a decade after being convicted of embezzling donated present playing cards, a former Baltimore mayor has introduced she’s once more working for workplace.
Sheila Dixon, who resigned as a part of a 2010 plea settlement within the corruption case, penned an op-ed in The Baltimore Solar on Thursday apologizing for her previous digressions and asserting her candidacy within the metropolis’s 2024 mayoral race. This marks her third bid for mayor following two unsuccessful makes an attempt since her personal tenure resulted in scandal.
Dixon will go up in opposition to present Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott within the metropolis’s Democratic major. Scott is working for a second time period.
In December 2009, a jury discovered Dixon responsible of embezzlement for misusing present playing cards that had been donated to Metropolis Corridor for charity. As an alternative of utilizing them to serve the poor, Dixon spent about $500 at Goal and Finest Purchase to buy issues for her household and workers.
Extra perjury prices in opposition to her had been later dropped. Dixon served 4 years probation and accomplished different necessities. She was additionally barred from in search of political workplace for 2 years.
In her letter revealed Thursday in The Solar, Dixon provided a recent apology whereas stressing that her conviction was a misdemeanor offense.
“I’ve actually made errors in my private life, one in every of which resulted in a misdemeanor cost that pressured my resignation from the job I cherished essentially the most,” she wrote. “I let issues of the center lead me astray as soon as earlier than, and for that, and the ache that it brought on to my beloved Baltimore, I’m actually sorry. I hope the folks understand that my love for the way forward for Baltimore outweighs the errors of my previous.”
Baltimore’s first feminine mayor, Dixon has touted her efforts to cut back violent crime, pave roads and clear up uncared for neighborhoods. The town’s murder fee dropped throughout her tenure whereas arrests additionally declined.
A Baltimore native, Dixon served for years on the Metropolis Council earlier than changing into mayor.
Throughout a information convention late Thursday morning, she advised Baltimore voters they will belief her as a result of she has discovered from her previous errors and she or he is aware of tips on how to make metropolis authorities work for the town’s most susceptible residents. Dixon stated she nonetheless will get calls frequently from individuals who need assistance. She talked about her current efforts to get providers for a mom of three whose household was residing out of her automobile.
Wearing a lightweight pink swimsuit, Dixon appeared earlier than a crowd of supporters in a west Baltimore park that was just lately reworked from a vacant lot the place folks would illegally dump trash. She stated her marketing campaign will deal with public security, metropolis colleges and authorities accountability.
“I’m essentially the most clear particular person, essentially the most reliable particular person as a result of if you make errors … you do the whole lot to enhance upon your self, and that’s a day by day job that it’s important to do,” she stated.
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