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The large majority of the Baltimore City Council is seeking reelection, and members spent 2023 stacking cash ahead of the spring primaries.
The primary is May 14. In deep-blue Baltimore, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 10-to-1, winning in the primary is tantamount to winning in November. Every incumbent member of the council is a Democrat.
1st District
Councilman Zeke Cohen is giving up his seat representing Southeast Baltimore’s 1st District by running for council president. The district is traditionally one of the council’s costliest races. Cohen’s 2020 challenger, Paris Bienert, raised nearly six figures in her unsuccessful quest to unseat him.
Mark Parker — Parker is an Otterbein native who serves as a pastor at Breath of God Lutheran Church in Highlandtown and is running for the seat. He also ran in 2016 and lost to Cohen.
In a news release, Parker said he raised more than $120,000 and has about $135,000 cash on hand. About three-quarters of donations were less than $150.
“That tells me that we have a winning candidate and a winning message that people believe in; it tells me we have a campaign that feels accessible to people across the socioeconomic spectrum,” Tanner Halleran, Parker’s campaign manager, said in a statement.
Liam Davis — Davis is a Greektown resident who has worked in the office of then-City Council President Jack Young as chief clerk of the City Council before joining the city’s Department of Transportation as a legislative affairs manager in 2019. Bienert is now doing his fundraising.
He has $87,123 on hand. Notable donors include Alex and Eric Smith of Atlas Restaurant Group; each gave Davis the maximum individual contribution of $6,000.
Davis had about $27,000 on hand this time last year, while Parker had nearly twice that much cash.
“We’re about four months out now. That’s a ways away, and we’re hungry and ready to work,” Davis said.
Joseph Raymond Koehler — The Democrat also filed to run in the district. He reported raising about $23,300, and has just under $2,000 on hand.
2nd District
Danielle McCray — The incumbent reported having $38,652 on hand.
Most of that money was from years past. In 2023, she raised $3,450. More than half of that was from AFSCME, a city workers’ union, which donated $2,000.
McCray entered office in 2019, replacing former district representative Brandon Scott, who replaced Jack Young as City Council president in the game of political musical chairs that followed the resignation of former Mayor Catherine Pugh. McCray was elected by constituents in 2020.
India Carter — The Democrat also filed to run against McCray in the Democratic primary. Carter did not file a campaign finance report by the deadline.
3rd District
Ryan Dorsey — The incumbent reported having just under $72,000.
The Democrat started 2023 off with $50,254 in the bank, and raised just under $32,300. He spent about $10,800.
Holly Arnold, the administrator and CEO of the Maryland Transit Administration, donated $100 to Dorsey. AFSCME donated $2,000.
Dorsey entered office in 2016.
Margo Bruner-Settles — The social worker is running in the Democratic primary. She reported having $44,450 on hand.
Much of that money came from individual donors who gave the maximum of $6,000, many of whom live outside Baltimore.
LaStephanie Clark of Dundalk, whose employer is listed as the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, donated $6,000. So did Latonya Monroe, who works for the Fairfax County government and lives in Waldorf. Rashanda Webber and Derrick Wells Sr., both of Lakeland, Florida, each gave $6,000. Keith Williams of Waldorf gave $6,000. Melanie Wells of Essex gave $6,000; Michael Wells of Essex gave $5,500.
RAWWW Nation Ministries Inc., listed at an address in Dundalk, donated $6,000.
Marques Dent — The Democrat reported having $890.55 on hand.
4th District
Mark Conway — The incumbent Democrat entered office in 2020.
No other candidates have filed to run for the district’s seat.
5th District
Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer — The incumbent Democrat has a war chest of nearly $540,000, the most of any candidate seeking a council district seat.
Sheila Dixon donated $100. Bobby Cherry, the former Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 president, donated $50. Seawall Development gave $100.
Donors who gave the $6,000 maximum include Philip Gross of O’Fishel Kosher Caterers, Aaron Landau of Catering by Yaffa, Benjamin Strauss of Pricebusters, Jerry Wolasky of HealthSource Distributors and Yehuda Neuberger.
Alex Smith of Atlas Restaurant Group also gave $6,000. Tagliata/Elk Room LLC, named for two Atlas venues, gave $4,000.
The property management company Quest Management gave $6,000, as did The Berg Corporation and Jonathan Landau of Landau Property Holdings, who gave $5,000. Desmond Stinnie gave $2,000.
David Trone’s Senate campaign gave $1,000. Schleifer’s campaign received $1,500 from Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr.’s campaign.
Schleifer received more than $10,000 in donations from PACs. The Baltimore Fire Officers PAC donated $4,000, the Baltimore City Fraternal Order Of Police PAC donated $4,000. Other PAC donations came from groups representing pilots, BGE, and LifeBridge Health.
No other candidates have filed to run for the district’s seat. Schleifer entered office in 2016.
6th District
Sharon Green Middleton — The council vice president and longest-serving member reported having about $71,650 on hand. She raised $21,650 for the year.
Cross Keys Investors gave $1,000. Josh Fannon, the president of IAFF Local 964, personally gave $1,000. Residential Title & Escrow Company in Owings Mills gave $2,500.
Middleton’s campaign donated $250 to Council President Nick Mosby and $250 to 1st District council candidate Liam Davis.
Robyn A. Christian — Christian filed to run but did not upload a campaign finance report by the deadline.
Steven T. Johnson — Johnson filed an affidavit saying his campaign received and spent less than $1,000.
7th District
James Torrence — The Democrat reported having $61,277 on hand.
He received $2,000 from AFSCME.
David Bramble, the MCB developer tasked with revitalizing Harborplace, donated the maximum contribution of $6,000.
Sam Cogen, the Baltimore City sheriff, donated $250. Cherry donated $100. Keiffer Mitchell, a former city councilman and state delegate, donated $100. City Solicitor Ebony Thompson donated $100.
Torrence entered office in 2020.
Christopher Anderson —The Republican filed an affidavit saying his campaign received and spent less than $1,000.
8th District
Kristerfer Burnett — The Democrat entered office in 2016, pledging to serve two terms before stepping down. He has endorsed Paris Gray, who worked in Burnett’s office as a community outreach coordinator, as his replacement.
Burnett spent down his roughly $7,000 balance from the beginning of 2023 to about $1,700.
He transferred $5,000 to Gray, $250 to Councilman James Torrence, $100 to Councilwoman Odette Ramos and $250 to Montgomery County Councilman Will Jawando.
Paris Gray — The Democrat raised more than $30,000 and has about $23,000 on hand.
Leslie Carter, Mayor Brandon Scott’s former deputy chief of staff, donated $510. Dorsey personally donated $250. Burnett’s Chief of Staff Kim Sauer donated $100.
Jeffery David Allen — The Democrat filed to run but did not upload a campaign finance report by the deadline.
9th District
John T. Bullock — The Democrat entered office in 2016. He reported having just over $37,000 on hand.
He received $2,000 from the Baltimore City Fire Fighters Local 734 PAC, $250 from the Baltimore Gas and Electric PAC, $500 from the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and $1,000 from CSX.
Businessman JP Grant donated $1,000. Joshua Fannon, the president of Baltimore Fire Officers IAFF Local 964, donated $3,000. Lobbyists Lisa Harris and Sean Malone of Harris Jones & Malone donated $250 and $200, respectively. Alan Ingraham of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors donated $2,750. MCB Real Estate donated $1,000. Former Mayor Kurt Schmoke donated $250. Developer Ernst Valery donated $350.
Several political campaigns contributed. Bullock received $250 from Sheriff Sam Cogen and $500 from Del. Marlon Amprey.
Matthew K. Johnson — The Democrat filed an affidavit saying his campaign received and spent less than $1,000.
10th District
Phylicia Porter — The Democrat entered office in 2020. She reported having $62,430 on hand.
AFSCME donated $2,000, as did the Baltimore City Fire Fighters Local 734 PAC. The Baltimore Gas and Electric PAC donated $250. The Baltimore Towing Company donated $1,000. Lobbying firm Harris Jones & Malone donated $250.
Sen. Antonio Hayes’ campaign transferred $6,000. Joshua Fannon, the president of Baltimore Fire Officers IAFF Local 964, donated $1,500. Del. Regina T. Boyce and Sen. Sarah Elfreth transferred $250 and $200, respectively, from their campaigns. Former Mayor Catherine Pugh donated $96.07. Alex Smith of Atlas Restaurant Group donated $1,000.
No other candidates have filed to run for the district’s seat.
11th District
Eric Costello — The incumbent Democrat reported a war chest of just over $509,000, the second-largest figure on the council.
Donors that gave the maximum contribution of $6,000 include Alex Smith and his wife Christina Ghani, Eric Smith of Atlas, Frederick Smith of Sinclair Inc., Patrick Grace of Trademark Properties, Matthew Lasinski of Rivermat LLC, Avi Oustatcher of MSB LLC, Mark and Stacey Sapperstein, both of 28Walker, James Stone Jr., a retiree from Massachusetts and Anne Stone of Baltimore.
Businesses that gave $6,000 include Carney Village, Caves Valley Partners II LLC, Comm-Foods Inc., Halp Ridgely Water and Sewer Utility, JAM Enterprises LLC, MOSB Holdings and Refinery Canton LLC.
Costello’s campaign transferred more than $30,000 to his allies. He gave the maximum of $6,000 to campaigns for Sheila Dixon, Robert Stokes, and Liam Davis. He also gave $2,500 to Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, $5,000 to Gov. Wes Moore and $1,000 to Senate President Bill Ferguson. Costello also gave $999 to a Congressional exploratory committee for his girlfriend, state Sen. Sarah Elfreth.
Zac Blanchard — The Democrat registered to run using city’s public financing system. His application is pending submission. Baltimore’s public financing fund uses a formula to match donations — the first $25 of each donor contribution is matched 9-to-1 by the fund, so a $25 donation would be matched by $225. The larger the donation, the smaller the match. Participating candidates must eschew donations greater than $150, as well as any donations from PACs and unions.
From Oct. 5 to Dec. 4, the campaign reported raising $15,307 through 223 donations and requested $64,553.50 from Baltimore City in matched funds. From Dec. 5 to Jan. 10, the campaign reported raising $4,389, but did not request any additional money from the city.
Blanchard has yet to receive any money from the city, which hinges on the campaign meeting public financing requirements as certified by elections officials.
12th District
Robert Stokes — The Democrat entered office in 2016. He reported nearly $103,000 on hand.
He received $250 from the development company Seawall and $1,000 from Severn Development,
Stokes raised $6,000 from Alex Smith of Atlas, $3,000 from Eric Smith of Atlas, $750 from former Councilman Carl Stokes, and $1,000 from The Tucker Group.
Stokes also saw support from his political allies. He received $6,000 from Costello, $2,000 from former Mayor Young, $1,500 from former Sheriff John Anderson and $250 from Cogen. The Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police gave him $2,000.
Jermaine Jones — The former president of the Metropolitan Baltimore Council AFL-CIO registered to run against Stokes as a Democrat. He reported having just under $22,000 on hand.
The former union leader saw wide support from workers’ groups. The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 37 donated $6,000, as did Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local No. 100. The Bricklayers Local 1 PAC donated $1,000, as did the Insulators Union PAC. The International Union of Elevator Constructors Local Union No. 7 donated $250.
Del. Jackie Addison donated $100.
Baltimore Washington Construction, a firm headquartered in Virginia, donated $6,000.
13th District
Antonio Glover — The incumbent Democrat reported having about $44,000 on hand. He entered office in 2020.
Daweiu Lui and Kevin Pfeffer, both of Clarksville, each made the maximum contribution of $6,000.
The campaign has $8,000 in outstanding loans. In 2015, Steve Daviss made a loan of $2,000 to the campaign which remains unpaid. Glover loaned his campaign $6,100 from January to May of 2020, in the months before the primary. Those loans remain unpaid.
No other candidates have filed a run in the district.
14th District
Odette Ramos — The incumbent Democrat reported having about $118,000 on hand. She entered office in 2020.
The district’s former councilwoman, Mary Pat Clarke, donated $1,075. Joan Carter Conway, a former state senator, donated $250. Del. Elizabeth Embry donated $100. 11th District council candidate Zac Blanchard donated $100.
Fannon, the president of IAFF Local 964, gave $2,000. Daniel Ellis, executive director of the Neighborhood Housing Services of Baltimore, donated $250. Gabriel Goodenough, director of a documentary about Mayor Brandon Scott, donated $200. NIck Machado, Mayor Scott’s campaign director, donated $200. Thibault Manekin of the development company Seawall gave $500. Franca Muller Paz, a 2020 candidate for the 12th district, gave $100.
David Wells of the Wine Source, a liquor store in Hampden, gave the sole $6,000 donation.
Renaud Deaundre Brown — The Green Party candidate, will only appear on general election ballots in November. Brown reported having $726 of cash on hand.
William “Buddy” Houston — The Democrat registered to run but did not upload a finance report by the deadline.
This story has been updated to say that Leslie Carter is the former deputy chief of staff to the mayor.
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Emily Sullivan covers Baltimore City Hall. She joined the Banner after three years at WYPR, where she won multiple awards for her radio stories on city politics and culture. She previously reported for NPR’s national airwaves, focusing on business news and breaking news.
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