Monday night the Baltimore City Council met for the first time since indictments were handed up against Mayor Sheila Dixon, Councilwoman Helen Holton and developer Ronald Lipscomb.
The mayor does not typically attend council meetings, so the focus was on Helen Holton -- would she show up, and would she talk about the four criminal indictments she's facing? The answers were yes, and yes.
Councilwoman Holton, who represents the 8th district, which is in West Baltimore, entered the council chamber confidently, and after the members worked through the night's agenda she stood up and declared she would be cleared of all charges. ‘These last several days have been very difficult for me and my family. I also want to assure you and the public that i have done nothing wrong,’ she said.
Holton faces charges of bribery, perjury, malfeasance and nonfeasance in office. Prosecutors allege that she took a bribe from Lipscomb in exchange for her approval of city tax breaks for several buildings he is developing in the Harbor East neighborhood.
Council members pledged their support to Holton and to Mayor Dixon, who has also been indicted by the same grand jury. ‘I just want to remind us all that allegations are exactly that, and they will be answered as part of a legal process,’ said Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
They also pledged to keep working, despite the indictments. ‘The mantra is, tough times don't last tough people do. We'll just tough it out,’ said Councilwoman Rochelle 'Rikki' Spector, who represents the 5th district.
Councilman William Cole will take over from Holton as acting chairman of the Taxation, Finance and Economic Development Committee. In her statement, Holton took a shot at the state prosecutor, saying the indictments against her were ‘cobbled together’ to justify the cost of a four-year-investigation. ‘I would ask all to reserve any judgment, and not draw any conclusions while these charges are exposed to the sunlight of public scrutiny, and the glare of the truth,’ she said.
At this time, a court date has not been set for the charges against Helen Holton. The mayor's arraignment has been scheduled for February 3rd.