Baltimore City mayoral candidates debated vacant homes in the city at a candidate forum on Saturday, April 13 at Unity Hall. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott attended along with candidates Shelia Dixon and Thiru Vignarajah.
“We know Baltimore has had housing issues for generations, and one of my promises to residents in my last campaign was immediately start the work to undo those decades of this investment,” Mayor Scott said.
He then went on to reference the 16,000 vacant properties that existed in Baltimore before his terms started. He said this number is now down to 13,000, which is the lowest the city has seen in 20 years. Additionally, he explained his current plan to work with city council to invest in redeveloping areas like Park Heights.
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Shortly after saying this, Mayor Scott had to leave the forum after only a few minutes due to a shooting at Mondawmin Mall.
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Candidate Shelia Dixon also spoke on the broken lots and properties.
“Vacant houses didn’t start yesterday or 20 years ago,” Dixon said. “The challenges that we’ve had in this city is where we put our priority.”
She went on to explain her contributions when she was mayor to support re-developments in Upland and Druid Heights. She explained that she hopes to streamline the re-development process and get properties in the hands of developers as soon as possible.
Candidate Thiru Vignarajah criticized Mayor Scott and former mayor Shelia Dixon’s handling of vacant properties and lots in Baltimore. He claimed that their use of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) is “part of the problem.”
TIPS are indexed to inflation to protect investors from inflation and make their investment in a property more lucrative. The use of it in property development is meant to encourage interest from developers and therefore drive redevelopment.
Thiru Vignarajah claimed that TIPS are given to “large developer donors” on high-interest properties like Harborplace rather than less developed and desirable areas.
“That is not how we ensure affordable housing in Baltimore,” Vignarajah said. “That is not how we ensure the number of vacant houses go down.”
Dixon denied Vignarajah’s claims and cited her use of TIPS in Upland and other lesser developed areas. She went on to assert that part of the reason that the city has so many vacant properties is due to a declining population.
“Because of the schools, the crime, they moved to Baltimore County and other counties,” Dixon said.
She went on to say that to deal with Baltimore’s housing issues, the city must address both crime and education as well.
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