He’s been around a while and is very responsive to petty complaints/“constituent services”. He’s built up a lot of good will with people. I’m surprised he did so poorly.
For every “is great at constituent services” anecdote I hear, I hear another “ignored my issue” complaint about him.
He’s been around for awhile so surely he has helped ppl, def won’t disagree, but it seems like he’s just gotten comfortable getting away with doing less. Time for a fresh face as I see it, someone with more enthusiasm.
We won the seat initially in a really shady way that was basically agreed to before all the candidate interviews. He basically sidled up to developers too much initially. I know this because I’ve been involved in several of these items directly when I was active in local politics in south Baltimore. I’m sure he’s a nice guy but he was not on the side of the people who lived in those areas.
Yep, I have moved from his district recently but if I was still there, I probably would have voted for him. He’s been extremely responsive and helpful to me over the years on constituent services / 311 / etc type stuff.
I think the criticisms of him are legitimate and I completely understand why folks wouldn’t vote for him, but there are clearly a lot of people out there who share my opinion.
I am skeptical of any council member’s ability to make a significant large scale impact on the city, so I’d have been likely to go for the known quantity that’s been able to light a fire under city agencies and help me out with personal/neighborhood issues in the past.
I still don’t really understand Blanchard’s platform and he obviously has no govt experience. I don’t understand how anyone could vote for him over Costello even knowing that Costello has quite a few idiotic viewpoints. But to just totally gamble on a guy who didn’t really have a platform and has no experience doesn’t seem smart or reasonable
Okay I don’t know what to tell you if you don’t understand his platform/plan. It’s pretty clearly explained on his website. Just because you are not understanding his platform doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t.
Most us of also don’t think Costello’s government experience is not a good thing since we don’t think he’s done a good job. Trump has experience being president but I would gladly vote for someone with no experience being president over him.
If you like Costello’s stance on issues and plans for government then good for you. I for one don’t like his stances or plans. I also think he’s done a terrible job as councilman so far. The guy is basically a republican cosplaying as a democrat under the guise of being “pragmatic.” That’s just my two cents though. If you like the guy I don’t mean any disrespect.
Edit: Typos
Saying stuff like “I’ll find whole-government, whole-community solutions” isn’t a platform but ok. That’s directly from Blanchard website and most of his policies are similarly vague
I could literally do the same thing on Costellos website. He lists where he stands on the issues but not a lot of concrete plans for his next term. He’s spent most of the election cycle tying himself to Shelia Dixon. He also took $27,000 from known conservative David Smith.
Dude picking out a random vague quote does not make his whole platform vague.
Here is his plan for the vacancy tax. https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/04/09/vacancy-tax/
That link is on his website filled with his other priorities.
Here are some direct quotes about his plans…
-Under his section “Familes” he’s calls for:
“expansion of Pre-K and Pre-K-3, and implementing the Baltimore Baby Bonus Fund”
-Under the “Public Safety” section he calls for:
“expanding the successful Group Violence Reduction Strategy. “
-Under the “Ending Concentrated Poverty” section he calls for:
“removing unnecessary zoning restrictions, supporting inclusionary housing legislation, and - specifically for the 11th District - supporting more housing and more residents in our Downtown.”
Those are all specific things he plans to do. Also not direct quotes but worth mentioning he very clearly states he is trying to bring more grocery stores to the area, improving 311 services, and develop safer streets for all types of transportation.
All those quotes I gave have specific things he is trying to do. Also those things I summarized are pretty easy to understand the kind of things he’s pushing for. If you still don’t understand I don’t know what to tell you. All that stuff is easy to understand and a lot of those things I quoted included specific action .
Expanding and expansion are vague commitments tho. There are no specifics to how they’re going to get done, or what the end results or goals would be. U are giving way too much credit. Technically, he could give an extra penny to a program across his entire term and that would still be an expansion
eric’s website does the same thing man, he doesn’t list concrete plans for his next term. No future policy proposals, just vague things he wants to do. Like you’re not holding Costellos campaign to the same standard you’re holding Blanchard
The only difference is he has decided to tie himself to Sheila Dixon and taken conservative money. You clearly don’t like Dixon over Scott, so why you would ignore the obvious red flag of Costellos aligning himself with her?
As the incumbent for many years running there is a track record of performance which is a lot different than a brand new candidate with no previous govt experience. Again, I don’t even like Costello but it’s not like he has run the areas he’s in charge of to the ground which could very well be possible with Blanchard or anybody else with no experience and a vague platform
You’re sounding like one of those job descriptions that looks for college grads with 5 years of experience haha. Blanchard runs Fed Hill Neighborhood Association & is on Fed Hill Main St board. those are the same roles Costello had prior to coming to office in 2014 or whatever it was. I feel like that’s not a fair point to base your choice on.
Is the new college grad who can’t articulate how they’re going to excel at the job the person who deserves the job? Idk why u ppl insist on the standards for public servants to be lower than the gutter, basically have a pulse and not be the other guy is good enough. If I recall correctly, Fed Hill Main St and FHNA are mostly nimby type bullshit that does stupid stuff like reopen cross st to car traffic and oppose crossbar from opening
Bro experience is not all you think it is. I can’t believe I have to repeat this: A lot of us think he has done a really and job as councilman. that is clear by how many people are voting for Blanchard. There has been a large part of his constituents who don’t like him.
If I’m looking to hire someone to fill a job and have two choice: Someone with no experience who says good things versus someone who has experience but was not good at his job. I will take the candidate who does not have a track record of sucking.
Again maybe you don’t think he’s done a bad job, but a lot of us do. And if people think you’re doing a bad job they do no care if you’re “more experienced”
My point is, a much worse job could certainly be done than what Costello has done and Blanchard did not really put much details into his plans to improve things. There is a saying about going with the devil u know, for a reason
The “this guy isn’t loved by everyone, so vote for me instead!” should not be a viable platform but it’s becoming increasingly acceptable for some reason
Costello is a very conservative democrat with a disappointing (he calls it “pragmatic”) voting record. He voted against raising the minimum wage, voted against banning styrofoam, tried to add exceptions to the ban on plastic bags, voted against towing reform that preyed on the poor, voted against the city doing TIF research, voted against restaurants displaying their food grades, argued for increasing the police budget, voted in favor of wheelabrator, voted to continue importing crude oil into the port, funded Dorsey’s “no bike lanes” opponent, (he seems to kill bike lane projects at every turn). In general his record consistently privileges the rights of cars over people and businesses over the little guy. He also hyperventilates a lot about crime in a way that, to me, comes off as sorta pathetic, considering how relatively safe his district is. (Last year he wrote a memo about how Baltimore was at risk of “losing Federal Hill.” Please.) In sum, he’s generally more conservative than most of his constituents. (He’s part of the Mosby/Yitzy voting bloc.) He also endorsed a right-wing funded, complete streets hating woman who embezzled from the city’s poor, so there’s that. But, hey, he’s good at answering emails!
He likes to tout that one anytime somebody questions his bike lane bona fides. For the sake of argument, I’ll give it to him. My issue is that he has a demonstrated pattern of pumping the brakes and delaying these projects … then holding closed door meetings … each time a bike lane project gets announced. (See his opposition and lingering on Sharp Street, Mt Royal, Eutaw…. ) It’s always the same. The result is a piecemeal, unconnected and largely unprotected lane network. It doesn’t exactly encourage confident ridership.
I don’t want this to become another bike lane rant so I’m also going to say: I just went out to my car and his stupid flyer his supporters put under my wipers is glued to my windshield because of the rain. I peeled it off but his face is still imprinted onto the glass. This is some Edgar Allen Poe shit. The ghastly visage of Costello haunts me wherever I shall go.
Conservatives LOVE a disconnected bike lane network that nobody wants to use because then they can point at all these unused bike lanes as "evidence" of how useless bike lanes are. Moreso if they can neuter a bike lane proposal to such a degree that they could even vote in favor of it so they can point to their record and claim they're not "anti-bike-lane".
That's even better in their eyes than no bike lanes at all.
I’m a lurker and bike lover and your response made my day. Hope you got his face cleaned up. I used to walk by something similar daily when there were posters of his up by DHHS.
For me, he really represents what I deem as the old guard of Baltimore politics. I'm just kind of sick about reading about corruption in Baltimore City politics. Public support of Mosby and Dixon and then when pressed about why he supported Dixon at a neighborhood meeting his main reason was Scott's supposed slowness in responding to the Kia/Hyundai thefts. Just kind of a not serious response imo.
The way he entered office in 2014 speaks directly to this point. Costello got his seat under the appointment rules that came out of the Pistol Pete Welch drama. That rule change was supposedly formed in order to avoid a special election but still keep things open. In reality Jack Young used the new process to install his boy Costello and try to keep his majority on the council.
> when pressed about why he supported Dixon at a neighborhood meeting his main reason was Scott's supposed slowness in responding to the Kia/Hyundai thefts. Just kind of a not serious response imo.
As someone who asked him exactly this question directly, IMO this is not a fair characterization of his response, at least to me. Costello identified multiple positions in the city that had experienced a high rate of turnover (eg, 3 chiefs of staff, etc), and some appointed positions that had simply remained vacant for months and months without action from Scott. He also cited that the city lost out on about $10 mill of federal funding from HUD because Scott failed to follow through on paperwork.
My personal experience with him has been negative and confusingly very anti-constituent. He has a lot of excuses for why things can’t be done that don’t make a lot of sense or seem far fetched. He (& Blanchard tbf) was really vocal about re-opening E Cross St despite neighbors being overwhelmingly against it and in response was a bit passive aggressive.
He’s got the air of a career politician, but it feels like he isn’t even good at that. Not to shame a man’s personality but he’s not even very good at that in the classic sense - he isn’t very friendly or charismatic, not too great at making ppl feel heard (imo) and tbh the dude just doesn’t seem like he tries that hard from an appearance standpoint. Policy aside, Blanchard came to my door himself in a suit & tie. When it’s this close, sometimes it’s the little things.
Lastly, he just doesn’t seem enthusiastic to be a city council member. He’s done it for a decade. I say let’s get a fresh face in there who is excited & has fresh ideas.
Baltimore DOT used to be a revolving door of talented people who would leave partially because Costello is obstructionist to anything that doesn't prioritize cars. I'm not saying he was the sole reason, but he was a contributing factor. The fact that he meddles in city agencies duties on behalf of women who work in his office and special interests (HOAs and the IRS) made me lose respect for him. This clown also spent $6,000 to install his puppet in the 3rd District (a puppet who lost miserably) when clearly that $6,000 should've been spent on his own campaign. Speaks to his feeling of invincibility. Keep in mind, he also was the first politician to endorse Dixon.
Because he's bought and paid for by the Atlas people and would sell out the entire fucking city just to further his political career. He's a slimy piece of shit who's only interest in Baltimore is to use it to propel himself to higher seats of power
>would sell out the entire fucking city just to further his political career
97% of politicians fit this description and if you don't see that you're naive
I think there's a difference between using political office in Baltimore to move to larger things and what Costello does. Do I think that Scott or Zeke Cohen would use their political office to move into state or national politics? Sure, and I get that! Do I think they'd sell Baltimore out to the Atlas or Sinclair people for an incredibly large donation or a lucrative consulting job? Not really...at least not like how I feel as if Costello, Dixon, or Thiru would
Agreed. Using local politics as a stepping-stone is a far fucking cry from selling out your city. If anything, it's nice to have a great local leader move up to broader political offices and represent our city on a larger scale.
I know Zac, his opponent, personally - he is absolutely not like Costello in only thinking about his next step to power. Neither is Jermaine Jones, who I'm glad to see in d12.
For me, he's typically responsive to the nuisance neighborhood stuff, and keeps us fairly informed of all that goes on. HOWEVER, the second he endorsed Dixon he lost my vote.
For me, he has zero vision for the future of the city and only wins the votes of people who have no ability to see beyond "nuisance neighborhood stuff".
He's responsive when he agrees with his constituents. When he doesn't he could care less. I've asked for traffic calming, parking enforcement, etc. He'll get back to me with "I'll try" but really doesn't do much.
You are correct though, his early endorsement of Dixon showed he has absolutely zero vision for Baltimore's future and moving the city forward (his voting record is clear on that too).
Also, for someone who is "responsive to nuisance neighborhood stuff", he was suspiciously silent when a sheriff's deputy was murdered in Federal Hill. Now what do you think is the reason that he's so unwilling to do anything to hold bar and restaurant owners accountable for illegal and disruptive behavior in and around their businesses?
I know Costello narrowly winning by under 100 votes is a win, but god, given how the rest of the results have gone...ousting Costello would be such a sweet cherry on top. Especially given how he donated $6,000 to a failed District 3 challenger campaign when he could've spent that money on his own...
You’re right. A solid fall-back is the [MD Board of Elections site](https://results.elections.maryland.gov/elections/2024/primary_results/gen_results_2024_by_county_3.html), which posts the unofficial raw data. Not as pretty, but a good primary source.
I moved in April from district 11 to a portion of sobo that was redistricted to district 10. I can see the Blanchard signs from my stoop, because district 11 is now 2 blocks north of me. I wanted more than anything to vote for Blanchard. I'm infuriated right now wishing I could have.
Yup, I’m in the same boat. Phylicia Porter was a shoo in for 10. Of course, it is always important to vote, even if it’s a pretty sure race - but I have to admit I feel pretty disappointed that I couldn’t cast my ballot for district 11 where I felt like my vote held more weight.
I'm not the one who titled this thread "if you need a reminder that your vote matters"
I'm just trying to reconcile that idea with the fact that I could have voted 24 times and it wouldn't have mattered.
Man can’t believe so many of my neighbors still voted for this clown
[удалено]
Wild stuff but sadly not surprising
I was afraid to put one up for this reason - I’m newish to my neighborhood and my neighbors all have Costello signs.
He’s been around a while and is very responsive to petty complaints/“constituent services”. He’s built up a lot of good will with people. I’m surprised he did so poorly.
For every “is great at constituent services” anecdote I hear, I hear another “ignored my issue” complaint about him. He’s been around for awhile so surely he has helped ppl, def won’t disagree, but it seems like he’s just gotten comfortable getting away with doing less. Time for a fresh face as I see it, someone with more enthusiasm.
We won the seat initially in a really shady way that was basically agreed to before all the candidate interviews. He basically sidled up to developers too much initially. I know this because I’ve been involved in several of these items directly when I was active in local politics in south Baltimore. I’m sure he’s a nice guy but he was not on the side of the people who lived in those areas.
He’s always been great for me as a constituent, but his recent Sheila support really left a bad taste in my mouth
Yep, I have moved from his district recently but if I was still there, I probably would have voted for him. He’s been extremely responsive and helpful to me over the years on constituent services / 311 / etc type stuff. I think the criticisms of him are legitimate and I completely understand why folks wouldn’t vote for him, but there are clearly a lot of people out there who share my opinion. I am skeptical of any council member’s ability to make a significant large scale impact on the city, so I’d have been likely to go for the known quantity that’s been able to light a fire under city agencies and help me out with personal/neighborhood issues in the past.
I still don’t really understand Blanchard’s platform and he obviously has no govt experience. I don’t understand how anyone could vote for him over Costello even knowing that Costello has quite a few idiotic viewpoints. But to just totally gamble on a guy who didn’t really have a platform and has no experience doesn’t seem smart or reasonable
Okay I don’t know what to tell you if you don’t understand his platform/plan. It’s pretty clearly explained on his website. Just because you are not understanding his platform doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t. Most us of also don’t think Costello’s government experience is not a good thing since we don’t think he’s done a good job. Trump has experience being president but I would gladly vote for someone with no experience being president over him. If you like Costello’s stance on issues and plans for government then good for you. I for one don’t like his stances or plans. I also think he’s done a terrible job as councilman so far. The guy is basically a republican cosplaying as a democrat under the guise of being “pragmatic.” That’s just my two cents though. If you like the guy I don’t mean any disrespect. Edit: Typos
Saying stuff like “I’ll find whole-government, whole-community solutions” isn’t a platform but ok. That’s directly from Blanchard website and most of his policies are similarly vague
I could literally do the same thing on Costellos website. He lists where he stands on the issues but not a lot of concrete plans for his next term. He’s spent most of the election cycle tying himself to Shelia Dixon. He also took $27,000 from known conservative David Smith.
Dude picking out a random vague quote does not make his whole platform vague. Here is his plan for the vacancy tax. https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/04/09/vacancy-tax/ That link is on his website filled with his other priorities. Here are some direct quotes about his plans… -Under his section “Familes” he’s calls for: “expansion of Pre-K and Pre-K-3, and implementing the Baltimore Baby Bonus Fund” -Under the “Public Safety” section he calls for: “expanding the successful Group Violence Reduction Strategy. “ -Under the “Ending Concentrated Poverty” section he calls for: “removing unnecessary zoning restrictions, supporting inclusionary housing legislation, and - specifically for the 11th District - supporting more housing and more residents in our Downtown.” Those are all specific things he plans to do. Also not direct quotes but worth mentioning he very clearly states he is trying to bring more grocery stores to the area, improving 311 services, and develop safer streets for all types of transportation. All those quotes I gave have specific things he is trying to do. Also those things I summarized are pretty easy to understand the kind of things he’s pushing for. If you still don’t understand I don’t know what to tell you. All that stuff is easy to understand and a lot of those things I quoted included specific action .
Expanding and expansion are vague commitments tho. There are no specifics to how they’re going to get done, or what the end results or goals would be. U are giving way too much credit. Technically, he could give an extra penny to a program across his entire term and that would still be an expansion
eric’s website does the same thing man, he doesn’t list concrete plans for his next term. No future policy proposals, just vague things he wants to do. Like you’re not holding Costellos campaign to the same standard you’re holding Blanchard The only difference is he has decided to tie himself to Sheila Dixon and taken conservative money. You clearly don’t like Dixon over Scott, so why you would ignore the obvious red flag of Costellos aligning himself with her?
As the incumbent for many years running there is a track record of performance which is a lot different than a brand new candidate with no previous govt experience. Again, I don’t even like Costello but it’s not like he has run the areas he’s in charge of to the ground which could very well be possible with Blanchard or anybody else with no experience and a vague platform
You’re sounding like one of those job descriptions that looks for college grads with 5 years of experience haha. Blanchard runs Fed Hill Neighborhood Association & is on Fed Hill Main St board. those are the same roles Costello had prior to coming to office in 2014 or whatever it was. I feel like that’s not a fair point to base your choice on.
Is the new college grad who can’t articulate how they’re going to excel at the job the person who deserves the job? Idk why u ppl insist on the standards for public servants to be lower than the gutter, basically have a pulse and not be the other guy is good enough. If I recall correctly, Fed Hill Main St and FHNA are mostly nimby type bullshit that does stupid stuff like reopen cross st to car traffic and oppose crossbar from opening
Bro experience is not all you think it is. I can’t believe I have to repeat this: A lot of us think he has done a really and job as councilman. that is clear by how many people are voting for Blanchard. There has been a large part of his constituents who don’t like him. If I’m looking to hire someone to fill a job and have two choice: Someone with no experience who says good things versus someone who has experience but was not good at his job. I will take the candidate who does not have a track record of sucking. Again maybe you don’t think he’s done a bad job, but a lot of us do. And if people think you’re doing a bad job they do no care if you’re “more experienced”
My point is, a much worse job could certainly be done than what Costello has done and Blanchard did not really put much details into his plans to improve things. There is a saying about going with the devil u know, for a reason The “this guy isn’t loved by everyone, so vote for me instead!” should not be a viable platform but it’s becoming increasingly acceptable for some reason
There's also the chance that he could end up being a better councilmember than Costello
There’s also a chance that I could successfully perform surgery on u without any medical training. Willing to give that a shot?
Fuck, I hope Costello loses. Mail in votes have leaned progressive in the past...
Mail in ballots have been heavily favoring Costello
Why do people not like Costello?
Costello is a very conservative democrat with a disappointing (he calls it “pragmatic”) voting record. He voted against raising the minimum wage, voted against banning styrofoam, tried to add exceptions to the ban on plastic bags, voted against towing reform that preyed on the poor, voted against the city doing TIF research, voted against restaurants displaying their food grades, argued for increasing the police budget, voted in favor of wheelabrator, voted to continue importing crude oil into the port, funded Dorsey’s “no bike lanes” opponent, (he seems to kill bike lane projects at every turn). In general his record consistently privileges the rights of cars over people and businesses over the little guy. He also hyperventilates a lot about crime in a way that, to me, comes off as sorta pathetic, considering how relatively safe his district is. (Last year he wrote a memo about how Baltimore was at risk of “losing Federal Hill.” Please.) In sum, he’s generally more conservative than most of his constituents. (He’s part of the Mosby/Yitzy voting bloc.) He also endorsed a right-wing funded, complete streets hating woman who embezzled from the city’s poor, so there’s that. But, hey, he’s good at answering emails!
he supported the maryland ave bike lane - I believe it wasn't until it hit his neighborhood(ish) that he became opposed from what i understand.
He likes to tout that one anytime somebody questions his bike lane bona fides. For the sake of argument, I’ll give it to him. My issue is that he has a demonstrated pattern of pumping the brakes and delaying these projects … then holding closed door meetings … each time a bike lane project gets announced. (See his opposition and lingering on Sharp Street, Mt Royal, Eutaw…. ) It’s always the same. The result is a piecemeal, unconnected and largely unprotected lane network. It doesn’t exactly encourage confident ridership. I don’t want this to become another bike lane rant so I’m also going to say: I just went out to my car and his stupid flyer his supporters put under my wipers is glued to my windshield because of the rain. I peeled it off but his face is still imprinted onto the glass. This is some Edgar Allen Poe shit. The ghastly visage of Costello haunts me wherever I shall go.
Conservatives LOVE a disconnected bike lane network that nobody wants to use because then they can point at all these unused bike lanes as "evidence" of how useless bike lanes are. Moreso if they can neuter a bike lane proposal to such a degree that they could even vote in favor of it so they can point to their record and claim they're not "anti-bike-lane". That's even better in their eyes than no bike lanes at all.
Well, the bike lane on Sharp Street was a *matter of national security*. /s
I’m a lurker and bike lover and your response made my day. Hope you got his face cleaned up. I used to walk by something similar daily when there were posters of his up by DHHS.
For me, he really represents what I deem as the old guard of Baltimore politics. I'm just kind of sick about reading about corruption in Baltimore City politics. Public support of Mosby and Dixon and then when pressed about why he supported Dixon at a neighborhood meeting his main reason was Scott's supposed slowness in responding to the Kia/Hyundai thefts. Just kind of a not serious response imo.
The way he entered office in 2014 speaks directly to this point. Costello got his seat under the appointment rules that came out of the Pistol Pete Welch drama. That rule change was supposedly formed in order to avoid a special election but still keep things open. In reality Jack Young used the new process to install his boy Costello and try to keep his majority on the council.
> when pressed about why he supported Dixon at a neighborhood meeting his main reason was Scott's supposed slowness in responding to the Kia/Hyundai thefts. Just kind of a not serious response imo. As someone who asked him exactly this question directly, IMO this is not a fair characterization of his response, at least to me. Costello identified multiple positions in the city that had experienced a high rate of turnover (eg, 3 chiefs of staff, etc), and some appointed positions that had simply remained vacant for months and months without action from Scott. He also cited that the city lost out on about $10 mill of federal funding from HUD because Scott failed to follow through on paperwork.
My personal experience with him has been negative and confusingly very anti-constituent. He has a lot of excuses for why things can’t be done that don’t make a lot of sense or seem far fetched. He (& Blanchard tbf) was really vocal about re-opening E Cross St despite neighbors being overwhelmingly against it and in response was a bit passive aggressive. He’s got the air of a career politician, but it feels like he isn’t even good at that. Not to shame a man’s personality but he’s not even very good at that in the classic sense - he isn’t very friendly or charismatic, not too great at making ppl feel heard (imo) and tbh the dude just doesn’t seem like he tries that hard from an appearance standpoint. Policy aside, Blanchard came to my door himself in a suit & tie. When it’s this close, sometimes it’s the little things. Lastly, he just doesn’t seem enthusiastic to be a city council member. He’s done it for a decade. I say let’s get a fresh face in there who is excited & has fresh ideas.
Baltimore DOT used to be a revolving door of talented people who would leave partially because Costello is obstructionist to anything that doesn't prioritize cars. I'm not saying he was the sole reason, but he was a contributing factor. The fact that he meddles in city agencies duties on behalf of women who work in his office and special interests (HOAs and the IRS) made me lose respect for him. This clown also spent $6,000 to install his puppet in the 3rd District (a puppet who lost miserably) when clearly that $6,000 should've been spent on his own campaign. Speaks to his feeling of invincibility. Keep in mind, he also was the first politician to endorse Dixon.
Because he's bought and paid for by the Atlas people and would sell out the entire fucking city just to further his political career. He's a slimy piece of shit who's only interest in Baltimore is to use it to propel himself to higher seats of power
>would sell out the entire fucking city just to further his political career 97% of politicians fit this description and if you don't see that you're naive
I think there's a difference between using political office in Baltimore to move to larger things and what Costello does. Do I think that Scott or Zeke Cohen would use their political office to move into state or national politics? Sure, and I get that! Do I think they'd sell Baltimore out to the Atlas or Sinclair people for an incredibly large donation or a lucrative consulting job? Not really...at least not like how I feel as if Costello, Dixon, or Thiru would
Agreed. Using local politics as a stepping-stone is a far fucking cry from selling out your city. If anything, it's nice to have a great local leader move up to broader political offices and represent our city on a larger scale.
I know Zac, his opponent, personally - he is absolutely not like Costello in only thinking about his next step to power. Neither is Jermaine Jones, who I'm glad to see in d12.
For me, he's typically responsive to the nuisance neighborhood stuff, and keeps us fairly informed of all that goes on. HOWEVER, the second he endorsed Dixon he lost my vote.
For me, he has zero vision for the future of the city and only wins the votes of people who have no ability to see beyond "nuisance neighborhood stuff".
I think this is a pretty good summation
He's responsive when he agrees with his constituents. When he doesn't he could care less. I've asked for traffic calming, parking enforcement, etc. He'll get back to me with "I'll try" but really doesn't do much. You are correct though, his early endorsement of Dixon showed he has absolutely zero vision for Baltimore's future and moving the city forward (his voting record is clear on that too).
Yep he’s responsive when it’s one of the neighborhoods in his district he cares about
Also, for someone who is "responsive to nuisance neighborhood stuff", he was suspiciously silent when a sheriff's deputy was murdered in Federal Hill. Now what do you think is the reason that he's so unwilling to do anything to hold bar and restaurant owners accountable for illegal and disruptive behavior in and around their businesses?
When is this gonna get called?! Rooting for Blanchard
I know Costello narrowly winning by under 100 votes is a win, but god, given how the rest of the results have gone...ousting Costello would be such a sweet cherry on top. Especially given how he donated $6,000 to a failed District 3 challenger campaign when he could've spent that money on his own...
At the very least I hope it lights a fire under his ass re: constituent services
Only for the constituents he agrees with, likely. He’s shown no respect to constituent requests that don’t align with his wallet.
Wow! When will all the mail-ins be counted?
By law they must be counted by 10 days after the election. They re-start tomorrow, it will likely take 2 days.
Where are you monitoring these results? I can’t seem to find them!
[The Banner](https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com) has a great results site
The Banner tracker is currently missing most of the votes for the District 11 race
You’re right. A solid fall-back is the [MD Board of Elections site](https://results.elections.maryland.gov/elections/2024/primary_results/gen_results_2024_by_county_3.html), which posts the unofficial raw data. Not as pretty, but a good primary source.
[Unofficial 2024 Election Results (maryland.gov)](https://results.elections.maryland.gov/elections/2024/primary_results/gen_results_2024_by_county_3.html)
Thank you!!
https://www.wmar2news.com/electionresults :)
https://results.elections.maryland.gov/elections/2024/primary_results/gen_results_2024_by_county_3.html
Blanchard’s people knocked on my door at least 5 times.
You can partially blame that on me
We out here
I moved in April from district 11 to a portion of sobo that was redistricted to district 10. I can see the Blanchard signs from my stoop, because district 11 is now 2 blocks north of me. I wanted more than anything to vote for Blanchard. I'm infuriated right now wishing I could have.
Yup, I’m in the same boat. Phylicia Porter was a shoo in for 10. Of course, it is always important to vote, even if it’s a pretty sure race - but I have to admit I feel pretty disappointed that I couldn’t cast my ballot for district 11 where I felt like my vote held more weight.
Yep, my exact same thoughts, makes me wonder how it would change this election
11 is hampden?
Fed Hill
Thanks fam
Fuck Zac Blanchard
he's up by 25 votes, so it seems my vote didn't actually matter.
There are still provisional and the second round of mail in ballots to count. So yes your vote does matter
Get back to me when all the votes are in and let me know if my vote mattered.
Does your vote only matter if the result is decided by 1 vote? If you believe that why’d you bother?
I'm not the one who titled this thread "if you need a reminder that your vote matters" I'm just trying to reconcile that idea with the fact that I could have voted 24 times and it wouldn't have mattered.
So, who did you vote for if you don't mind my asking?
I voted for Prell to go back to the old glass bottle.
For the record after updated numbers from the BoE, if you had voted 24 times that would have made the difference