Baltimore mayor says she'll survive investigation
BALTIMORE—Mayor Sheila Dixon expressed confidence Wednesday that she will survive a public corruption investigation but acknowledged that the probe was "clouding" her accomplishments.
"I'm going to survive this, because I only take this business of what I do one day at a time," Dixon said. "I will continue to stay focused on this position I'm in as long as I'm in the position."
The state prosecutor's office is looking into whether Dixon took bribes from a developer with whom she had a personal relationship during her time as City Council president.
Dixon declined to comment on the specific allegations contained in court documents published Tuesday by The (Baltimore) Sun. The documents show that she accepted fur coats and airplane tickets from developer Ronald H. Lipscomb in late 2003 and early 2004. Lipscomb was attached to several projects that Dixon voted to approve in her capacity as president of the city's Board of Estimates.
"Ron Lipscomb is a great person. It was a personal relationship," Dixon said. "I wasn't the mayor then."
However, City Comptroller Joan Pratt, who also serves on the five-member board, said Wednesday that board members "should recuse themselves" from votes involving people to whom they have personal ties. City officials are also required to disclose gifts from people doing business with the city, and Dixon did not disclose the gifts she accepted from Lipscomb, according to court documents.
The mayor expressed frustration that information about what prosecutors are looking for has been leaked to the media.
"What really bothers me and troubles me is the fact that I can't talk about it in the media because it is under investigation, but certain media people are getting information through the prosecutor's office," Dixon said.
Publicly, the state prosecutor's office does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations. It was unclear what, if any, role the office had in leaking the documents obtained by The Sun.
City Solicitor George Nilson also claimed that the prosecutor's office was revealing selected details about its probe of the mayor.
The Sun reported Wednesday that companies tied to Lipscomb have made nearly $500,000 in political contributions in the past decade. Nearly all the money went to Democrats, including Dixon and Gov. Martin O'Malley, who was mayor when Dixon was City Council president.
Dixon spoke after a news conference to announce that
"I would love to have a timely resolution of this" investigation, Dixon said, "because this is really clouding a lot of good work that's going on."
