People's Tribune/Tribuno del Pueblo (Online Edition)
Vol. 30 No. 13/ September, 2003

P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654
www.lrna.org

******************************************************************

BALTIMORE CAMPAIGNS DEMAND CITY PROVIDE BASIC NEEDS FOR ALL

[Editors note: Annie Chambers is running for District Twelve City
Council in Baltimore. She is a longtime leader of the struggle of
the poor and working people in Baltimore and president of the
Rehab Housing Association, an organization of tenants in public
housing. Dominique Stevenson is running a write-in campaign for
mayor of Baltimore. Dominique is on the staff of the American
Friends Service Committee. They were interviewed for the People's
Tribune by Mike Brand and Bob Ogden.]


PT: What are the campaign issues?

DOMINIQUE:The problem in Baltimore's poor neighborhoods is that so
much money is being taken out of the community and hardly anything
is being put back in. The mayor and City Council do not have the
best interest of the people at heart. Since 9/11, in Baltimore as
well as nationally, the growth industries are related to
"security." The new jobs are prison guards, installing and
maintaining security devices, building new prisons, setting up
Baltimore's "baby prison" for juvenile cases, with all the
attendant bureaucratic and clerical jobs.

Development must be done for the community instead of to the
community. One big campaign issue with national implications is
the budget deficit of city and state government. Baltimore is in
trouble, but the problem is nationwide.

ANNIE: Look at Enterprise Zones, for example. The idea was to set
up conditions in poor communities to attract businesses, etc. But
nothing has changed, except some of the poor were moved out to
make room for the entrepreneurs.

The Flag House project made 2000 Baltimore families homeless, and
$150,000 townhouses were built where their homes were. These 2000
families now are either housed under HUD's section 8, or homeless.
Many are still searching for a place to live. Much of the old
public housing in Baltimore isn't even "public" anymore. And urban
renewal continues. The Johns Hopkins Biotech Project in its
current form will uproot still more families.

DOMINIQUE: Another example is Cherry Hill, which was Baltimore's
largest public housing project. Now over half of the residents are
dispersed. But building is still going on. Why don't the
Enterprise Zones help local young people become entrepreneur
contractors? When the City and developers present their plans and
I ask, "Where will the people go?", they often say "Well, they'll
live someplace else," and to me that's not an acceptable answer.

In Baltimore, a neighborhood can change enormously in two blocks.
We need to spread out quality social services so that they aren't
concentrated in affluent neighborhoods. Another idea I have is
somewhat like Habitat for Humanity, but one that would be a
building program using the paid labor of some of our unemployed
youth instead of just volunteer labor.

ANNIE: We want mixed communities with quality housing. Why can't
the people pushed out of public housing settle in the communities
with better services?

The HUD housing authority owns some 25,000 houses. HUD wants to
sell lots, but my organization has to approve them. They offered
$500 per lot. I rejected this ridiculous offer, and so they raised
the bid to $5000 per lot. Now I'm not as "stupid as I look." I
think we should receive compensation based on the current
appraised value of house and lot. After this interview I have a
meeting with the developers. I'm going by myself. I don't need
lawyers. I'll hold out for a reasonable offer.


PT: Who is supporting you? What is your campaign base?

ANNIE: I believe the poor neighborhoods targeted for urban renewal
will support me. It may sound odd, but some of my loyal campaign
workers are incarcerated. They can't vote, but they can call their
friends and families and get out the vote and campaign expenses. I
get lots of calls asking, "what can I do?" I get lots of volunteer
help and popular fundraisers are being set up. I see my campaign
as a people's campaign.

DOMINIQUE: I've got about the same support base. Eddie Conway, a
political prisoner, has been a big help and encouraged me. I also
have the support of People of Color United for Justice and Peace.


PT: Dominique, you are running a write-in campaign for mayor. Why
aren't you on the ballot?

DOMINIQUE:That's never been explained to me. I thought I filed
appropriately, but I found out from a reporter that I'd been
disqualified! Now, I still haven't received official notification
of this, and I'm going to fight their procedure through the legal
system. But I'm still running...


PT: What's your vision for the future?

DOMINIQUE: I want to see the existing political machinery
dismantled, in Baltimore and nationally.

ANNIE: I want what I always have wanted: To make life better for
everybody so they can have a decent living, to guarantee basic
human needs for everybody.

******************************************************************
This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE/TRIBUNO DEL PUEBLO
(Online Edition), Vol. 30 No. 13/ September, 2003; P.O. Box 3524,