Baltimore Mayor To Announce She Won't Seek Re-Election

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will announce Friday that she won't seek reelection, sources told WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team lead investigative reporter Jayne Miller.

The mayor is expected to confirm this at a 10 a.m. news conference City Hall. The announcement will be broadcast live.

Rawlings-Blake decision comes in the same week that several high-profile candidates entered the race to unseat her. Councilman Carl Stokes and state Sen. Catherine Pugh formally announced their candidacy this week, joining former Mayor Sheila Dixon and several other candidates in the race.

On WBAL NewsRadio 1090's Maryland's News Now on Thursday, the Mayor was asked whether she would seek re-election. She responded by saying it was focusing on her current term.

Sheila Dixon immediately released a statement regarding the Mayor's announcement.

"I commend Mayor Rawlings-Blake for her 20 years of service to the City of Baltimore. She and her family have made many sacrifices and I think she has earned the right to pursue other goals. I pray for the Rawlings-Blake family and for the people of Baltimore," she said in an email,

Rawlings-Blake has had a difficult year, which has included the police-custody death of Freddie Gray and the riots and unrest that followed. There has also been a significant spike in violent crime in the months that followed as the city has already surpassed the homicide total from all of 2014.

The mayor's announcement brings a halt to the political rise of Rawlings-Blake, who a year ago was considered a top candidate to possibly run for U.S. Senate or governor in upcoming elections.

Rawlings-Blake, 45, became Baltimore mayor in 2010 when she took over for Dixon, who stepped down following her conviction for embezzlement.  Rawlings-Blake was then reelected to a full term in 2011.

Prior to becoming mayor, Rawlings-Blake served as City Council president from 2007-2010. 

In 1995, Rawlings-Blake became the youngest person ever elected to the City Council. She represented the council's District 5 from 1995 to 2004 and District 6 from 2004 to 2007.From 1999 to 2007, Rawlings-Blake served as vice president of the City Council.

Rawlings-Blake is also a member of one of the state's most influential political families. Her father, the late Howard "Pete" Rawlings, served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1979-2003 and was chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee. 

Source WBAL