Expand Social Services and Improve Public Safety
We face increasingly unsafe streets as we see a spike in crimes and murders. This cannot be solved by simply adding more police and locking up more people. The underfunding of social services and the extent of inequality in such a wealthy city is unacceptable and is a contributor to the growth in anti-social behavior. We need to fully fund essential human services - including full access to mental health services - and end homelessness.

• We must implement an emergency plan to immediately offer decent shelter for the more than 3,000 homeless people on Baltimore’s streets.
• Fully fund social services, including full access to mental health services and services for the disabled, veterans, seniors, and families in crisis.
• Expand and lengthen light rail and bus service. The lack of late-night service is a public safety issue. People need safe and reliable transit after a night out or after working the night shift.
• Protect against hate crimes. Fund anti-hate crime community groups to organize night watches and empower our communities.
• Stop the gentrification and the destruction of our communities by for-profit developers. Fund social workers, youth, and community centers to strengthen the solidarity and social bonds in our neighborhoods.

Environmental Leadership
Baltimore should be a leader in addressing the climate crisis. Oil and coal trains passing through downtown every day are fueling global warming while creating a serious public safety risk from of oil train derailment and explosion and health hazards from coal dust. We must reject the false dichotomy of “jobs vs. the environment.” We need a major green jobs program and new living-wage union jobs for workers who face job losses from fossil-fuel-based industries.

• Slash CO2 emissions and create green jobs by massively expanding public transit.
• Oppose the passage of oil and coal trains through Baltimore! As an immediate measure, the City Council should enact regulatory fees on oil trains going through Baltimore to fund emergency preparation for oil train disasters.

Worker's Rights

• Pass a city-wide $15 minimum wage immediately.
• Support workers and the labor movement in bringing $15 to other cities and counties throughout Maryland.
• Service-sector workers are increasingly facing back-to-back shifts, on-call schedules, and irregular work hours. We need “fair scheduling” legislation to end abusive practices that exploit workers.
• Support the efforts of all workers to unionize, including the low-paid service sector.