Supporters gather as mayoral candidate T.J. Smith promises change for Baltimore City

Francesca Sund
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer

T.J. Smith, a former Baltimore Police Department spokesman, announced Tuesday he is running for mayor of Baltimore City and outlined his future plans to better the state’s largest city.

“When did we decide it was OK for our leaders to build walls around the city?” Smith asked at a news conference. “I grew up in the city where we welcomed our neighbors and invited them inside, fed them, cared about them, and did things together.

“We may be the ones who live inside the city limits, but we are not the only ones who love Baltimore,” said Smith, 42. “Baltimore is Maryland’s city.”

Smith, flanked by parents of several city homicide victims, used his announcement to criticize businessmen who benefit from local resources and customers but fail to give back to the city and its people.

“Because we have great needs in parts of the city that have been historically uninvested in for decades, we are looking at one right now,” Smith said. “If you want to do business with this city then you’re going to have to earn it. No more friends and family contracts, no more under the table bathroom deals, and no more corruption in city hall.”

Smith joins 12 other Democratic candidates seeking to become the next mayor of Baltimore on Nov. 3, 2020. The two top candidates are current Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young and City Council President Brandon Scott.

Smith worked as press secretary to Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. for nine months before quitting to run for office. Previously, he served as a top adviser and spokesman for the Police Department. In Anne Arundel County, Smith worked as a sworn officer and later became lieutenant.

As everyone around him clapped and cheered, Smith smiled and talked about how “we will no longer be an isolated city. We will be Baltimore, Maryland city.”

Supporters of Smith expressed their love for Baltimore and recognized the turmoil the city is in. They expressed confidence that Smith will enact changes for the good.

“I just want to say that I am a citizen of Baltimore City and I have been here for a long time,” said Lariece Wilson. “And I love this city, but I hate what it’s becoming.”

Wilson added that she is proud of Smith and his efforts and how “he’s the kind of guy that will get the job done.”

“We must say we need the help,” Smith said. “We must ask for the help, and we have to be ready for the help. But we must articulate the help that we need. It’s all of us for the city that we love. To change the city, you have to change the city.”

Smith also addressed the crime in Baltimore, stressing that the reputation of the city changes when focus is placed on the children of Baltimore.

“My young men in the streets, I am extending my hand as I’ve always done,” Smith said. “You want a better way? I will find you a path.”

Chaplain Denise Reid attended the press conference on behalf of “Moms Demand Action,” an advocacy group that helps prevent gun violence.

“We have to speak life into our young people,” said Reid. “We have to speak hope into them. We have to see what we can do for them. It doesn’t matter whether they’re selling drugs, their lives matter. We’ll never know what they’ve been through.”

Smith insisted his goal in running for mayor is to turn thing around.

“This is not about us getting back to where we once were; this is about us being better than we’ve ever been — a safer, more equitable, more educated, more prosperous Baltimore. We can collectively reject the status quo but you have to make the choice to think different.”

Smith worked as a city spokesman during turbulent times, including during the trials of police officers accused in the death of Freddie Gray. He resigned in October 2018.

When asked about what changes she hopes to see under the leadership of Smith, Rhonda Cook said that she knows that Smith will clean up Baltimore City and make it better.

“I’m supportive 100%,” Cook said. “He’s been very supportive and hands on.”

Smith, who grew up in Northwest Baltimore and has two master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Washington State University, respectively, wrapped up the session by repeating the theme that this is the time for Baltimore’s comeback.

“I’m only as successful as you allow me to be,” Smith said, “and I will work each morning during this campaign and later at City Hall for you, with you, and as the kind of mayor you want me to be – honest, moral, straightforward, community host. And I am committed to making Baltimore safe for all of us again.”