Former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon announces 2024 bid to reclaim seat

BALTIMORE -- Former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon launched a fourth bid for the mayor's seat Thursday with a pitch to reduce crime, bolster city schools and increase access to government services. 

WJZ Reporter Stephon Dingle sat down with the former mayor, who says she believes that the third time might be the charm is reclaiming her seat.  

"I know that I can do it again," she said. "Maybe not the same way that I did, but with accountability, with focus and being able to lead this city."  

In January 2010, Dixon was forced to leave office after a misdemeanor conviction for using gift cards intended for the needy.

When she announced her intent to run Thursday, she pled for forgiveness and said her administration would thrive in transparency and accountability.

"I made a mistake, I've learned from that mistake. I try to be in my walk every day, one, true to god, two, to be transparent and honest - and I would ask people to give me a second chance," Dixon told WJZ.  

Dixon almost got that second chance in the 2020 election - but she came up short by a little more than 2 percentage points to Mayor Brandon Scott.  She acknowledges Scott's ability to attract federal funds to the city - but says mayor Scott's biggest problem is from within his administration.

Another run would mean a rematch with Mayor Brandon Scott, who overtook Dixon in the polls to secure the mayor's seat in 2020. She also ran for mayor again in 2016, but did not succeed.

Dixon said the lack of consistency in city leadership is what prompted her to run again.  

"This is the first time that I can recall that we've had a revolving door of department heads and agency people, and you need consistency in that respect...there is a lot of talent even in this region that we can pull on," Dixon said. 

Dixon was on the Baltimore City Council in 1987 before she got elected City Council president in 1999. She was elected the mayor of Baltimore in 2007.  

Now Dixon will have to pull on and galvanize new voters in hopes of once again becoming Baltimore's mayor.