[Baltimore Sun] Baltimore votes against slashing City Council size from 14 to 8 districts
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Baltimore voters defeated the Question H ballot measure, which aimed to reduce the size of the City Council from 14 to eight districts, with more than 62% of voters saying “no.”
The vote marks the first time a city ballot measure has failed since 2004, when voters cast ballots against a proposal to lower the minimum age requirement for members of the City Council from 21 to 18 years.
2024 Maryland general election live returns from Baltimore, congressional races, school boards
Asked about Question H on Tuesday morning, Councilman Zeke Cohen told The Baltimore Sun he was focused on defeating the measure.
“Question H would reduce representation,” said Cohen, who was elected as council president in Tuesday’s election. “It would cause chaos within our City Council and within our city. It would weaken representation. It would cause folks to get worse city services.”
The ballot question attracted hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions on both sides of the issue. Proponents of the measure said a reduced council would save money and better reflect the city’s shrinking population, while opponents said it would make the council less representative of its residents and worsen their access to city services.
The committee that promoted the ballot measures and gathered the necessary petition signatures to introduce it, People for Elected Accountability and Civic Engagement, received around $400,000 for the effort from David Smith. Smith is the co-owner of The Sun and executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns FOX45.
The main group opposing the measure, Stop Sinclair, received $229,000 from 14 high-profile contributors: candidate committees for the mayor, six Baltimore City Council members and one incoming member, two state delegates, and four labor unions.
Have a news tip? Contact Brooke Conrad at bconrad@baltsun.com, 443-682-2356 or @conrad_brooke on X.
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