Incoming Mayor To Take Oath In Baltimore

By Rebecca Blatt

Baltimore will get a new mayor today. Sheila Dixon will step down from the post as part of a deal with prosecutors on perjury charges.

Baltimore's Council President, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, will take the oath of office just after noon. She steps into the job as the city faces a $127 million budget shortfall for the next fiscal year. Maryland's legislative session, which will determine funding for Baltimore, is already underway. And a new budget must be prepared for the city council next month.

Rawlings-Blake's new chief of staff, Sophie Dagenais, says while the city's finances top the priority list, her administration will also focus on public safety and education.

"We have a lot of moving pieces that we need to address all at the same time, and we have to put our minds together and come up with creative ways in which to do that," says Dagenais.

Rawlings-Blake is keeping two deputy mayors from the Dixon Administration on staff to help move that process forward.