The two leading Baltimore mayoral candidates called for meetings with our Jewish leadership. Interim Mayor Sheila Dixon met with a group of Baltimore Jewish leaders last week, and the meeting with Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr., who’s currently a city councilman, was postponed due to high demand but too many vacations.

It’s a great sign that Dixon, the front-runner by a large margin, and Mitchell, the #2 candidate, find it important enough to have a dialogue with the Jewish community.

Of course, it’s no surprise that any candidate would say anything to get elected. The important thing is what happens with him or her once in office.

We saw our former mayor (and current governor) make his obligatory rounds in the Jewish community while campaigning for his first term and initially after he was elected.

Then, Martin O’Malley seemed to disappear. He took the Jewish community for granted. While he wasn’t bad for the Jewish community, he seemed to forget where we lived. O’Malley sightings became very infrequent in Upper Park Heights while he was in the later stages of his mayoral administration.

Even as governor, he hasn’t made a lot of outreach to the Jewish community. That may be because his Jewish liaison, Izzy Patoka, is far weaker then his counterparts in the Ehrlich administration and on the teams of Dixon and Mitchell.

Whoever becomes our next mayor, I hope that being part of the Jewish community is high on their agendas. We may be a minority, but we have long been part of the solution to building a great city.

And while our needs may be small in comparison to black-on-black crime, if the Jewish community is neglected, it would create huge problems for Baltimore.

Please be advised that as Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives, my work program is vast and demanding.  I coordinate the outreach component of the Governor’s Office working with municipal leaders/issues, faith based organizations and ethnic & cultural entities and there are further responsibilities.  They include oversight of the Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism, the Volunteer Maryland Program, the Governor’s Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs, the Governor’s Commission on Hispanic Affairs, and the Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism (administering AmeriCorps dollars).  In addition this, my office acts as a coordinating liaison to the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs and the Maryland Commission for Women.

I am a regular attendee at the Governor’s Cabinet meeting. I also serve as Maryland’s Liaison to the White House Office of Faith Based Initiatives, where I actively add a Jewish voice to their conference calls and meetings.

Below for your convenience/interest, I am providing a listing of Jewish events that I have participated in some with Governor O’Malley and some with his Chief of Staff, during the first six months of the new administration. Please note in the listing below that Governor O’Malley was in the Park Heights area as recently as July 25, 2007.  Also be advised that Governor O’Malley recently approved a $2.5 million grant for The Associated’s new Jewish Community Development Building.

1) Prior to taking office, then Governor-elect O’Malley met with the leadership of the Associated and the BJC to review issue important issues to the Jewish Community, Baltimore (Dec 2006)
2) BJC sponsored Jewish/Muslim Dialogue, Ellicott City, (02/08/07)
3) Speaker at Politically Connect with Jewish Youth, Annapolis (02/12/07)
4) Maryland Jewish Alliance, Jewish Advocacy Day, Annapolis (02/12/07)
5) BJC Interfaith Dialogue JCC Baltimore (2/22/07)
6) The Federation and JCRC of Greater Washington’s Super Sunday, Rockville (2/25/07)
7) BJC Jewish/Muslin Interfaith Passover Seder, JCC Baltimore (03/27/07)
8) The Associated and the BJC celebration of Israel’s 59th Birthday, Beth Tfiloh Baltimore (3/29/07)
9) JCRC of Greater Washington’s Yom Ha’Shoah, B’nai Israel Rockville (04/15/07)
10) BJC’s 2007 MD General Assembly Legislative Wrap-Up, Baltimore (04/26/07)
11) BJC’s Jewish/Hispanic Dinner & Discussion, JCC Baltimore, (05/01/07)
12) MIDC Meeting, Baltimore (05/18/07)
13) Baltimore Zionist District’s Yom Yerushalayim, Walk for Israel, Oheb Shalom Baltimore (05/20/07)
14) BJC’s Annual Meeting, Beth El Baltimore (05/21/07)
15) Jewish Federation of Howard County Women’s Event, Temple Isaiah Fulton (06/05/07)
16) Baltimore Zionist District’s Brandeis Gala, Baltimore (06/10/07)
17) Meeting with Minister Counselor Rafael Harpaz Director of Public Affairs from the Israeli Embassy, Washington , (6/13/07)
18) JCRC’s Annual Meeting, Rockville (06/14/07)
19) Meeting with Sinai Hospital Executive, Baltimore (7/10/07)
20) Meeting with Governor’s Chief of Staff & Executive Director of BJC, Baltimore (07/19/07)
21) Private Meeting with Governor O’Malley, County Executive Jim Smith and Israeli Ambassador Sallai Meridor , Baltimore (07/25/07)
22) MIDC Gala, Baltimore (07/25/07)
23) Meeting with Governor’s Chief of Staff & Executive Director of JCRC of Greater Washington, Annapolis (07/31/07)
24) Meeting with the Executive Director of CHAI, Baltimore (08/01/07)

In closing I’d be happy to provide the Jewish Times with a short article on my September mission to Israel, upon my return. Please visit our website http://www.goci.maryland.gov

As long as Jews continue to always automatically vote over 85% Democrat, why should they pay any attention? What would they gain? Votes?