So excited for Baltimore to have ⁦@CouncilmanBMS⁩ as our City Council President! Good news for Charm City. Excited to keep working with him in his new role! https://t.co/O3hn9GmXRq

— Brooke Lierman (@BELBaltimore) May 7, 2019

Mazel Tov to my brother, friend, and PRESIDENT @CouncilmanBMS
Brandon is the real deal. He embodies the best of Baltimore. I look forward to working with you to move our great city forward.

Thank you to @CCMiddleton6 for stepping up during this pivotal time for our city. pic.twitter.com/AxysKnFJt5

— Zeke Cohen (@Zeke_Cohen) May 6, 2019

1. The Death of Freddie Gray Sparks Citywide Unrest

We have to go back nearly 50 years to another April, in 1968–after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.–to find a time when the city dealt with a crisis comparable to the one it faced this past spring. The riots and public uprising that followed the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray from injuries endured while in police custody shook Baltimore to its core and changed the way the world saw us–and we saw ourselves. Gray’s death–ruled a homicide by the state medical examiner’s office–lit a fuse that continued to burn for days, fueled by decades of social and economic injustice in many of the city’s poorest African-American neighborhoods.

Gray’s death on April 19, following a week in a coma after suffering a severe spinal-cord injury–allegedly during a so-called “rough ride” in a police transport van–sparked two weeks of unrest, including the violent night of Monday, April 27, that culminated in hundreds of arrests, injuries to numerous Baltimore police officers, and the destruction of dozens of local businesses. During the surreal aftermath, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake implemented a citywide curfew and Gov. Larry Hogan deployed heavily armed Maryland National Guard troops and armored vehicles to patrol downtown.

Of course, Gray’s death hadn’t occurred in a vacuum, but came on the heels of the widely publicized deaths of black men at the hands of police officers in Ferguson, MO; Staten Island, NY; Cleveland, OH; and elsewhere. In the months leading up to the unrest, alarming local police-brutality issues also were raised in compelling reporting by The Sun’s Mark Puente. Subsequent protests ultimately led to the firing of Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts and likely influenced Rawlings-Blake’s decision not to seek re-election.

One difference in Baltimore, as opposed to the aforementioned cities, is that six police officers–whose trials remain in various stages–were quickly charged for their alleged roles in Gray’s death by then-newly elected city state’s attorney Marilyn Mosby.

Kevin Davis, the city’s new Police Commissioner, recently told Baltimore that he hopes 2015 will mark a turning point in relations between the police department and aggrieved communities–and the city as a whole.

“This is a transformative moment for the City of Baltimore, and I will continue to urge my neighbors to remain peaceful while continuing to seek justice for Freddie Gray.”U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, 5/1

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2. Marilyn Mosby’s Star Turn

It’s not every day that a city state’s attorney becomes a national celebrity. But Marilyn Mosby’s speedy indictments of six police officers in the death of Freddie Gray and her self-assured announcement of those charges at a frenzied press conference in front of the city’s War Memorial Building, thrust the attractive, 35-year-old mother of two into the limelight just months into her tenure. For better or worse, Mosby subsequently appeared in the pages of Vogue in a shoot by famed fashion and art photographer Annie Leibovitz, and gave interviews to Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire. She also took the stage alongside her husband, City Councilman and now-mayoral candidate Nick Mosby, during Prince’s Rally 4 Peace concert at Royal Farms Arena. Whether Marilyn Mosby is ultimately viewed as a heroine or another ambitious, over-reaching politician will likely depend on how her office handles the cases against the officers.

“To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America: I heard your call for ‘no justice, no peace.’”Marilyn Mosby, 5/1

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3. Homicides Spike Following Freddie Gray Unrest

After the death of Freddie Gray from injuries suffered while in police custody, Baltimore saw a surge in homicides the likes of which it hasn’t witnessed since the 1990s. Almost inconceivably, the city matched 2014’s homicide total of 211 on August 19 when a man with a bullet wound was found inside a vacant house not far from the Pennsylvania Avenue CVS store that burned in the riots. While it’s impossible to say with certainty what has driven the increased violence–also witnessed in other cities across the U.S. this year–Baltimore had recorded a typical number of homicides (65) prior to the unrest. Afterward, however, a four-decade high of 43 murders in May was followed with 45 killed in July. By November, the tally was 285, putting the city close to the record pace of 1993 when 353 people were murdered, and once again placing Baltimore among the most dangerous cities in the country.

“It’s the toughest job in the United States at the moment.” Eugene O’Donnell, John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor and a former New York City police officer, on the challenge facing then-interim Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, AP, 7/9

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4. Mayoral Race Thrown Wide Open as Rawlings-Blake Forgoes Re-election Campaign

In a stunning turn of events, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced in September that she would not seek re-election in the 2016 mayoral race, saying that she would dedicate the remainder of her term to helping the city recover from the Freddie Gray unrest. Many suggested that she was simply bowing out of a race she could no longer win. But whatever her motives, the announcement threw already-announced candidates–including former Mayor Sheila Dixon, State Senator Catherine Pugh, and City Councilman Carl Stokes–into overdrive and opened the door for other hopefuls. In late October, City Councilman Nick Mosby (also the husband of city state’s attorney Marilyn Mosby) entered the race. Then, in November, David Warnock, a venture capitalist and the chairman of the Greater Baltimore Committee, declared his candidacy. It’s impossible to tell who will prevail in the April 26 Democratic primary, which, in heavily Democratic Baltimore, amounts to the general election–but we’ve sure got ourselves a horserace.

“It is a more wide open race today than it was yesterday.” State Delegate Sandy Rosenberg to The New York Times on 9/11, the day Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced she would not seek reelection.

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5. Red Line to Nowhere

Anyone who followed Gov. Larry Hogan’s campaign shouldn’t have been surprised when he canceled Baltimore’s planned, $2.9 billion mass-transit project in June. Hogan had said all along that he didn’t support the decade-in-the-making, 14-mile, east-west Red Line effort. When he hired Pete Rahn, a road builder from New Mexico, as his transportation secretary, the die was cast. Still, Hogan’s official rejection of $900 million in approved federal funding for the light rail system seemed to catch Baltimore’s elected leaders off guard, while delivering a crushing blow to a city in need of good news and economic development. When the Hogan administration later released its state road and highway improvement plans–in large part funded from Red Line savings–and Baltimore was left off the map, it seemed a telling slip that revealed the governor’s political agenda.

“Every other county shows investments being made, and Baltimore is literally and figuratively a gaping hole.”State Senator Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, to The Sun, 6/25

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6. Orioles Play to an Empty Stadium

Baseball has been played professionally in this country since the 1800s, so it’s rare to hear about any unprecedented event in the sport. But 2015 was a year of firsts for Baltimore. After canceling two previous Orioles games, the league announced that the April 29 game against the Chicago White Sox would be played in a closed stadium–a first in MLB history. This was, of course, days after protests and riots damaged businesses surrounding Camden Yards, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said, “these decisions are in the best interests of fan safety and the deployment of city resources.” Closed to the public, the only people inside the stadium were players, staff, and media (more national media than we’ve ever seen at Camden Yards, including during a playoff series). The entire experience was surreal, but the strangest thing was what you suddenly could hear: players cheering from the dugouts, outfielders calling for balls, umps making third-strike calls, and balls smacking into fielders’ gloves. Not surprisingly, Birdland couldn’t be tamed completely that day, as fans–just outside the left-center field gates–chanted “O-R-I-O-L-E-S” and steadily cheered their team to an 8 to 2 win.

“It’s not an easy time for anybody right now. It doesn’t matter what race you are. We need this game to be played, but we need this city to heal first.”Orioles center fielder Adam Jones, 8/29

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7. Gov. Hogan Diagnosed with Cancer

Only months after his upset victory over then-sitting Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Gov. Larry Hogan announced he had been diagnosed with a “very aggressive” cancer. In a June press conference, Hogan said he was told by doctors that the B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma had spread quickly to his neck, chest, groin, and abdomen. He also had been told, however, that he had a “strong chance of survival,” and he vowed to continue his duties while undergoing treatment. And he has, winning the admiration of the public: A Goucher College poll released in October found 54 percent of those surveyed felt favorably about Hogan, a 21 point increase from the college’s previous poll in February. Those are pretty good numbers in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1. The former real-estate executive, 59, who was elected on a promise to curb spending and roll back tax increases, recently completed his last round of chemotherapy, and now hopes to regain his strength–and his hair.

“All of the experts tell me that they believe that I’ll come out of that completely clear. They also tell me it’s gonna beat the hell out of me.” Gov. Larry Hogan at a press conference, 6/22

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8. Senator Barbara Mikulski Retires

In a move that shocked many Marylanders, long-serving Democratic U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski announced on March 2 that she would not be seeking a sixth term. The Highlandtown native, a social worker-turned-U.S.-Representative-turned-Senator, has served in Congress longer than any other woman in history, and is beloved for her unpretentious, dogged, and feisty ways. Known as the Dean of the Women, she serves as a mentor to other women in the Senate and was also the first woman to chair the prestigious Senate Appropriations Committee, where she is now the ranking member. Her announcement left local politicos scrambling and, so far, only two candidates–U.S. Representatives Donna Edwards and Chris Van Hollen–have thrown their hats into the ring. (U.S. Representative Elijah Cumming also hasn’t ruled it out.) In a way, this makes sense. The diminutive Mikulski may have small feet, but she has enormous shoes to fill.

“Do I spend my time raising money, or do I spend my time raising hell? Remember, for the next two years I will be here, working the way that I do.” Senator Barbara Mikulski, at the press conference announcing her retirement, 3/2

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9. American Pharoah Wins Preakness En Route to Triple Crown

The rain streaked down that mid-May afternoon–and then, so did American Pharoah. Baltimore watched with baited breath as the Kentucky Derby-winning colt took an almost immediate lead and barreled down a swampy Pimlico track toward the 140th Preakness Stakes’ winner’s circle–and eventually the Belmont Stakes and the elusive Triple Crown. Forgetting the weather, the record-setting crowd went wild and jockey Victor Espinoza beamed as he slowed to a canter, thrusting his crop triumphantly in the air. In a time of speculation that the race might move to Laurel Park and just a few weeks after the social upheaval that followed the death of Freddie Gray, it was, despite the torrents, a bright moment in an otherwise gloomy spring.

“What a day for Baltimore. They really needed this after all they’ve been through.”American Pharoah trainer Bob Baffert, The Sun, 5/16

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10. Kevin Plank Buys Port Covington

The days of easy parking in Port Covington are numbered. Sagamore Development, the real-estate investment firm controlled by Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, purchased the 128-acre industrial area in early 2015 and has announced big plans for the under-utilized commercial/industrial hub. These include a new campus for Plank’s booming sportswear company, which last year earned revenues in excess of $3 billion and is outgrowing its Tide Point headquarters. Eventually, the project will include mixed-use development as well, such as an Under Armour retail store and residential units, but first Plank will be mixing up some good hooch: A whiskey distillery slated to open in late 2016 will produce Sagamore Spirit whiskey brand. The distillery complex also will include a 10,000-square-foot restaurant and a barn that will house the city’s mounted police unit. Public records say Plank paid about $90 million for the tract, which is off Interstate 95 on the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River. Currently, it is the site of a Walmart. We call this an upgrade.

“People said, ‘You should look at the county or Pennsylvania.' That’s not really our bag. We’re of this city, from this city, and we’re going to build something great in this city.” Kevin Plank in the Baltimore Business Journal , 3/2

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11. Gov. Hogan Closes Jail

“Today, I have instructed Secretary [of Public Safety & Correctional Services, Stephen T.] Moyer to immediately shut down the Baltimore City Men’s Detention Center,” Gov. Hogan said in a July 30 press conference outside the turreted jail that towers ominously over East Baltimore. And with that, a corruption-plagued, vermin-infested chapter in Baltimore’s history came to an abrupt end. By late August, the remaining inmates at the state-run jail had been moved to other facilities. Though Hogan’s announcement ruffled a few feathers–Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was caught unaware and Hogan wasn’t shy about blaming the jail’s failures on previous administrations–few quibbled with the act. Some parts of the jail pre-date the Civil War, and it showed. Plus, it was a hive of corruption. Most recently, the leader of the Black Guerilla Family gang had impregnated guards and run a drug-smuggling operation while incarcerated. For most, closing the jail wasn’t a matter of good-bye so much as it was good riddance.

“I could barely stomach it.” Stephen T. Moyer in The Sun, 8/27

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12. Washington Monument Renovation Unearths Two Time Capsules

The past was very much present during the renovation of Baltimore’s Washington Monument. The 18-month, $5.5 million project involved painstaking restoration work on the 200-year-old column and culminated in a grand reopening celebration on the Fourth of July. But the journey to that point was equally momentous. In October 2014, workers discovered a time capsule dating to 1915. Then, in February of this year, crews found a second capsule that had been laid in the monument’s cornerstone in 1815. Naturally, the public was fascinated. And while the contents of the capsules proved prosaic–coins, newspaper clippings, likenesses of historical figures such as Francis Scott Key and, naturally, George Washington–the discoveries provided a link to our collective past and prompted reflection on what we can leave for future generations.

“You just felt these people in 1815 taking those [newspapers] and putting them in this container and burying them.Lance Humphries of Mount Vernon Place Conservancy to WBAL, 2/18

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13. Martin O’Malley and Dr. Ben Carson Mount Presidential Campaigns

To us, they’re just Marty and Ben, a city councilman-turned-mayor-turned-governor and a world-famous Johns Hopkins pediatric neurosurgeon, respectively. For decades, their blandly handsome mugs have been staring out at us from billboards, TV commercials, and the covers of countless magazines (including this one). But now the rest of the country is meeting them as presidential candidates–and responding with varying degrees of interest. Carson, who is vying for the Republican nomination, is, as of this writing, surging in the polls in Iowa in advance of that state’s influential January caucuses. O’Malley, on the other hand, seems stuck in the back of the Democratic pack, overshadowed by the fame of Hillary Clinton and the populist momentum of Bernie Sanders. But that hasn’t stopped him from using every weapon in his political arsenal–including his, um, guitar. He covered Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” on The View in October, and yet his poll numbers remain in the single digits. Maybe try “Shake It Off” next time, Marty!

“Whatever the polling is today never reflects what they ultimately decide.”Martin O’Malley, Bloomberg Politics, 10/27

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14. Molly Shattuck sentenced

Even before the news broke late last year, it was the worst-kept secret in Baltimore: Forty-eight-year-old Molly Shattuck, the ex-wife of former Constellation Energy CEO Mayo Shattuck, had performed oral sex on a 15-year-old boy, a schoolmate of her son’s at an exclusive private school in Baltimore County. The ugly truth was confirmed in June when she pleaded guilty to fourth-degree rape. Then in August, a judge sentenced the former Ravens cheerleader to 15 years in prison, with all but two years suspended. She was ordered to spend 48 alternating weekends in a detention facility in Delaware, the state in which the rape occurred. Many saw the sentence as a mere slap on her tiny wrist, but by September, Shattuck was dividing her days between a no-frills cell in jail and her well-heeled home in Baltimore. “I take full responsibility for what I did,” Shattuck sobbed in court. “I was the adult.”

“Miss Shattuck is a criminal. She admits to being a rapist. . . . She must be held responsible.”The victim’s mother, The Sun, 8/21

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15. Doreen Bolger Bids Farewell to the BMA

She was known throughout Baltimore for attending fancy galas and Station North warehouse shows alike. She championed free admission at The Baltimore Museum of Art, and it was under her direction that the museum re-opened its historic doors to the public–both literally and figuratively. Bolger oversaw an unprecedented $28 million renovation that aimed, in part, to make art more accessible to everyone. When she announced she was retiring after 17 years, there was plenty of sadness in the arts community. But she went out with a bang at a party at the BMA in June, seated on a flaming throne as members of the Baltimore Rock Opera Society performed and revelers helped paint a mural designed by renowned street artist Gaia. Better still, Bolger assures us she intends to remain here and continue to advise the BMA as it attempts to find her successor.

“Doreen has transformed The Baltimore Museum of Art into one of the most dynamic and innovating cultural institutions in the country. . . . Her wisdom and experience will be missed.” Christine Anagnos, executive director of the Association for Art Museum Directors, 4/8

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16. Spike Gjerde wins James Beard Award

For Woodberry Kitchen owner Spike Gjerde, who in May won the coveted James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mid Atlantic, the third time was the charm. Going toque-to-toque against Charleston’s Cindy Wolf, this was the farm-to-table chef’s third consecutive year as a finalist. And his win was the first James Beard Award ever given to a Baltimore chef. Speaking by phone from Chicago, where the awards were doled out, he told us that when his category was called, “I just closed my eyes–it was a magical moment.” The ensuing months have been a little less magical, however. In June, two Woodberry Kitchen pastry chefs slapped a suit against Watershed LLC (the parent company of Woodberry Kitchen, Artifact, and Parts & Labor) over unfair wages. Turns out, most medals tarnish with time.

“I just felt it was really great validation for Woodberry and for Baltimore as a city.”Spike Gjerde, The Sun, 5/6

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17. Millennial Media Acquired by AOL

Millennial Media, one of Baltimore’s better-known homegrown tech startups, got swallowed up by AOL in September in a $238 million deal that could turn around the mobile advertising firm’s plummeting profitability. AOL, which itself was acquired by Verizon in June for $4.4 billion, could also benefit from the deal by being better able to compete with other big media companies, such as Google and Facebook, on mobile platforms. Notably, the $238 million was about one-eighth of Millennial’s market value on the day of its IPO in 2012. Since then, the stock price has slid downward with the company losing $149 million last year and $35 million in the first half of this year. It also remains to be seen what the acquisition means for the combined 450 staffers in the local AOL and Millennial Media offices.

“I think the deal was great for AOL/Verizon and probably viewed [as] so-so for Millennial.”John Ferber, co-founder of Advertising.com, the former Baltimore startup also acquired by AOL, The Sun, 9/3

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18. Veep Vacates Maryland

No more Julia Louis-Dreyfus sightings at Whole Foods. No more trying to suss out when Baltimore is standing in for D.C. No more moments of “Hey, that’s my favorite bar on TV!” On June 18, HBO announced that it would be moving production of Veep, the Emmy-award-winning political comedy, from Maryland to Los Angeles for the show’s fifth season. As is so often the case, money was the deciding factor. Veep was granted $6.5 million in tax credits by the California Film Commission. After the show won Outstanding Comedy Series at the 2015 Emmys, Veep cast member Timothy Simons tweeted: “Love to our Baltimore crew. We love and miss you. This is impossible without you. Thanks for everything.” No Veep, thank you.

“The producers and HBO would like to thank Maryland for making the last four seasons of Veep such a success. We look forward to returning with another production in the future.”statement from HBO announcing Veep was leaving Maryland, 6/18

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19. CLUB Hippo Closes

In what was arguably one of the best years for the LGBTQ community, Baltimore suffered a loss when the news broke in May that Club Hippo would close. After more than four decades as an anchor of Baltimore’s gay scene, owner Chuck Bowers decided it was time to retire, and, in early October, he shut the iconic nightclub’s doors for good. Opened in 1972, the Hippo served as a safe haven for all walks of life through times of adversity, including the AIDS epidemic. It was a comfort zone, where people could be themselves without fear or judgment. And sometimes that meant howling “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes with a bunch of your closest friends in its beloved karaoke room, or catching the latest drag show on the dance floor. Of course, the Hippo couldn’t go out without one last big party, which it held on September 26 as a packed dance floor boogied to one last song (“It’s Raining Men” by The Weather Girls, of course). After 43 years of acceptance, enlightenment, and pure entertainment, the Hippo is now gone, but not forgotten.

“Chuck Bowers, the staff and management of the Hippo want to thank everyone who supported us over the past 43 years! Just remember, ‘The enchantment has ended but the SPELL remains.’”Club Hippo Facebook page, 10/5

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20. Episcopal Bishop Kills Cyclist

On New Year’s Day, more than 1,000 cyclists gathered for a silent memorial ride up Roland Avenue in honor of popular Baltimore bike builder Tom Palermo, who had been killed in a drunken hit-and-run accident just days prior. Per cycling community tradition, a white-painted “ghost bike” was chained to a pole near the crash location, with flowers and candles placed around the makeshift memorial. The driver of the car that killed Palermo, Episcopal Bishop Heather Elizabeth Cook, pleaded guilty to automobile manslaughter in September and was sentenced to seven years in prison in October. Meanwhile, organizations such as Bikemore, the city’s nonprofit bicycling advocacy organization, and Bike Maryland continue to press for tougher penalties for negligent drivers and safer roads for cyclists.

“Last Saturday was a beautiful day and Rachel [Palermo’s wife], realizing how busy they had been, suggested to Tom that he do what he loved and go out for a ride.”Jeff Hulting, at brother-in-law Tom Palermo’s memorial ride, talking about the day Palermo died, Baltimoremagazine.net , 1/2

Honorable Mentions: More Moments That Mattered

Another body cannot possibly squeeze into the packed house at James Joyce's Irish Pub & Restaurant, an early anchor in Harbor East when it served its first Guinness pint and plate of corned beef and cabbage a decade ago. Leading the pub's 10th anniversary party on stage this November night, in his familiar-to-Baltimoreans tight black T-shirt, Gov. Martin O'Malley strums his guitar and leans into the microphone, taking his band, O'Malley's March, through an energetic set of Celtic ballads and Irish-tinged rock songs, including a cover of The Pogues' "Dirty Little Town."

"Dreamed a dream by the old canal
I kissed my girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town
Dirty old town"

The song, cast in a struggling industrial city, couldn't be more appropriate for O'Malley, who also performed here at the pub's opening as then-Mayor of Baltimore—when Harbor East was still mostly empty warehouses and desolate docks. At the time, the city's crime and homicide rates were becoming the stuff of legend in the HBO series The Wire—an image O'Malley fought like crazy and a show that gets his ire up to this day. Now, however, the holiday lights decorating the hotel, restaurant, and gleaming office buildings behind him in the pub's front glass window seem almost symbolic, an affirmation of the burgeoning upscale district, the city's wider rebirth, and even O'Malley's political career, which is experiencing something of a revival tonight.

He'd suffered through a disappointing General Assembly earlier in 2012 when legislators ignored or punted much of his agenda, barely managing to pass a "doomsday" budget just before midnight on the session's final day. But a week earlier, on election night, O'Malley rebounded remarkably. The Governor had thrown his full weight behind several risky hot-button referendum issues—Maryland's same-sex marriage law; the Dream Act (to assist undocumented immigrants with in-state tuition); an expansion of gambling; and a new, partisan congressional map—and won on all four measures.

"In that way, he was like Schaefer, driving around and reporting potholes."

On top of those victories, as then-head of the Democratic Governor's Association, O'Malley had advocated tirelessly for President Barack Obama in his reelection bid, frequently appearing on the Sunday talk shows to square off with the Republican opposition. In the aftermath of Obama's victory, O'Malley's effective stumping added to the perception of the Governor's growing political momentum. Almost immediately after the votes were counted, political pundits, on the basis of O'Malley's referendum victories and increased national stature, put him on the short list of 2016 Democratic contenders with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden, and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

"I saw him play at McGinn's on Charles Street, which became Mick O'Shea's, when he was playing there regularly," says Ellen Muth. "He's debonair, handsome the way JFK was in the 1960s."

Her daughter, Lane, standing next to her between sets, also saw O'Malley play many times when he was mayor. "I told my mom then, 'He's going to be president in 10 years.'" Not necessarily because of any legislative achievements, Lane admits, but instead because of one of O'Malley's most commented-upon attributes as a politician, "because he was charming and appealing."

Perhaps it's worth noting, for those who believe in such signs, that the James Joyce's Pub is located, of course, on President Street.

Standing at the corner of Harford Road and the Alameda announcing that he was running for mayor in June of 1999, O'Malley's political future was hardly guaranteed—as is often posited given his sturdy good looks and marriage to former Maryland Attorney General Joe Curran's daughter—let alone destined for a White House bid. He entered the race late, not jumping in until after former NAACP head Kweisi Mfume announced he was staying out.

Although always a brash, outspoken, camera-ready councilman, he joined a crowded field seeking to replace three-term incumbent Kurt Schmoke, a race that included O'Malley's closest ally on the City Council, its president, Lawrence Bell, and popular councilman Carl Stokes—frontrunners in the wake of Mfume's non-candidacy. "One of them was at 90 percent name recognition, another at 89 percent," O'Malley recalls with a smile in his Annapolis statehouse office shortly before greeting the General Assembly on opening day of this year's session. "I was at 30 percent, and that's when I knew I had them."

The remark may sound more cocky than self-deprecating, but O'Malley had actually lost his first state Senate race to incumbent John Pica by a narrow margin.

In fact, before Mfume deferred, O'Malley admits wrestling with the idea that his nascent political career might be winding down after two City Council terms. "I'd recently taken over a friend's legal practice in Towson at that point, not exactly the employment base to make a run for citywide office," O'Malley says. "I wanted Kweisi [whom O'Malley later sought out to save Baltimore's annual African-American festival] to run. I had served two honorable terms. And I had a growing family."

Gov. Martin O'Malley speaks In Iowa. —AP Wide World Images

But he offered a contrast to Schmoke in and substance, and became convinced he could change Baltimore's trajectory with his tough-on-crime, public-safety-first approach. Equally important, he felt his City Council colleagues could not. "No disrespect intended to either man," O'Malley says of Bell and Stokes, "but I knew them and didn't think they could make a difference. I told Katie [Judge Catherine "Katie" Curran O'Malley], I had a responsibility to run and that we had to try. Fortunately, she agreed." The Washington Post headline after O'Malley unexpectedly garnered 53 percent of the Democratic primary vote: "White Man Gets Mayoral Nomination in Baltimore."

Norma Secoura, an Overlea Republican who worked in former Gov. Robert Ehrlich's administration, found O'Malley to be engaged and attentive to his constituents from the start, first, as her councilman and then, as mayor. "In that way, he was like [former Mayor William Donald] Schaefer, driving around and reporting potholes," Secoura says. "And whenever I saw him in City Hall as mayor, he was the same way, on the BlackBerry, managing all of that minutia and the city at the same time. He's someone who prepares for every meeting; reads the pages of every bill."

"My Republican friends will hate to hear it," Secoura says, "but in many ways he was the best option for Baltimore in those days."

Current City Councilman Bill Henry, who worked in several City Hall positions in the 1990s, interacted with the young councilman during late work nights. He says losing that state Senate race by such a close margin strengthened O'Malley. "He wasn't ever going to leave anything to chance after that—whether it was a constituent complaining about a broken streetlight—or his next campaign."

During his first term, O'Malley brought New York City's data-driven CompStat policing model to Baltimore, built it out to CitiStat, and launched, memorably, the "Believe" campaign, putting his name into national media spotlight for the first time. The CitiStat efficiency model has since been adopted by cities across the country.

Retired City police Maj. Michael Hilliard, assigned to O'Malley's district when he was a councilman, notes that while Schaefer and O'Malley famously did not get along—"they hated each other," Hilliard says—they both took a detail-driven, hands-on approach to running the city. Schaefer through the dint of his quirky and often agitating personality; O'Malley through his numbers-obsessed, managerial style. (Former Gov. Parris Glendening quips that Schaefer actually got along with few of Maryland's top executives in government: "He thought he could do it better than anyone," Glendening says. "He's in heaven right now and probably thinks he could run things better there.")

Hilliard, who later directed the department's communication section, said CompStat "put cops on dots." O'Malley then took the process to other agencies, and linked it to 311 non-emergency calls related to city agencies. "Using that model and expanding it to other city agencies, holding them accountable, that's probably the most innovative thing he's done. It works," says Hilliard, who now directs community services for Harbel, Northeast Baltimore's neighborhood association. Hilliard adds that counter to his folk- rocker alter ego, O'Malley could be "a holy terror" in CompStat accountability sessions.

Further burnishing his efficiency-hawk credibility, O'Malley developed StateStat as governor, resumé material he will surely tout during any potential presidential campaign, particularly given the never-ending Capitol Hill fiscal and debt crises.

"He's got a playful side, but those who judge him by his stage persona, or that he goes to the gym, miss him entirely," Hilliard says. "He's right out of central casting, but he's not a lightweight by any means. He's intense, smart, knows what he's doing, and works hard. It's [for] that combination that people pegged him for higher office."

O'Malley, too, as befits someone with a reputation as a tenacious (even ruthless, if you put full stock in David Simon's Carcetti-as-O'Malley-avatar in The Wire) behind-the-scenes player, has politics in his blood. His grandfathers were FDR Democrats; one holding a county chairmanship in Fort Wayne, IN, the other serving as a Pittsburgh ward leader. His father twice ran for office in Montgomery County, and met his mother, who to this day answers the phone for Sen. Barbara Mikulski, working on a young Democrats newsletter in D.C. At 20, he left his Catholic University studies to join the Iowa presidential campaign of then-Colorado Sen. Gary Hart, who reportedly bought him his first legal beer in Des Moines. "[Joining the Hart campaign was] my response to the Reagan years," says O'Malley, who has remained in contact with Hart over the years. In 1987, he was Hart's national field director before the Colorado Democrat's second presidential run imploded after his affair with Donna Rice came to light.

Still, it's not as if Baltimore—with seemingly insurmountable heroin, homicide, and AIDS epidemics and its depressing poverty and graduation rates—was an easy springboard for someone dreaming of sleeping in the Lincoln Bedroom. O'Malley had his share of problems as mayor, especially early on, with his first police chief resigning less than two months into office and his fourth in place by his first term's end. He faced "daily blowback," in his words, over his zero-tolerance arrest policy, including a lawsuit the city settled with the ACLU and NAACP. And yet, he handily won reelection, earning a 2004 Democratic National Convention speaking engagement, which famously fell flat, but didn't squelch speculation of an eventual O'Malley drive for governor and, in Baltimore at least, the desk at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Forming his federal O Say Can You See PAC this fall was the clearest sign that O'Malley, for all intents and purposes, is "in" the 2016 race, says St. Mary's College of Maryland political science professor Todd Eberly. "You use it to give people money, and you want them to remember you," he says. The hiring of Stephen Neuman, who served as an Obama campaign strategist, to manage his PAC and later, to take over as his director of public affairs, similarly speaks to designs on higher office.

Glendening also believes O'Malley will run, though maybe not in 2016 if Hillary Clinton pursues the office again, noting O'Malley's support for her 2008 campaign and his relationship with the Clintons. "I think he's ambitious, and I think for a long time he's felt he could be a good president," says Glendening, who heads Smart Growth America's Leadership Institute and maintains a relationship with O'Malley, praising his environmental efforts.

Performing with O'Malley's March; with his Wife, Katie, in Annapolis; At Bowie State University with Pres. Barack Obama and Sen. Barbara Mikulski. —Getty Images and AP Wide World Images (2)

Interestingly, O'Malley, whether motivated by ego, as his critics claim, his Jesuit education, his family background, his love of history—"In high school, I probably took out every book on Irish history in the Rockville library"—or more likely a combination of all of the above, has never denied his personal ambitions. He mentioned running for governor while on the City Council. He says straightforwardly that he doesn't see a conflict between what may be viewed as his ambition through the years and taking care of the job at hand. Republican state legislators, however, have accused him of overlooking—or alternatively, exploiting—his position as governor while on recent trips, for example, to Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, to name three early primary states. "What's the saying?," O'Malley rhetorically asks an interviewer after providing a mini-history tour of the Office of the Maryland Governor. "The best way to get the next job is to do a good job at the one you have?"

University of Maryland Baltimore County Department of Public Policy chairman Donald F. Norris dismisses a recent Gonzales poll that reported 58 percent of Marylanders don't think O'Malley should run for president. The same poll put the Governor's approval rating at 54 percent.

"He has a lot going for him as a potential candidate," says Norris, who believes the majority of Marylanders would ultimately support an O'Malley bid. "He's run a city government, a state government, and managed to balance the budget every year. He came into office [as governor] at the start of the recession, balanced the budget, and, at the same time, has come close to closing the state's structural deficit."

Along with his record as mayor, O'Malley will surely tout Maryland's high national rankings in public education, college tuition costs, median income, ability to attract Ph.D.'s, and bond rating, as he did in January's "State of the State" address. Similarly, Eberly says O'Malley's recent legislative accomplishments project very well onto the national stage.

"He went through a period of a couple of years where he was grounded to an extent; unable to get his agenda [wind power, gambling, gas tax, death penalty] through," Eberly says. "But after November, if I'm Martin O'Malley, I'm online right now looking at good prices on campaign buses. They won't get any cheaper. He had a night that I don't think he could've imagined and that sets him up perfectly for a primary contest in four years."

And O'Malley's seizing an opportunity in the current legislative session to add to his primary credentials. With a mountain of newfound political capital in hand, he's pushing again for offshore wind power and a death penalty repeal, as well as record school funding, stricter gun-control legislation, and some form of revenue for transportation infrastructure—if not his original plan to increase the gas tax, which didn't go anywhere last year. Some of these proposals he will very likely succeed in signing into law.

Which isn't to say that O'Malley doesn't face enormous hurdles in a campaign.

Maryland's a small state, which hurts in terms of pulling together a network and a donor list. He possesses some national-security experience, via the Port of Baltimore, but doesn't have foreign policy or military experience. Clinton, Biden, and Cuomo, who has also put a solid Democratic resumé together in New York, all have vastly greater name recognition. There's also a good chance Democratic party leaders will quickly fall in line behind Hillary Clinton, if she enters, given her gravitas, and the opportunity to elect the first woman president. With her age, 69 on election day in 2016, and recent health issues, however, a Clinton campaign is not as certain as it once was.

So what else hasn't O'Malley done? He hasn't written a book, for example, that can take him on a tour of primary states after his term ends in 2014. (He seems to recognize this traditional step in the campaign process, handing a reporter a stack of favorite speeches in lieu of a book, which, he says, he has been "too busy" to write.) He'll also need to line up a job after this term, whether it's a position at a university, law firm, think tank, or the Democratic Party leadership. "He'll need a base," Glendening says. "It hurt [Mitt] Romney that he was seen as only running for president. "Not to mention," Glendening adds with a laugh, "he's got all those kids who will be looking at colleges."

O'Malley rarely communicates that he is someone who "feels their pain" the way Bill Clinton did.

O'Malley also hasn't displayed Obama's soaring oratory skills nor Bill Clinton's Southern affability from the podium. Of course, Clinton, another bright, ambitious, small-state governor, didn't have a problem overcoming a speech that flopped on the floor of the DNC. However, Bill Clinton's more natural empathy always came across in smaller settings and, obviously, he grew into a master at articulating policy and delivering the televised address. O'Malley, by comparison—with his well-coiffed hair, preacher curl biceps, measured body language—may be as sympathetic to the problems of others, but rarely communicates that he is someone who "feels their pain" the way Bill Clinton did.

In fact, O'Malley, who volunteers that while he's never taken a personality test, he's sure he'd register as an introvert—"I enjoy alone time to sit with my guitar, or read"—actually appears most genuine in public when his old temper rises, though it flashes less than it used to. Like when he refers to "David Simon's whinings about Baltimore," which he takes personally, and "the 'black ops' that were the hallmark of all of Gov. Ehrlich's campaigns." (An Ehrlich aide was fired after spreading rumors that O'Malley was having an affair.)

Still, Towson University scholar Martha Kumar, author of Managing the President's Message: The White House Communications Operation, believes O'Malley has the time to get better at delivering key speeches. "One of the important things about the presidential campaign, is the length," Kumar says. "There is a real opportunity to learn and listen to people's problems in different regions across the country," and to incorporate that experience into better messaging.

The bottom line, says Gary Hart, who should know, is that it's impossible to know who will catch fire in each primary season and who will flame out, and why.

"Nobody knows," Hart says. "If I had the answer to that question, I'd be a wealthy man. People say 'charisma,' but that's hard to define. Sometimes it's a generation thing, and that's a factor to look at when you consider Clinton and Biden. They may be well known, but their time may have passed. I would expect Gov. O'Malley to test the waters a lot in the next three years."

Hart adds that a presidential campaign is unique because of its scale. "It's not like running 50 [individual] state races," Hart says. "The key for the governor will be his ability to discuss three things: One, the U.S. economy, two, the role of the U.S. in the world; and three, national security. And he'll talk about his record in Baltimore, in Maryland, and the role of education, the role of infrastructure, and issues like climate change."

Hart's advice for O'Malley, who, hasn't sat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, for example, is "to take a lot of trips and find out what's going on in the Middle East, Europe, and the Far East."

Mfume, who served five terms in Congress rather than campaigning for mayor, laughs good-naturedly when it's suggested that by deciding not to run for mayor in 1999, he may have unwittingly launched the career of a president. But he also says he relates to O'Malley's political journey.

"It's frustrating being a member of the City Council—sometimes you feel like you're banging your head against the wall," says Mfume, whose eight-year council term preceded O'Malley's by just a few years. "I understand it [O'Malley's consideration of giving up his council seat]. In fact, I was on my way to law school when [former Congressman] Parren Mitchell called me and said he was retiring and that I should run."

Mfume, who says that he encouraged O'Malley to run for mayor, also believes the former Northeast councilman has what it takes to make a compelling bid for the highest office in the land—and all that entails.

"I've been around long enough to say this," Mfume says. "If you really want to do something, you have to get a buzz going among Democratic Party activists and it's very possible he could do that. . . . He's smart enough, wise enough, and experienced enough to navigate those waters, as others [potential Democratic nominees] launch their own ships."

When asked if he's willing to declare support for an O'Malley candidacy, Mfume hedges. Just a bit.

"I'll wait until I get that call from the Governor," he says. "But I think you know how I feel."