End the bloodshed.
Thiru knows that we can’t unleash Baltimore’s full promise until we address violent crime. Thiru is prepared to reverse the worst murder surge in Baltimore history -- he has pledged to get homicides below 200 within his first term or not seek re-election. Most importantly, he will tackle this crisis without mass incarceration, zero tolerance, cash bail, or mandatory minimums.
Read our comprehensive plan below, which includes 20 unique, actionable proposals that can make our city safer and more just. Also read our plan for building a police force for the 22nd century, linked here.
Thiru's team recently conducted a comprehensive analysis of the 1,001 homicides that occurred between 2017 and 2019, providing unprecedented public access to data specific to each case. Learn more here.
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Root out corruption.
From unpaid water bills to headlines about misspent funds, we need to restore trust in City Hall. That’s why within a week of launching his campaign, Thiru set a precedent by being the first mayoral candidate in Baltimore’s history to release five years of tax returns (2013-18). Thiru can’t be bought and is not beholden to special interests. He’s committed to ending the “pay-to-play” culture, and to holding himself and City Hall accountable. In his first 100 days, Thiru will conduct top-to-bottom forensic audits of every City agency to uncover fraud, corruption, and wasteful spending.
Thiru is a leader who takes responsibility -- for the good, the bad, and everything in between.
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Revitalize the economy.
The global pandemic presents a once-in-a-century challenge to our city, the country, and the world. It also offers a rare opportunity to rebuild, reinvest, and reimagine the economy and infrastructure of Baltimore for the 21st century.
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Our plan “From Recovery to Prosperity” is a three-part roadmap across the relief, recovery, and rebuilding phases. We have to address immediate needs over the next several months, seize opportunities for recovery in the following six to 18-month period, and lay the groundwork for a five- and 10-year plan to reimagine a prosperous and inclusive economy. Read more below.
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Also, check out our plans to “Back Baltimore’s Small Businesses” here and to "Stimulate Arts, Film, & Music," linked here.
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Fix our public schools.
Our schools are broken. Some don’t have heat in the winter, air conditioning in the summer, or drinkable water from the water fountains. We need to invest more in our children and their futures.
Thiru will guarantee universal pre-K for 3 and 4-year-olds, make every elementary school a community school with holistic student and parent programming, create a “School to Success” initiative to turn a student’s engagement with the criminal justice system into an opportunity for skill-building and career development, and ensure that every graduate of a City public school can attend Maryland universities, trade schools, and community colleges debt-free.
Our full education plan is coming soon!
Reduce property taxes.
For too long, Baltimore City residents have paid twice as much in property taxes as those living in surrounding counties. With soaring crime and broken schools, this tax rate has become harder and harder to justify. High property taxes discourage families and businesses from investing in Baltimore. As mayor, Thiru will reduce property taxes by half over the next decade, while cutting at least forty million dollars in wasteful spending and raising taxes on abandoned property.
Read our detailed property tax plan below.
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Reimagine transit & infrastructure.
Equitable access to affordable transportation is critical to economic growth and a better quality of life. From students struggling to get to school on time, to hardworking Baltimoreans facing multiple hour commutes, we need solutions and a culture shift. Thiru supports a Complete Streets redesign, a free city-wide bus system with East-West public-transit-only routes, and the expansion of ridesharing discounts in transit and food deserts. From bike lanes to the Highway to Nowhere, Thiru intends to put participatory planning and lessons learned from other cities’ efforts to work.
Read our transportation plan below.
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Clean our streets & protect the environment.
Baltimore is in desperate need of a government that runs efficiently and provides reliable, quality services. Across our city, you will encounter overflowing trash cans, dumped debris, and litter in our streets and waterways -- we have to do the basics. At the same time, we need to take seriously the defining challenge of our generation: climate change. Green infrastructure, an expanded tree canopy, a mixed-waste materials recovery facility to replace a closed incinerator, environmental education programs… Thiru will bring the attention to detail and commitment our city needs to be cleaner and greener.
Read our “Only Baltimore We Have” plan here.
Read our “Common Sense Clean Up” plan below.
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Prioritize public health.
From lead paint to gun violence to malnutrition, the children of this city have endured too many public health crises of our own making -- Thiru will not let them fall victim to another. He’s proposed restrictions on e-cigarettes, which would be among the strongest in the nation, designed to halt a growing epidemic that threatens young people. Also, through philanthropic partnership, Thiru would launch health screenings at elementary schools across the city (sickle cell, lead exposure, vision, trauma, & more) to broaden prevention and treatment efforts.
Read our plan to address racial health disparities emboldened by COVID-19 here, as well as our plan to curb the e-cigarette epidemic here.
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Our full public health plan is coming soon! Have suggestions? Tell us!
Legalize cannabis.
The marijuana marketplace in Baltimore is currently a chaotic free-for-all. The illegal trade contributes to record violence while also depriving taxpayers of hundreds of millions of dollars. Thiru wants to use Baltimore’s independent charter authority to become the first city in America to regulate and tax recreational cannabis use without federal or state approval. This would benefit local, minority business owners and produce $250 million in annual revenue for Baltimore City earmarked for investments in education.
Read our cannabis plan below.
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Safeguard LGBTQ+ rights.
Thiru wants Baltimore to become the most inviting and hospitable city in the country for the LGBTQ+ community. He is dedicated to safeguarding their rights and fostering diversity and inclusivity. While the city has made some progress, LGBTQ+ identifying individuals continue to face systemic discrimination in our city and beyond. From supporting LGBTQ+ owned businesses to protecting transgender citizens from crime and discriminatory police enforcement, we can better serve our LGBTQ+ Baltimoreans.
Read our plan to safeguard LGBTQ+ rights below.
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Embrace diversity.
Thiru celebrates the diversity of Baltimore and aspires to make our city immigrant-inclusive. He has pledged no support of ICE, guaranteeing right to counsel to those facing deportation, establishing a H1-B Visa matching program, and prioritizing pre-arrest diversion for non-violent offenders who would otherwise face deportation.
Read our plan to support Baltimore’s immigrant populations below.
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Redirect our squeegee kids.
Squeegeeing emerges from the complex problems that have plagued Baltimore for generations: a lack of economic opportunity, unaccountability in our broken public schools, a sweeping opioid epidemic, and rampant crime that disproportionately affects Black and Brown communities. Getting individuals off the streets and into well-paying, stable jobs, as well as connecting them to the resources they need, will require a multifaceted, comprehensive approach.
Read our plan: "Squeegeeing to Success" below.
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