Up by more than 10,000 votes, City Councilman Bill Henry declared victory in the Democratic race for comptroller over Joan Pratt, a six-term incumbent.
“Thanks to the efforts and generosity of so many, this campaign was able to successfully reach the voters of Baltimore City with a simple, powerful message: after 24 years, it’s time for change,” Henry said in a statement.
Henry ran on a campaign of strengthening and modernizing the office, pledging to conduct more audits and serve as a transparent fiscal watchdog.
The people of Baltimore “want a Comptroller who will keep an eye on the Mayor and City agencies,” Henry said in a statement. “They want a Comptroller who’s focused on pulling back the curtain, and letting all of us see how City government is really running and how our money is being spent.”
The Republican Party did not nominate a candidate for Baltimore City Comptroller, so Henry may face only an independent challenger during the general election in November. In Baltimore, Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 10-1 margin.
In the mayor’s race, City Council President Brandon Scott increased his lead over former Mayor Sheila Dixon and is now up by 1,385 votes, or 1 percent.
The first release of results on Tuesday evening showed Dixon was in the lead with 24,278 votes to Scott’s 19,685 votes but the council president has closed the gap with each batch released since then.
There are still several thousand votes to be counted, including 2,000 provisional ballots and 700 that were rejected, per The Sun.
It appears the eventual winner will face off against Republican Shannon Wright, a pastor and former vice president of the Yonkers NAACP.
The race for the Democratic nomination for city council president also appears locked up. City Councilwoman Shannon Sneed, who’s in second place and trailing by 12 percent, conceded to Del. Nick Mosby.
“I want to congratulate Delegate Nick Mosby on his apparent victory in our Democratic Primary, and look forward to working with him as we work together on creating a City that works for all Baltimoreans,” Sneed said in a statment.
Mosby has not formally declared victory, and the candidate in third place, former Councilman Carl Stokes, has not issued a concession.
Most of the Democratic nomination contests for the council look to be settled. Incumbents Zeke Cohen (District 1), Danielle McCray (District 2), Ryan Dorsey (District 3), Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer (District 5), Sharon Green Middleton (District 6), Kristerfer Burnett (District 8) and John T. Bullock (District 9) all have considerable leads. Eric Costello (District 11) ran unopposed.
Newcomers Phylicia Porter (District 10), Antonio “Tony” Glover (District 13), James Torrence (District 7) and Odette Ramos (District 14) all have substantial advantages.
In District 12, incumbent Robert Stokes Sr. grew his lead somewhat, but only 303 votes separate him from attorney Phillip Westry.
And in the race to fill Henry’s District 4 seat, only 227 votes separate leader Mark Conway, a former deputy director of CitiStat, from Logan Endow, who has worked in Liberia to treat Ebola virus.
