During an unseasonably warm Friday morning in March, Thiru Vignarajah jumped into the Baltimore Harbor.
Vignarajah, who is running for mayor in the upcoming primary election, admitted to reporters and a small crowd of supporters that the jump was a political stunt.
“Of course it’s a gimmick, but it’s a gimmick with a purpose,” he said, pledging to jump in the harbor again 60 days into his term, if elected, should he fail to fulfill his campaign pledges on the environment.
Vignarajah was looking to make a splash in a crowded field of mayoral candidates, which include Mayor Brandon Scott and former Mayor Sheila Dixon, vying to lead the city next January. Baltimore’s mayor will lead the city as it navigates the effects of a warming climate, elevated asthma rates, and developing more sustainable infrastructure.
Vignarajah pledged to break the city’s contract with the Wheelabrator waste-to-energy incinerator, a contract he contended is invalid because it was not subject to competitive bidding, nor does it comply with the Baltimore Clean Air Act.
“An incinerator with Baltimore emblazoned on a smokestack should not be the enduring symbol of our city,” he said.
Wendy Bozel, a teacher and Democrat also running to unseat Scott, said she’s seen the negative effects of Baltimore’s air quality in students, pointing to elevated levels of asthma in young people.
“I teach the kids every day,” she said. “I know we have many kids that can’t go to school because their asthma is so bad.”
The city’s health department reported that 33 percent of high school students have been “told by a doctor or nurse that they had asthma.” Asthma cases for high schools are nearly 26 percent statewide. Asthma rates for adults in Baltimore hover around 13 percent, compared to 9 percent statewide and nationally, according to the agency.
Like Vignarajah, Bozel is eyeing an end to the Wheelabrator incinerator, contending that the city and state shouldn’t be subsidizing this form of renewable energy, and instead would like to focus funding to develop composting facilities to move the city towards zero waste.
Scott, when campaigning for mayor in 2020, opposed the incinerator, but reversed course after securing the Democratic nomination, according to the Baltimore Brew. The mayor also signed a 10-year contract extension, the one Vignarajah has in his crosshairs.
Scott, in an interview with Baltimore Fishbowl maintained his opposition to the incinerator, blaming the “previous administration” for negotiating the deal. He said his administration “will do everything in our power” to make sure the city is prepared to move away from its relationship with Wheelabrator at the end of the 10-year contract period, set to expire in December, 2031, but added that the city isn’t yet prepared “to just jump to zero waste.”
The mayor said that his next term, if reelected, will be focused on continuing to build out zero-waste infrastructure, expand composting in the city, and training Department of Public Works employees and residents on moving towards zero waste.
“Anyone that says that we can just [cancel the contract] today, they’re just saying things that they think are going to get people to vote for them,” he said, contending that breaking the contract would result in a lawsuit the city would not win. “What the residents of Baltimore [are] always going to get from me is the truth of how you can do things in a responsible way.”
Dixon has a different take on the incinerator, suggesting that the incinerator’s pollution falls within the EPA standards and the city cannot abandon its economic value, all while pushing Wheelabrator to improve on emissions.
“The bottom line is you don’t want to get rid of industry that’s going to provide jobs and opportunities, but you also want them to abide by the EPA…in order to make sure that those neighborhoods are safe, healthwise.”
While she said she wouldn’t want to remove residents from areas with elevated exposure to the incinerator and other heavy industry, Dixon said she plans on “rethinking some of those areas” for improvements for residents in neighborhoods like Curtis Bay, Fairfield Homes, and Fairfax, if elected.
“If people are having health challenges within those communities, I think we need to look at what else could be contributing to that,” she said.
Trees and buses
Before jumping into the harbor, Vignarajah also promised to introduce legislation banning gas hook-ups for new construction beginning in 2026, following the lead of Washington D.C., Montgomery County and other jurisdictions. He also pledged to further help residents with sewage back-up cleaning, and comply with a consent decree ordering financial assistance to residents.
Vignarajah told reporters he plans to expand the city’s free circulator buses and add two new routes, should he win.
Scott touted his administration’s transition to a zero-emissions fleet and pledged to further those efforts. The mayor said Baltimore needs to address the amount of city-owned buildings and where it sources its energy. He also pointed to the LEED Gold certification awarded to the city last summer, and said he’d eye a LEED Platinum certification in a second term.
Dixon wants the city to grow its tree canopy.
“Studies have shown the more canopies you have with trees, the cooler it can create certain environments, which I think an inner city is needed more than ever,” she said.
The former mayor floated the idea of turning some vacant properties into public green spaces as well, in order to enhance communities for residents still living in those neighborhoods. She’d also like Baltimore city to better tackle recycling for its citizens.
“A clean environment is critical to our city being a livable and great city,” Bob Wallace said.
Wallace, who ran and lost to Scott in 2020, pointed to his leadership at Bithenergy, an alternative energy company focused on renewable sources like wind and solar, as evidence of his commitment to a renewable future for Baltimore.
Wallace plans to leverage the Department of Public Works to “design systems that will help us to manage the emerging climate change challenges” such as torrential rainfalls that lead to flooding. He’d also like to see the city bolster its commitment to renewables.
The businessman also set his sights on urban agriculture in Baltimore.
“With the right leadership and the right technology and execution, we can create an industry in the city that will be a thriving one, that can use the existing workforce,” he said.
Full mayoral campaign issues coverage:
Mayoral candidates on bicycle transportation
Mayoral candidates on supporting art
Mayoral candidates on the environment
Mayoral candidates on vacant properties
Mayoral candidates on recycling, trash collection and public works
Mayoral candidates on graffiti, dumping and cleanliness
Mayoral candidates on jobs and the economy
Mayoral candidates on large development projects and special tax treatment
Mayoral candidates on squeegee workers and youth recreation
Mayoral candidates on crime and public safety
