Baltimore lives among the ugly ashes of slavery, Jim Crow, and a so called “nonviolent” civil rights struggle. To meet the demands of the future, Baltimore, in its entirety, must be brought together as a whole, healed, and thrust forward. Murder and mayhem nor the fear of either can continue to rule the day. Baltimore needs strong, creative leadership, before this—house divided—collapses in on itself.
The only way to receive the leadership we need is to demand it. I propose a change to how we elect our leaders—putting no less demand on them than we expect from adolescents—good grades.
Our system of education measures student readiness before allowing students to move forward. And for many professions, Education, Architecture, and Medicine, further testing and certification is required regardless of scholastic achievements. Wealth, good looks, and persuasive oratory cannot garner a driver’s license in Maryland, but they have won seats in the highest levels of government.
I would like to see election rules changed—making it mandatory for candidates to be tested in areas applicable to the office they seek. Should the candidate pass the Candidate Assessment Test, the candidate would then list [no more than ten no less than five] their top issues for improvement—providing a numeric representation for each desired improvement. For example: I “candidate x” plan to bring Baltimore’s murder rate down 20%.
Should the candidate be elected, at the end of their term they would be graded on how close they came to their goal. If the murder rate is reduced by 10%—the incumbent score for that issue would be 50. Should an incumbent’s aggregate grade be a failing grade—the incumbent would not be allow to seek higher office nor stay in office.
“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”
–Frederick Douglass
