Baltimore Mayoral Candidate Mary Miller Touts Public, Private Sector Experience As Primary Nears
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- In just under a month, Baltimore voters will head to the polls for the mayoral primary election.
As the election nears, a recent poll shows there is no clear frontrunner in the race.
Thirty-two candidates -- seven Republicans, 24 Democrats and one unaffiliated -- are vying for the city's top office.
WJZ is taking a closer look at the candidates hoping to become the next mayor: in this story is political newcomer Mary Miller.
Miller, a Democrat, is a first-time candidate with a platform that addresses the city's critical needs. A recent Hart Research poll shows her, former mayor Sheila Dixon and city council president Brandon Scott all polling at 16 percent.
"It confirms some of our internal polling work, so we're very heartened by that and it gives us a lot of confidence to keep marching forward to the primary on June 2," Miller said in an interview.
In 2010, then-President Barack Obama appointed her the first woman under secretary of finance at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
BALTIMORE MAYORAL CANDIDATES PROFILES:
Miller said her experience in both the public and private sectors sets her apart as a candidate.
"I bring a unique mix of experience in the public sector, the private sector and public policy that I think could be very helpful to Baltimore right now, particularly as we try to recover from the coronavirus," she said. "My time in the Obama administration following the last recession was squarely focused on economic recovery."
COVID-19 is also highlighting the city's needs, Miller said, listing everything from the digital divide to students' access to education at home to telemedicine and health care access.
She has also prioritized public safety as part of her platform.
"We know there are big issues there, we know ... it is hard to do but we've got to do that," she said. "We've got to do it more urgently. I would like to bring the same sense of urgency to our crime problems that we have brought to the coronavirus."
Ballots for the election will begin to be mailed out on Friday.
Stay with WJZ for more candidate profiles and additional coverage leading up to the June 2 primary election.
