Overview
- This week Councilman Mark Conway was removed as chair of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee and has publicly called the move retaliation for his push to give the inspector general broader access to council records.
- Council President Zeke Cohen says he removed Conway for poor attendance at public-safety budget hearings, a lack of substantive legislation and limited engagement with safety leaders rather than for political reasons.
- Conway says he introduced a bill to resolve the inspector general’s access issue but fears it will stall in committee as the inspector general pursues the matter in court following a recent Judge White ruling that the Maryland Public Information Act does not control the dispute.
- Separately, the mayor has introduced legislation to create a Department of Neighborhood Safety with $16 million proposed in next year’s budget and plans for a nationwide search for an executive director, raising questions about how the new agency would work with existing oversight bodies.
- The change shifts who leads public-safety oversight at City Hall, could slow investigations that need council records, and underscores growing tension between council leadership, the inspector general and the mayor over transparency and safety policy.