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Stephanie Rawlings-Blake

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Mayor

The Resume

    (March 17, 1970- )
    Born in Baltimore, Maryland
    Birth name is Stephanie C. Rawlings
    Democrat
    Daughter of influential Baltimore politician Pete Rawlings (1937 - 2003)
    Secretary of the Democratic National Committee
    President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors
    Served as vice president of the Baltimore City Council (1997 - 2007)
    Elected president of the Baltimore City Council in 2007 (serving until Feb. 4, 2010)
    Became the 49th (and second female) mayor of Baltimore, assuming office in 2010, but only officially getting elected in November of 2011
    Presided over the city's leadership during the city riots in reaction to the death of unarmed black male, Freddie Gray, at the hands of Baltimore police (April, 2015)
    Announced that she would not seek re-election as Mayor of Baltimore (Sept. 11, 2015)

Why she might be annoying:

    Boston Streets dubbed her 'the worst mayor in America.'
    Her ties to the DNC were held against her at the height of the Freddie Gray riots.
    Her ties to Baltimore politics basically ensured her job security (her father was Maryland House Appropriations Chair when she entered the City Council).
    She inherited the office of Mayor due to the forced resignation of incumbent Sheila Dixon following her corruption conviction in 2010.
    She was accused of cronyism in orchestrating the IndyCar's annual GrandPrix in downtown Baltimore (2011).
    She became the first sitting mayor, of any city, to perform in a production of 'Chicago' (there's one for the books...)
    Her dramatic weight loss after attaining the Mayoral office got her a tie-in with Weight Watchers, alongside Jennifer Hudson.
    She took heat for comments made during the riots about the 'balancing act' facing Baltimore officials; saying that she wanted to give 'those who wished to destroy space to do that as well.'
    On the opposite end of the spectrum, she angered the black community when she tried to walk back on the comments, decrying the rioters as 'thugs' who 'in a very senseless way, are trying to tear down' the city (Apr. 27, 2015).
    When she was asked about being Mayor of Baltimore during the Freddie Gray riots, she said 'Do I look like I'm having an easy time? I think it would be hard to take a look at the week that I've had to suggest that it's easier.'
    She received partial blame for the high post-riot crime rate and police force antagonism due to her opposition to the City Council’s authorizing implementation of a department-wide mandate on police with body cameras (which would have settled the debacle that much sooner).
    Kwame Rose unloaded on her and President Obama during his infamous rant to Geraldo Rivera, characterizing them as elitists over their 'thugs' comments and chiding her for living in an elite community outside of Baltimore city.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She is good friends with CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin.
    She looks like Terence 'Luscious' Howard's ex-fiancé Anika on 'Empire.'
    Her 'space to destroy' comment was taken out of context by media outlets.
    She became the youngest person ever elected to the Baltimore City Council in 1995, at the age of 25.
    She was honored by the Daily Record as one of Maryland's Top 100 Women on two occasions (2007; 2011).
    She was named as a Shirley Chisholm Memorial Award Trailblazer by the National Congress of Black Women, Washington, DC Chapter (2009).
    She was named Innovator of the Year by the Maryland Daily Record (2010).
    Vanity Fair included her in their list of the Top 10 Best-Dressed Mayors of 2014.
    Her 20-year-old cousin, Joseph Haskins, was shot and killed during a home invasion robbery (May 9, 2013).
    Many noted that a silver lining in the Baltimore riots was that, between her and others, it was an empowering moment for strong black women in leadership roles.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 24 Votes: 45.83% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 82 Votes: 57.32% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 66 Votes: 69.70% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 50 Votes: 44.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 32 Votes: 53.12% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1165 Votes: 65.15% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 900 Votes: 84.78% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 611 Votes: 86.74% Annoying