BALTIMORE, MD — In September, hundreds of people gathered in downtown Baltimore to support Green Party Candidate for Mayor, Joshua Harris. Years of one-party rule by the Democratic Party has left Baltimore in shambles. Now many people want a new alternative. A lot of new energy and new people are developing around this campaign.
The People’s Tribune asked Joshua his views on the recent Baltimore City Police Department scandals. “We need a civilian oversight board. We need to hold police financially accountable. We have to have transparency,” he said. On the Tax Incentive Financing (TIF) plans where Baltimore citizens pay for borrowing money for large developers’ projects, Joshua said, “No more corporate bailouts or welfare. No programs that publicize the debt and privatize the profit. We want to turn from the corporate development approach to one that is sustainable for all the people in the city.” When asked would he would do, as Mayor, to find the missing millions from city departments, he replied, “We must put measures in place to audit agencies that have not been audited for four decades,” adding, “My program is to shift the power from the corporate interests in city government to the people who are impacted most. It’s about giving power to people who have been neglected for too long.” When asked about homelessness, Joshua said, “We want to put thousands of Baltimore’s people to work, we want to transition from a Blue Collar Town to a Green Collar Town. We want everyone to have a job and be self sufficient.”