Sheila Dixon

Sheila Ann Dixon (born December 27, 1953) is an American politician who served as the forty-eighth mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, after mayor Martin O'Malley was sworn in as governor on January 17, 2007.

In 1986, Dixon was elected to the Baltimore City Democratic State Central Committee representing the 40th Legislative District.

In 1987, she won a seat on the Baltimore City Council representing the 4th Council District, where she served twelve years.

In 1991, Dixon waved her shoe at white colleagues on the Baltimore City Council and yelled, "You've been running things for the last 20 years. Now the shoe is on the other foot."

This incident led many people, including some of her supporters, to view her as a divisive person.

Dixon explained her earlier comment by stating that she had "matured" since making the shoe comment and that she now attempts "to communicate better with individuals."

In 1999, Dixon was elected president of the Baltimore City Council, the first African-American woman elected to this position.

In 2003, she won her re-election race for president of the Baltimore City Council, defeating her nearest competitor, Catherine Pugh, by 21,000 votes.

As City Council President, Dixon was ex officio mayor pro tempore, and ascended as mayor when Martin O'Malley resigned after being elected governor of Maryland in November 2006.

During her tenure, Baltimore's homicide rate dropped for the first time in the 30 years.

Dixon, then president of the Baltimore City Council, served out the remaining year of her term and won the mayoral election in November 2007.

Dixon was the first African-American woman to serve as president of the City Council, Baltimore's first female mayor, and Baltimore's third black mayor.

The gift cards in question were received by her office in December 2004 - December 2007.

In 2007, Dixon introduced a crime plan that focused on more community policing and using police resources to target the most violent offenders.

To combat crime, Dixon appointed Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III, who supported her neighborhood-crime strategy.

In February 2008, the Baltimore City Police reported a sharp decline in homicides in Baltimore.

According to police there were 14 murders in the city for the month of January, the lowest monthly total in 30 years.

As of April 2008, there had been a 40% reduction in murders in the city after experiencing a record high in 2007 during Dixon's first year in office.

By April 15, 2008, the number of murders in the city had grown to 54, the lowest total to this time of the year in recent memory, putting the city on pace for 189 murders in 2008.

By the end of 2008, the murder count was 234—a 17% reduction over the previous year.

While her critics complained that crime had risen in Baltimore during her tenure and that she did not pay enough attention to the issue, her record shows that she had increased police patrols, cracked down on the possession of illegal guns, and actively secured federal and state funds for crime-fighting programs.

On January 9, 2009, Dixon was indicted by then State prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh, on twelve felony and misdemeanor counts, including perjury, theft, and misconduct.

The indictment alleged the personal use of gift cards, donated by two prominent Baltimore real estate developers, Patrick Turner and Ronald Lipscomb.

According to testimony, donated gift cards were collected during the annual “Holly Trolley Tour,” held about a week before Christmas, and distributed in several city neighborhoods by the mayor and other city officials.

During the trial in November 2009, Dixon’s scheduler, receptionist, and office assistant, who were earning $20,000 or less, testified to receiving gift cards on their desk at Christmas.

Dixon's office assistant also testified to receiving a "wrapped PlayStation Portable game system" for her son, and is cited in the indictment as a purchase made by Dixon using two of the Best Buy gift cards donated by Lipscomb.

In December 2009, the jury delivered a guilty verdict on one count of "fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary" and acquitted her on two counts of felony theft, and one count of misconduct in office.

As part of a plea agreement made in December 2009, Dixon received probation in exchange for stepping down as mayor.

She was succeeded by then City Council president, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and by December 2012, Dixon had completed all of the terms of her probation, and the case closed.

Dixon has remained active in the Baltimore community and sought reelection for mayor in 2016.

She was defeated in the Democratic Primary by then State Senator Catherine Pugh, who received 2,408 more votes than Dixon.

Dixon, who remained a popular figure challenged Pugh as a write-in candidate in the general election, but lost with 51,716 votes.

In the 2020 Baltimore mayoral election, she again sought the Democratic nomination, but narrowly lost to candidate Brandon Scott.

On September 7, 2023, she announced her third election bid for Mayor in 2024.

Dixon was born and was raised in the Ashburton neighborhood of West Baltimore.

Her father, Phillip Dixon Sr., was a car salesman, and her mother, Winona Dixon, was a community activist.

Dixon attended the Baltimore City public schools and graduated from Northwestern High School.

She earned a bachelor's degree from Towson University and a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University.

After graduating from college, Dixon worked as an elementary school teacher and adult education instructor with the Head Start program.

She then worked for 17 years as an international trade specialist with the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.