Question P was a Baltimore City

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

issue on the November 5, 2002, General Election ballot in which voters overwhelmingly approved reducing the size of the

Baltimore City Council The Baltimore City Council is the legislative branch that governs the City of Baltimore and its more than 600,000 citizens. It has 14 members elected by district and a president elected at-large; all serve four-year terms. The Council holds regu ...

from 18 council members to 14 members, each to be elected by a different local district.

Background

Question P was approved by the voters of

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, U.S., in November 2002 and took effect in the 2004 election. The ballot initiative proposed "that the City Council consists of 14 members, each to be elected from a different district, and a Council President, to be elected Citywide." Baltimore City had previously had six council districts, each electing three council members. These 18 members, plus one City Council President elected at-large made up the body's 19 seats, cut from 21 to 19 in 1967. Question P amended the City Charter, restructuring the Council into 14 single-member districts, and retained the provision for an at-large Council President to be elected to preside over the body and function as a 15th member in voting.

In favor of Question P

The effort to gather the 10,000 signatures required to put Question P on the ballot was spearheaded by Community and Labor United for Baltimore (CLUB), a

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

coalition of community groups and

labor union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

s. Members of CLUB included organizations such as the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

, —a national association for labor unions of public sector employees, and 's Baltimore chapter—a collection of local community organizations that advocate for low-income families and people living in poverty. Two members of the Maryland legislature from Baltimore City, Delegates

Jill P. Carter Jill Priscilla Carter (born June 18, 1964) is an American attorney and politician who represents Maryland's 41st legislative district of Baltimore City in the Maryland State Senate. She previously represented the same district in the Maryland H ...

and Curt Anderson, also supported Question P. Both Carter and Anderson did radio commercials that aired on Baltimore radio stations prior to the election.
CLUB's position was that approving Question P would save City taxpayers money by eliminating redundant positions, increase the transparency and accountability of Council members, and make it easier for less-established candidates to get elected.

Opposition to Question P

Council members who opposed Question P attempted to add an alternative measure to the ballot, Question Q, which was worded very similarly and also proposed cutting the number of city council seats from 19 to 14, but the retained larger, multi-member districts. According to ''Baltimore Sun'' reporter Laura Vozzella, "Critics accused ouncil membersof trying to sabotage the coalition plan and save their $48,000-a-year part-time jobs, since the two measures ..likely would have canceled each other out if both passed."

Outcome

In late September 2002, a Court of Appeals judge ruled in favor of CLUB's lawsuit and removed Question Q from the ballot because Shiela Dixon had violated the City's

Open Meetings Act Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments and, where applicable, by state and local governments. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisfa ...

(Maryland Rule 15-505) by holding a closed-door committee meeting in August 2002 without giving public notice as required by law. At the private meeting, Council decided to put Question Q on the ballot, which led to Question . Despite the disapproval of City Council President

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

and Mayor

Martin O'Malley Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as the List of governors of Maryland, 61st Governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrati ...

, Question P passed with more than two thirds (67%) of the vote.

Notes

{{Reflist Government of Baltimore 2002 Maryland elections 2002 ballot measures Maryland ballot measures