The debate over size in the Baltimore City Council is heating up as the election approaches

With election week just three weeks away, this year Baltimore City residents will vote on whether to reduce the size of the City Council from 14 members to 8, and this battle over Question H is taking a new turn.

Longtime resident Jovani Patterson is calling for a meeting with Mayor Brandon Scott to address what he says is misinformation surrounding the ballot measure.

“It appears that this is the one item that many of our elected officials did not want on the ballot,” Patterson said.

Patterson believes voters should have the final say on issues and warns that ignoring public input could lead to a more dictatorial style of government.

This debate has been fueled by the fact that the City Council is significantly larger than the Baltimore County Council, which has only seven members, although its size and population significantly exceeds the city.

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The Stop Sinclair Ballot Committee, founded by Mayor Scott’s chief of staff and former campaign manager Marvin James, has raised $158,000 to maintain the City Council’s current size and is largely funded by City Council members.

“You’re actually misleading the public by using the name Sinclair because you know it was David Smith,” Patterson explained.

“This is money donated to their campaigns. So they donate from their campaigns in many ways. So it is also public money that flows into these public initiatives. Where there are many residents who are in favor of downsizing the council,” he continued.

Although David Smith, CEO of Sinclair Broadcasting Incorporated, is funding the measure, he is doing so as a private citizen and using his own money.

This week, Sinclair sent a cease and desist letter to the Stop Sinclair Ballot Committee.

“The question should be why there aren’t more David Smiths who want to root out the corruption and dysfunction in city government,” Patterson said.

In less than three weeks, the fate of the City Council’s size will be left up to voters, and Patterson says that should be the case.