Sheila Dixon

Sheila Dixon was elected as the first female and third African American mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, in January 2007, after her predecessor, Martin O'Malley, was sworn into office as Maryland's governor.

Dixon was born 1953 in Baltimore, Maryland. She graduated from Baltimore's educationalist training college, Towson, and earned her master's degree from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to serving as mayor, Dixon taught as an elementary and adult educator, and worked in Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development on international trade issues.

Dixon was elected to Baltimore's city council in 1987, having secured election to the Baltimore City Democratic State Central Committee a year earlier. She became the city council president in 1999, the first African American elected to this position. In January 2007, when Martin O'Malley was sworn into office as Maryland's governor, Dixon finished O'Malley's final year as mayor. In November 2007, she was elected mayor of Baltimore.

In 2010, she resigned from office as a part of a plea agreement; in 2009, a jury found her guilty of a misdemeanor, fraudulent misappropriation. She paid a $45,000 fine and did 500 hours of community service.

In July 2015, Dixon announced her candidacy for the 2016 election for the mayor of Baltimore, but was defeated in the primary.

Sources:

Ballotpedia (n.d.). “Sheila Dixon” Ballotpedia. Retrieved October 7, 2022. https://ballotpedia.org/Sheila_Dixon.