A year ago, City Councilman Eric Costello faced a citywide bid after forcefully announcing his resignation as city police chief, who controls the City Council’s budget process and manages bank contributions from Baltimore’s largest political donor. was considering. He is looking to add kingmaker to his own resume, supporting Sheila Dixon’s mayoral bid and funding a challenge to a colleague on city council.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that the race against Zach Blanchard, a political upstart who ran with public funds on election night, was narrowly leading by just 25 votes.
Election officials resumed counting about 20,000 more votes on Thursday, but the narrow margin of victory for whoever comes out on top is evidence of cracks in Costello’s influence and has raised eyebrows among politicians and residents. become.
Costello declined to comment, pointing to social media posts from Wednesday about the race. “There are still too many votes to declare victory in this election, but I am confident and grateful,” he wrote on social media.
Costello has represented District 11 since 2014, when the City Council appointed him to fill a vacant seat. Voters elected him in 2016. He ran unopposed in 2020. He received support from City Union Comptroller Brooke Lierman and was the only City Hall official to receive any real support from Gov. Wes Moore.
Blanchard is a political newcomer and serves as vice president of economic development for the Midtown Benefit District. The U.S. Marine Corps veteran is also president of the Federal Hill Neighborhood Association, a position previously held by Costello.
Speaking outside the city elections board warehouse Thursday, Blanchard said she received about 70 text messages from passionate supporters who couldn’t believe the race was so close.
“I thought, ‘Wait, what do you mean?’ I thought we were on the same page,” he laughed. “But I can understand that as someone who entered politics for the first time six months ago and faced someone who everyone thought was invincible.”
Mr. Costello became the first City Hall official to endorse Mr. Dixon in the primary against Mayor Brandon Scott. The bold decision to support a non-incumbent candidate could have had political benefits, but in a race Tuesday night that some political observers expected would take several nights before a runoff. Mr. Scott easily defeated her.
Costello’s ally, City Council President Nick Mosby, who appointed him to oversee the budget, also lost in the primary to Councilman Zeke Cohen. Liam Davis, who Costello nominated to fill Cohen’s vacated District 1 seat, also lost.
Costello isn’t afraid to use the council’s largest election account to benefit his allies.
Costello enters 2024 with about $500,000 in hand. He has spent more than $250,000 in the past five months. In the run-up to the primary, his campaign spent $145,000 over several weeks in April, including $26,000 in polling costs.
His donors include members of the Smith family and Baltimore County real estate mogul Jack Luetkemeyer. The donations featured prominently in attack ads mailed to voters by Mr. Blanchard, who ran a public program that matched small donations from city residents.
In the last election cycle, Mr. Costello transferred more than $120,000. Dixon and Davis got the most contributions from him this cycle.
He also gave $6,000 to Margo Bruner Settles, who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent City Council member Ryan Dorsey, with whom Costello frequently disagrees.
After Blanchard posted a screenshot of her qualifying results from the close race on social media, Dorsey quickly chimed in.
“I probably should have spent that $6,000 a little differently.” he replied.
For the past seven years, Costello has chaired the City Council’s influential Finance Committee. He serves as the City Council’s oversight of the mayor’s budget proposals, grilling agency heads on their proposals before the City Council renders its final verdict.
Mosby’s loss means Costello will likely lose his position.
The role allows him to advocate for budget changes and exert soft power over a powerful mayoral system that gives council members little power. In 2023, apparently with a tip, he questioned then-police chief Michael Harrison about whether to stay in Baltimore. A few days later, Mr. Harrison announced he was resigning.
As council president, Mosby redesigned the committee and appointed its members and chair. These included taking over the school board position from Cohen, a former teacher with whom Mosby and Costello had frequently sparred, and giving the position to his ally Robert Stokes.
Even if Mr. Costello maintains his lead and retains his seat, Mr. Cohen is likely to make a change in City Council leadership. Mr. Cohen declined to comment for this story.
The race moved in Costello’s direction on Tuesday. His partner, state Sen. Sarah Elfreth, won the Democratic primary for the 3rd Congressional District. She is favored to win in November. Costello lives in Federal Hill. Mr. Elfreth Ann He lives in Arundel County.
Baltimore Banner reporter Adam Willis contributed to this article.
Emily Sullivan covers Baltimore City Hall. She joined Banner after her three years at WYPR, where she won multiple awards for her radio show on city politics and culture. She previously reported on NPR nationally, focusing on business news and breaking news.
