Former Baltimore Mayor and Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley has been getting slammed in the media and by some here for what happened to Freddie Gray and for the Baltimore riots. His critics say that his zero tolerance policy on crime is what created the situation in Baltimore these past few weeks. I'd say that is too simplistic and ignores what Baltimore was before O'Malley became mayor and what Baltimore was like when he left the Mayor's office.
In the weeks that come, it will be worth talking about O'Malley's tenure as Mayor in depth. There is the good - lower crime rates, more diverse police force, decrease in police-involved shootings, and excessive force complaints, creation of community boards to police the police, increased funding for after school and community programs to keep kids off the streets. The bad - zero tolerance and areas of Baltimore that were left behind. That won't be enough for those eager to blame all of Baltimore's woes on O'Malley. But, I hope others will be interested in that discussion.
But, that isn't what I want to talk about tonight. I want to talk about leadership.
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