Lafayette, as I remember he was demonized quite a bit for his anti drug war stance and it really hurt him politically, maybe I was wrong. Maybe it didnt hurt him as much as I thought it did.
This is from Wiki.
On November 3, 1987, he was elected mayor. As mayor, he became known for his opposition to the "
War on Drugs" and his stance in favor of
drug decriminalization. Schmoke initiated programs in housing, education, public health and economic development. During his three terms in office Schmoke faced very serious challenges, including poor quality schools, drug addiction, and violent crime. Some of his controversial positions included advocating the decriminalization of drug use, and employing Nation of Islam security guards in a housing project. His achievements included improving the environment of low-income housing projects, a needle-exchange program for addicts, keeping the tax rate stable, and attracting the
Ravens football team to Baltimore.
[8] In 1992, President
George H. W. Bush awarded him the national Literacy Award for his efforts to promote adult literacy, and in 1994 President
Bill Clinton cited Baltimore's programs to improve public housing and enhance community economic development and named Baltimore one of six cities to receive Empowerment Zone designation.
On a side note about Schmoke, in the TV series The Wire, the chief of police starts a red light district of his own in Baltimore called Hamsterdam. This character was based on Schmoke. The red light district didn't work so well on the series for obvious reasons if youve seen the show, GREAT show btw.
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