The Baltimore City Council is the legislative branch that governs the City of Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

 and its nearly 700,000 citizens. Baltimore has fourteen single-member City Council districts and representatives are elected for a four-year term. To qualify for a position on the Council, a person must be twenty-one years of age, a registered voter, a U.S. citizen, and a resident of Baltimore and the district. If a position on the Council is vacated, a new representative from the Council District is elected by a majority vote of the Council. As of 2007 the annual salary for city council member was $57,000.

The Baltimore City Council holds its regular meetings on alternate Monday evenings on the fourth floor of the Baltimore City Hall. The presiding officer is the President of the City Council who is elected at-large

At-Large

At-large is a designation for representative members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent the whole membership of the body , rather than a subset of that membership...

. The compensation for the President is (as of 2009) $100,450 a year. The Council has 7 standing committees, all of which must have at least three members.

History

In 1729, the Maryland General Assembly

Maryland General Assembly

The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is a bicameral body. The upper chamber, the Maryland State Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber, the Maryland House of Delegates, has 141 representatives...

 authorized the erection of Baltimoretown on the north side of the Patapsco and appointed a group of commissioners to govern it. In 1797, the General Assembly granted a charter that created the office of Mayor and City Council. The Council was divided into 2 branches, and membership required heavy property qualifications. During its early history the council was composed exlcusivley of white, non-Jewish males. In 1890 Harry Sythe Cummings was elected to the council, becoming the first black elected official in the state of Maryland. For forty years after 1890, six different black Republicans won elections to the council. Before 1918, the General Assembly enacted all local laws affecting the city, since then the Mayor and City Council assumed those responsibilities. In the November election of 1922, the voters through petition replaced a two-branch council with a unicameral one and Baltimore abolished its old system of small wards, replacing them with much larger districts. In 1943, Ella Bailey became the first woman elected to the City Council.

In 2003, as a result of the ballot initiative, Question P

Question P

Question P was a 2002 local referendum issue which modified the Baltimore City Council.-Description:Question P was approved by the voters of Baltimore, Maryland, United States, in November 2002...

, the Baltimore City Council went from six three-member districts to 14 single-member districts or from 18 members to 14 members. The council president continued to be elected at-large.

Records

The records of the City Council, dates ranging from 1797-1987, reside at the Baltimore City Archives

Baltimore City Archives

The Baltimore City Archives is the official municipal archive of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It is currently located on Mathews St in the Better Waverly, Baltimore neighborhood...

 in Record Group BRG16. The collection includes administrative files, volumes of proceedings, joint council session reports, correspondence, ordinances and resolutions, committee bills, hearing schedules, and other records.

Current Members of the Baltimore City Council

District	Born	Member	Party	Elected	Primary Committee
1 Baltimore City Council District 1 Baltimore City Council's 1st District is a council district located in southern Baltimore, Maryland. In television series The Wire, it is represented by Tommy Carcetti.-About the district:...	Baltimore	James B. Kraft James B. Kraft James B. Kraft is a member of the Baltimore City Council representing the First Council District in Baltimore, Maryland. The First District covers Southeast Baltimore, including the neighborhoods of Little Italy, Butchers Hill, Fells Point, Washington Hill, Patterson Park, Canton, Highlandtown,...	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...		Judiciary and Legislative Investigations (Chair)
2	Baltimore	Nicholas D'Adamo, Jr. Nicholas D'Adamo, Jr. Nicholas C. D'Adamo, Jr. is a member of the Baltimore City Council, representing the 2nd district.-Background:He is a 1976 graduate of Archbishop Curley High School. Following his graduation, he assisted his father, Nicholas C. D'Adamo, Sr. in the running of his Highlandtown store before running...	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	1987	Budget and Appropriations
3	Baltimore	Robert W. Curran Robert W. Curran Robert W. Curran, is a member of the Baltimore City Council representing the Third Council District in Baltimore, Maryland. A member of a prominent Maryland political family, Curran is the son of J. Joseph Curran, Sr., Baltimore City Councilman from 1953 through 1977, a brother to former Maryland...	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	1995	Executive Appointments (Chair)
4	Baltimore	Bill Henry	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	2007	Education
5	Baltimore	Rochelle "Rikki" Spector	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	1977	Land Use and Transportation
6	Baltimore	Sharon Green Middleton	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...		Urban Affairs and Aging
7	Baltimore	Belinda Conaway	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	2004	Executive Appointments
8		Helen Holton	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...		Taxation and Finance
9		Pete Welch	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...		Urban Affairs and Aging (Chair)
10	Baltimore	Edward Reisinger	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...		Land Use and Transportation (Chair)
11	Havre de Grace Havre de Grace, Maryland Havre de Grace is a city in Harford County, Maryland, United States. Located at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of the Chesapeake Bay, Havre de Grace is named after the port city of Le Havre, France, which was first named Le Havre de Grâce, meaning in French "Harbor of Grace." As...	William H. Cole IV William H. Cole IV William H. Cole IV is an American politician who represents the 11th District on the Baltimore City Council. He was first elected to a four-year term beginning in December, 2007.-Career history:*Delegate in the Maryland General Assembly, 4 years...	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	2007	Taxation and Finance (Vice Chair)
12	Baltimore	Carl Stokes Carl Stokes (Baltimore) Carl Stokes is an American politician who represents the 12th district on the Baltimore City Council.He is a former member of the Baltimore City Board of school commissioners and ran for Mayor of Baltimore in 1999.-Background:...	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	2010	Budget and Appropriations (Chair)
13		Warren Branch	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	1994	Budget and Appropriations
14	Providence	Mary Pat Clarke Mary Pat Clarke Mary Pat Clarke is an American politician who represents the district 14 in the Baltimore City Council. She is arguably the most recognized person in Baltimore, Maryland politics having served as either council president or council member for 24 out of the last 35 years as of 2010...	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	1975	Education (Chair)
At-Large	Baltimore	Bernard "Jack" Young Bernard C. Young Bernard C. "Jack" Young is an American politician who serves as President of the Baltimore City Council, formerly representing District 2 and District 12 on the Baltimore City Council.-Background:...	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	2010	Council President