Brandon Scott

Brandon Maurice Scott (born April 8, 1984) is an American politician serving as the mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, since 2020. The city of Baltimore uses a strong mayor-council structure for their government, meaning Scott holds strong mayoral powers. He is the former president of the Baltimore City Council and was a candidate for lieutenant governor of Maryland in 2018, as well as a representative for Baltimore's second district. On May 6, 2019, Scott was elected to replace Jack Young as council president after Young succeeded Mayor Catherine Pugh. In September 2019, Scott announced his candidacy for mayor and won the June 2020 Democratic primary. Scott won the November 3 general election and took office on December 8, 2020. Early life and education Scott was born and raised in Park Heights, Baltimore. As a child he admired Congressman Elijah Cummings and saw him as a role model. He ran track and cross country at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School where he graduated in 2002. He went onto receive a degree in political science from St. Mary's College of Maryland in 2006. Career Political background After graduating from college, Scott worked as a liaison for City Council President Stephanie Rawlings Blake. In 2011, he was elected to serve as the city councilperson for the second district, making him one of the youngest ever elected to city office. He was the chair of the Public Safety Committee and a member of the Budget and Appropriations and Judiciary and Legislative Investigations committees. In early 2018, he passed a bill creating an open data policy in Baltimore. As a council member, Scott oversaw the reinstatment of Council Oversight of the Baltimore Police Department. On May 2019, the Baltimore City Council unanimously voted to elevate Scott to serve as the City Council president, serving the remainder of the term of Bernard C. "Jack" Young, who ascended to the mayoralty following the resignation of Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh.