Baltimore mayor resigns amid scandal
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh resigned from her position Thursday, succumbing to a month of scandals and mounting investigations in which federal agents raided City Hall and her home.
Pugh, a longtime state legislator who won the city’s top job in 2016, came under fire in March when The Baltimore Sun reported the University of Maryland Medical Center had paid $500,000 to purchase 100,000 copies of children’s books she wrote. Pugh was a trustee on the center’s board.
Pugh’s publisher later said it had only printed 60,000 copies of the “Healthy Holly” books, which promote health living and exercise. Baltimore’s school district, where the books were distributed to students, said it had not requested the donation from the medical center.{mosads}
Last month, the Sun reported that the health insurance giant Kaiser Permanente and a nonprofit called Associated Black Charities had both paid huge sums to purchase copies of the book, all while Pugh was mayor.
Pugh took a paid leave of absence as Baltimore and Maryland political officials called on her to resign. She has stayed out of the public eye for weeks, battling what her attorney called a case of pneumonia.
FBI and IRS agents executed seven search warrants in late April, searching Baltimore City Hall, two homes Pugh owned and offices associated with several of her allies. The Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor is also investigating.
Pugh’s resignation means acting Mayor Bernard “Jack” Young will become the city’s full-time mayor. Young has said he does not plan to run for election to a full term. He has already fired three top Pugh aides, including her former chief of staff.
Pugh is the second mayor of Baltimore to resign in disgrace in recent years. In 2010, Mayor Sheila Dixon resigned as part of a plea deal reached with prosecutors after being found guilty of a misdemeanor embezzlement charge.
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