By Sean Yoes

AFRO Staff Writer

In the midst of a widening investigation by the State Prosecutor’s Office, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon said investigators “got forceful” when they conducted an early morning raid of her Southwest Baltimore home last week.

“When they came, I said, ‘I’m not waking my kids up yet, my son gets up at 7 for camp and I’m not letting you in until then,’ and then they really got forceful about it,” Dixon disclosed during a telephone interview with The Afro. “It was just very—my kids are beside themselves—I hate to put them through this,” Dixon added, referring to her son, Joshua, and his older sister, Jasmine.

An affidavit by the State Prosecutor that was made public this week  reveals details about Dixon’s private life, including a “personal relationship” with prominent Baltimore developer Ron Lipscomb— that she recently acknowledged—and her spending habits. Since last week’s raid of her home and this week’s release of the affidavit, Dixon, the city’s first female and second elected Black mayor, says some media organizations have crossed the line in their reporting.

“It is very personal and I think that the media really has gone beyond where they should in dealing with issues, particularly when they don’t give all the facts,” Dixon said. “Again, I can’t go into it—people have access to the documents—but, they only are portraying or providing what they want out of it, so they are sensationalizing aspects of it,” she added.

In fact, during a morning press conference in front of City Hall this week, Dixon was peppered with questions about shopping sprees and her taste in footwear. “I know how to maintain a budget,” she replied to one reporter. “And if you want to see my budget, you can see my tax returns.”

However, state investigators are looking into more than Dixon’s tax returns. The affidavit goes into great detail about trips she took with Lipscomb and gifts she exchanged with him, actions the State Prosecutor’s Office argues raise the specter of ethics violations and bribery.

“She disclosed that she had a relationship with Mr. Lipscomb for a few months in the end of 2003 and the beginning of 2004 while they were both separated from their spouses,” said Dixon’s attorney Dale Kelberman, referring to her statement this week. “They’re mature adults, they’re allowed to date and go out with each other and they traveled together and exchanged gifts and that’s all there is to it,” Kelberman added. “It didn’t have any influence over any of the decisions that she was making while in city government.”

The Baltimore City Code of Ethics states that all public servants have to file financial disclosure forms for “any gift with a value of more than $50” from “a person doing business with the City.” Dixon has not listed any gifts from Lipscomb over the last seven years. His company, Doracon, has developed numerous real estate projects around the city over the years, including several in the downtown area known as East Harbor during Dixon’s tenure as Baltimore City Council president and as mayor.

However, Kelberman maintains Doracon’s status as a “sub-contractor” precluded Dixon from having to disclose gifts she may have received from Lipscomb.

“In this case…Mr. Lipscomb’s company, Doracon, was a sub-contractor on city projects, not a contractor with the city,” Kelberman said. “So, under the definitions of the city ethics code it’s our view that the mayor was not required to disclose the gifts because Doracon was not doing business with the city as that phrase is defined in the city ethics code,” he added. “So, her disclosure statements are true.”

Dixon says she has been treated unfairly by the state. “I think there is sexism and racism,” she said. “It covers the gambit.”

She even speculates how the investigation got underway.  

“I think the seed that was planted was from someone from our community, to be honest,” Dixon said. “I think it came out of City Hall, I’ll be honest with you. People don’t want to see people be successful for whatever reason—either from my personal choices I’ve made or my professional choices. In this business, there’s a lot of jealously.”

Several current and former city employees have been subpoenaed to testify before a Baltimore City grand jury this week, including Dixon’s former spokesman Anthony McCarthy. A former Afro editor and talk show host, McCarthy also served as Dixon’s chief of staff for nine months from 1999 to 2000 when she was president of the Baltimore City Council. He was scheduled to testify before the grand jury June 26.

McCarthy stepped down from his position as Dixon’s communications director in November 2007 when he was being investigated by Baltimore County Police for alleged sexual misconduct. No charges were filed against him, but he did not return to his position with the mayor. However, according to sources close to McCarthy, a city-issued computer and Blackberry seized from his home during the investigation were never returned to him.

“After the criminal investigation in Baltimore County on the sexual allegations was closed, we called trying to get the city computers that were in his possession and taken out of his residence,” explained A. Dwight Petit, McCarthy’s attorney.

“We called the Baltimore County Police Department and Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office and to this day they’ve never returned them,” added Petit who said there was “no doubt” that McCarthy’s was Dixon’s closest political confidant. In fact, McCarthy, who played a major role in formulating policy for Mayor Dixon, was the only member of her staff authorized to speak for her. “I don’t know who has them [the computer and Blackberry] or why they weren’t returned; we don’t have them,” Petit said.

Despite what she and her supporters argue is a personal nature of the state’s far-reaching investigation and the reporting by some media organizations, Dixon says she is determined to “stay focused.”

“People have elected me to run the city so I’m going to continue to do that,” Dixon said. “You have to take one day at a time. I’m a human being. I hurt just like other people do,” she acknowledged.  “So, I go within myself. I pray to God. I reassure my kids. I have my moments…so, you go through all of that."