The Latest: Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has resigned
BALTIMORE (AP) — The Latest on the Baltimore mayor’s resignation amid a scandal over her self-published children’s books (all times local):
4:35 p.m.
Baltimore’s new mayor promises that Catherine Pugh’s resignation will lead to a “stronger Baltimore.”
After Pugh resigned as mayor Thursday afternoon, acting Mayor Bernard “Jack” Young automatically became the permanent mayor. The Democrat and longtime City Council member will not need to be sworn in.
In a statement, Young thanked the thousands of city employees who came to work each day under uncertain circumstances for weeks. He said “this ordeal has caused real pain for many Baltimoreans.”
He promised to be focused on having the government provide “essential services” to citizens.
Young is currently in Detroit for a conference about economic development and will return to Baltimore over the weekend.
Pugh resigned amid an intensifying scandal and multiple investigations into the lucrative sales of her self-published children’s books.
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3:55 p.m.
Maryland’s Republican governor and the chairwoman of the state’s Democratic party say Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh made the right decision to resign and that by stepping down she will allow the city to move forward.
Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement that “it was clear the mayor could no longer lead effectively.”
Maryland Democratic Party Chairwoman Maya Rockeymoore Cummings said the resignation “affords Baltimore the opportunity to address its challenges with courage and optimism.”
Hogan said state and federal investigations into the lucrative sales of Pugh’s self-published children’s books “will continue to uncover the facts.”
City Council member Brandon Scott says the mayor’s resignation marks a “day of relief and accountability” for Baltimore.
In her resignation letter, Pugh apologized, saying she was “sorry for the harm that I have caused to the image of the city of Baltimore and the credibility of the office of the mayor.”
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3:30 p.m.
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has resigned amid an intensifying scandal and multiple investigations into the lucrative sales of her self-published children’s books.
Steven Silverman is Pugh’s attorney. He announced Pugh’s resignation at a news conference Thursday afternoon. He said it will take effect immediately.
Reading from a written statement from Pugh, Silverman quoted her as saying, “Baltimore deserves a mayor who can move our great city forward.”
The decision comes exactly one week after FBI and IRS agents raided the mayor’s home and City Hall offices.
Republican Gov. Larry and numerous Democrats have pressed for Pugh’s resignation.
Pugh has been in self-imposed seclusion for a month. She initially announced that she was taking a leave of absence to recover from pneumonia.
At issue is the roughly $800,000 Pugh received through the years from a hospital network, insurance carriers that did business with the city and a financier for bulk copies of her “Healthy Holly” children’s books.
The first-term Democrat became mayor in late 2016.
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10 a.m.
The lawyer for Baltimore’s mayor is making an announcement amid growing pressure for the city’s top leader to resign over a scandal involving her self-published children’s books.
Mayor Catherine Pugh has been in self-imposed seclusion for a month with what attorney Steven Silverman has said is “deteriorating health after a bout of pneumonia. Silverman has said that Pugh was too ill to make any decisions about her future, even as the governor and the state and city’s other top leaders have said her career is finished.
Silverman announced a news conference for Thursday afternoon to discuss the mayor’s future.
At issue is the roughly $800,000 Pugh received from a hospital network and others that did business with the city for copies of her “Healthy Holly” children’s books.
The first-term Democrat became mayor in late 2016.
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