Kurt L. Schmoke, the former Baltimore mayor and state's attorney, has suggested in a newspaper article that Gregg Bernstein enlisted little-known Sheryl Lansey as a candidate to divide the African-American vote.
"At the beginning of the campaign what I saw was a white male challenger and then, oops, the last day of filing, they find a black woman," Schmoke was quoted as saying in the Gazette newspapers.
That's laughable to Lansey, who told Sun reporter Yeganeh June Torbati "if someone was paying me, I never got the check." In fact, she said Jessamy supporters suggested that if she would drop out, they would help her in a future run for City Council. Lansey said she had no interest in that position, and rejected the idea.
Others came, offering her nothing but asking her to give up nonetheless. She shrugged them off, too.
"These folks just say — get out, and see ya!" Lansey said, laughing.
Lansey, 63, said she ran for the office because she believes the Baltimore criminal justice system is "kind of broken," and thought her 10 years as a District Court administrator equipped her to make improvements. Her campaign slogan, printed on the blue brochure summarizing her experience and qualifications, is "The system CAN work again."