Baltimore's designation as a federal empowerment zone -- worth $100 million in grants -- is not only a boon to the city, but also a major boost to the political fortunes of Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke.
Mr. Schmoke, facing a re-election challenge next year from feisty City Council President Mary Pat Clarke, can boast about how his close relationship with the Clinton administration brought real dividends, say politicians and City Hall observers.
And boast the mayor plans to do -- about his connections to President Clinton and to Gov.-elect Parris N. Glendening.
"I'll be able to say to voters, 'You have a friend in the White House, a friend in the State House -- and me in City Hall,' " Mr. Schmoke said last week after learning that Baltimore was one of just six cities to receive the coveted designation.
"It is a great benefit to me politically," added the mayor, who is seeking a third term.
City housing Commissioner Daniel P. Henson III, a political confidant of the mayor, uses a basketball analogy to express the effect of the empowerment zone on the mayor's future.
"You mean, 'Is it a slam dunk or another three-pointer?' " Mr. Henson asked. "It shows what we've been saying all along. In the communities, there's a great deal of appreciation for his leadership."
For her part, Mrs. Clarke said of the empowerment zone, "I feel great about it, I really do." She conceded that Mr. Schmoke "deserves credit" for the city's selection, along with members of Maryland's congressional delegation, plan author Michael V. Seipp and hundreds of business and community leaders who helped develop the proposal.
But she still plans to challenge Mr. Schmoke.
"Here's my philosophy," she said. "One, to win. And two, to make them fight like the devil between now and September.
"All ships rise with the tide," she said. "People need to feel there's hope. Anything that contributes to that is fine with me."
The empowerment zone's potential impact on the 1995 mayoral race was apparent at a celebratory rally Thursday at the War Memorial Building near City Hall.
Mr. Schmoke -- who has been criticized for not doing more to combat problems ranging from spiraling crime to a stagnant tax base -- found himself bathed in the applause and adulation of a crowd that ranged from civic leaders to public housing tenants.
Black clergymen, a key part of the mayor's political base but one that has criticized some of his policies, gave opening and closing benedictions. State and national officials offered testimonials to his leadership.
Lt. Gov.-elect Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, for example, said Mr. Glendening "couldn't be here but he wanted to pass on how great the mayor was. He came out early, he took a stand and he helped Parris.
"And I'll tell you, Parris doesn't forget his friends," she said.
Clarke on the sidelines
Mrs. Clarke, meanwhile, stood off to the side, ignored by the procession of speakers.
She was flanked by U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, her political godmother, and U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, her one-time council colleague. Both of the Baltimore Democrats said the empowerment zone -- which carries $225 million in tax breaks and which officials say will trigger $800 million in other government and private investment -- can only help Mr. Schmoke.
"You always like to have good things on your watch, and this was definitely a good thing," said Mr. Mfume.
The empowerment zone is not the only big-ticket Baltimore project to rise during Mr. Schmoke's tenure. Among other things, there are the three C's: Camden Yards, the Christopher Columbus Center and the expansion of the Convention Center.
But those are part of a long line of downtown development projects for which the mayor's role has been shared or subordinated to that of his predecessor, Gov. William Donald Schaefer. The empowerment zone's neighborhood focus -- and Mr. Schmoke's key role in Baltimore's selection -- make it more of a singular triumph.
Of the empowerment zone's three sections, two are in poor, mostly black areas of West and East Baltimore, encompassing the areas around Coppin State College, Poe Homes, the University of Maryland Medical Systems and the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. (The third is the virtually unpopulated Fairfield area of South Baltimore, to be targeted mainly for industry.)
Mr. Schmoke already has strong support in these areas. Empowerment zone programs in health care, home ownership and job training should make him even stronger.
"Like everything else, it reflects leadership," said 4th District Councilman Lawrence A. Bell III, a frequent Schmoke antagonist. "But I don't think any one event is decisive. A lot of perceptions have been formed over a number of years."
Because of the empowerment zone's emphasis on tax breaks and jobs, it also should enhance Mr. Schmoke's image concerning economic development, an area that some business leaders have criticized.
"This frees him of that vulnerability," said 3rd District Councilman Martin O'Malley, who has criticized many of the mayor's policies.
Of course, the empowerment zone includes just 6.8 square miles and 72,362 people, or about 10 percent of the city's area and population. Many needy areas will be left out.
" 'What's our neighborhood getting?' That's the talk on the street," said 1st District Councilman Nicholas D'Adamo, who represents many low- and middle-income areas in East Baltimore.
Help promised to other areas
Mr. Schmoke has heard some of the same talk since the empowerment zone grant was announced last week. At a news briefing Friday, he pledged to use other city, state and federal money to help neighborhoods that lie outside the zone.
Still, the key to Mr. Schmoke's long-term political future lies in making the empowerment zone work.
If the program lifts Baltimoreans out of poverty, that success will boost Mr. Schmoke's standing in any bid for statewide office. The high-profile federal program also could bolster his stature across the nation.
Should the empowerment zone fail, however, Mr. Schmoke might be regarded as having squandered a golden opportunity.
He indicated last week that he understood what is at stake -- for the city as well as himself.
"We've got to do this right," he said.