Last night, as Maryland's power brokers nibbled crab cakes and congratulated themselves on their success, candidate for mayor Otis Rolley presented a vision of a Baltimore very different from the city most of us know today ("Bill Cosby comes to town for Rolley," Jan. 12). The developers and politicians who paid thousands to support Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake may not be as happy under a Rolley administration, but the rest us, the tired taxpayers who are sick of the status quo at City Hall , may be.

I'm sure the mayor is a very nice person, and both her political and educational pedigree are impeccable, but last night's event underscored just how entrenched in "business as usual" she is. Baltimoreans must decide if we are content with competent management of our city's slow, inevitable decline, or if we are ready to adopt a bold vision of a future in which Baltimore reverses course to become a world class city.

It's a long time until election day, and maybe the entrenched establishment will find a minute to listen to Mr. Rolley's vision and plan for that transformation, even if it means temporarily foregoing some of their power and perks. But even if they don't, I'm betting my fellow citizens of Baltimore will, and in the end, on election day, we are the ones with the real power.

Mac Nachlas, Baltimore