mayor

T.J. Smith, a former spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department, is running for mayor. He says his local roots, past career as a police officer and years of communicating local government policy to the public have prepared him to take the helm of Maryland’s largest city.

T.J. Smith, the former Baltimore Police and Baltimore County spokesman who has previously expressed interest in a possible run for mayor, filed paperwork this week with the Maryland State Board of Elections to form a campaign committee for 2020 — moving him one step closer to candidacy.

Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young and City Council President Brandon Scott both are in favor of a ban on all plastic bags at Baltimore stores, not the partial ban backed by a City Council committee this week.