Sheila_Dixon--Thomas_Swann

Sheila Ann Dixon (born December 27, 1953) is an American politician who served as the forty-eighth mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, after mayor Martin O'Malley was sworn in as governor on January 17, 2007. Dixon, then president of the Baltimore City Council, served out the remaining year of her term and won the mayoral election in November 2007. Dixon was the first African-American woman to serve as president of the City Council, Baltimore's first female mayor, and Baltimore's third black mayor.
On January 9, 2009, Dixon was indicted by then State prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh, on twelve felony and misdemeanor counts, including perjury, theft, and misconduct. The indictment alleged the personal use of gift cards, donated by two prominent Baltimore real estate developers, Patrick Turner and Ronald Lipscomb. According to testimony, donated gift cards were collected during the annual “Holly Trolley Tour,” held about a week before Christmas, and distributed in several city neighborhoods by the mayor and other city officials. The gift cards in question were received by her office in December 2004 - December 2007.
During the trial in November 2009, Dixon’s scheduler, receptionist, and office assistant, who were earning $20,000 or less, testified to receiving gift cards on their desk at Christmas. Dixon's office assistant also testified to receiving a "wrapped PlayStation Portable game system" for her son, and is cited in the indictment as a purchase made by Dixon using two of the Best Buy gift cards donated by Lipscomb. In December 2009, the jury delivered a guilty verdict on one count of "fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary" and acquitted her on two counts of felony theft, and one count of misconduct in office. As part of a plea agreement made in December 2009, Dixon received probation in exchange for stepping down as mayor. She was succeeded by then City Council president, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and by December 2012, Dixon had completed all of the terms of her probation, and the case closed.Dixon has remained active in the Baltimore community and sought reelection for mayor in 2016. She was defeated in the Democratic Primary by then State Senator Catherine Pugh, who received 2,408 more votes than Dixon. Dixon, who remained a popular figure challenged Pugh as a write-in candidate in the general election, but lost with 51,716 votes. In the 2020 Baltimore mayoral election, she again sought the Democratic nomination, but narrowly lost to candidate Brandon Scott. On September 7, 2023, she announced her third election bid for Mayor in 2024.