Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who helmed the city during violent protests against police brutality after the death of Freddie Gray, will announce she is not seeking re-election, The Baltimore Sun reported Friday.
Unnamed sources told The Sun that Rawlings-Blake, 45, wants to spend the coming months preparing for the trials of six Baltimore police officers charged in Gray’s death, which begin Oct. 13.
Rawlings-Blake, once seen as a promising candidate for higher office, does not plan to seek another office after the announcement. Tensions between city police and protesters following Gray’s death, followed by a sharp spike in homicides, would have made the mayor’s re-election bid a difficult one, analysts have said.
