BALTIMORE (WBFF) — The removal of Councilman Mark Conway as chair of the Baltimore City Council’s Public Safety Committee added a new political layer to the ongoing fight over whether the city’s inspector general can independently access records needed to investigate City Hall.
Council President Zeke Cohen announced Thursday that Councilman John Bullock would take over the Public Safety Committee chairmanship, effective immediately. Cohen said he is looking for leadership that is “focused” and “collaborative.”
Conway, however, said he was given only “very nebulous reasons” during a meeting with Cohen and believes his removal was tied to his outspoken support for Inspector General Isabel Cumming.
“We all see what’s going on here with everything going on with the inspector general,” Conway told FOX45 News. “This is retaliation.”
FOX45 News asked Cohen directly whether Conway was removed because of his stance on the inspector general’s fight for access to City records.
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“No,” Cohen said. “What I’m looking forward to is leadership that is focused and leadership that is collaborative with colleagues.”
Cohen encouraged Conway to continue working with fellow Council members and said the body should operate as “one city,” rather than have members “bashing” other leaders.
Political analyst John Dedie said he views the timing differently.
“Political retribution,” Dedie said. “In many ways Cohen almost had to do this because right now, he’s working on a frenemy relationship with Brandon Scott.”
That is Dedie’s analysis. Neither Cohen nor Mayor Brandon Scott has said the mayor was involved in Conway’s removal.
FOX45 News followed up with Cohen’s office, asking whether publicly criticizing the mayor or pushing for broader inspector general access is incompatible with being collaborative on the Council. FOX45 News also asked whether Cohen raised collaboration concerns with Conway before removing him, whether he supports Conway’s proposed ballot measure and what message the move sends to Council members who publicly disagree with leadership.
In response, the Council President said Councilman Conway “lost the confidence of his colleagues to continue serving in a leadership capacity.”
“These leadership changes are not about whether Councilmembers can disagree publicly. They are about ensuring our committees have the right leadership to deliver for Baltimore residents,” he added.
The statement did not identify which colleagues lost confidence in Conway, what specifically led to that loss of confidence or whether Cohen raised those concerns with Conway before removing him.
“I strongly believe the City Council has a responsibility to oversee city services and functions,” Cohen said. “The Mayor and the Inspector General both do important work, and effective government requires both collaboration and meaningful oversight.”
The questions come as Cumming remains in court against Scott’s administration over access to City records.
Cumming argued her office needs information to independently investigate possible waste, fraud and abuse inside city government. The Scott administration has countered that the inspector general’s former access was too broad and could expose attorney-client privileged, personnel and other confidential material.
Former federal Inspector General Mark Lee Greenblatt said the dispute should concern residents.
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“The failure of leadership here by the mayor and his staff is something that should keep Baltimore citizens up at night,” Greenblatt said. “They really need to change, pull a 180, and change the way they are interacting with the inspector general.”
The access dispute gained new attention this week after Cumming released a report involving a senior City employee who was under investigation by her office.
The report said the employee told a City information technology official to “cut the access” in November. The inspector general’s report does not say the employee knew about a recent retrieval of their emails, and the access was not cut following that request. Months later, however, the Scott administration restricted some of the inspector general’s access to City records.
The administration cited what it called an “official Attorney General opinion” for cutting the access. But an internal Attorney General’s Office email included in Cumming’s report described the document as an advice letter to the General Assembly, not a formal opinion. Scott did not directly answer when FOX45 News asked why his administration called it an opinion.
Conway said he believes the mayor may have had a role in his removal.
“Quite possibly,” he said, adding that he believes the City Hall conflict is “nothing but political.”
FOX45 News asked the mayor whether he or anyone in his administration was involved in the decision. The mayor’s office had not responded as of publication.
David Williams, president of the Taxpayer Protection Alliance, said the records fight has broader implications beyond the Council leadership change.
“People have faith in the inspector general. They don’t have faith in the City Council or the mayor,” Williams said. “The City Council and the mayor are trying to restrict the access to information.”
A Baltimore Circuit Court judge has ruled that the Maryland Public Information Act does not restrict the inspector general’s subpoena authority, though the City has appealed part of the ruling and the wider records-access case remains active.
Conway’s proposal to make the inspector general a co-custodian of City records stalled in the Council. Now, he said he plans to gather 10,000 signatures to place the issue on the 2028 ballot.
“Where the Council is unable to move my bill, the people will have a choice,” Conway said.
The next hearing in the records-access case is scheduled for Wednesday.
Follow Political Reporter Mikenzie Frost on X and Facebook. Send tips to mbfrost@sbgtv.com.
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