DeRay McKesson
DeRay McKesson was a 2016 Democratic candidate for mayor of Baltimore, Maryland. He lost the Democratic primary that took place on April 26, 2016.
McKesson is a prominent activist involved in the Black Lives Matter movement. He has been quoted as saying that he entered the race due to frustration with Baltimore's politics: “I’ve lived through too many lofty promises and vague plans,” he said. “We’ve come to rely on a traditional model of politics only to be rewarded with disappointing results.”[1]
Campaign themes
McKesson participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of municipal government candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | Instituting an opportunity agenda that addresses the deep structural inequities faced by residents.[2][3] | ” |
When asked what he would most like to change about the city, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | The perception that crime reduction is based on a policing or safety strategy; instead crime reduction is predicated on an opportunity strategy -- on great schools, family supporting jobs, quality housing.[2][3] | ” |
When asked what he is most proud of about the city, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | It's rich history of cultural and community celebration.[2][3] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the city, with 1 being the most important and 12 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Civil rights | |
| Government transparency | |
| K-12 education | |
| Unemployment | |
| Housing | |
| Transportation | |
| Recreational opportunities | |
| Environment | |
| Homelessness | |
| City services (trash, utilities, etc.) | |
| Public pensions/retirement funds | |
| Crime reduction/prevention | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer four questions from Ballotpedia regarding issues facing cities across America. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| Important | |
| Federal | |
| Increased economic opportunities | |
| Investing directly in citizens through high quality education and training, seeding new businesses and expanding opportunities for ownership and building equity. |
2016 presidential endorsement
✓ McKesson endorsed Hillary Clinton for the 2016 presidential general election.[4]
- See also: Endorsements for Hillary Clinton
Elections
2016
| Baltimore Mayoral Election (2016), Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Catherine Pugh |
36.58% | 48,709 | |
| Democratic | Sheila Dixon | 34.77% | 46,301 | |
| Democratic | Elizabeth Embry | 11.70% | 15,576 | |
| Democratic | David Warnock | 8.15% | 10,850 | |
| Democratic | Carl Stokes | 3.48% | 4,628 | |
| Democratic | DeRay Mckesson | 2.59% | 3,445 | |
| Democratic | Nick Mosby | 1.50% | 1,992 | |
| Democratic | Calvin Allen Young III | 0.49% | 646 | |
| Democratic | Patrick Gutierrez | 0.30% | 399 | |
| Democratic | Cindy Walsh | 0.16% | 211 | |
| Democratic | Mack Clifton | 0.15% | 203 | |
| Democratic | Gersham Cupid | 0.10% | 136 | |
| Democratic | Wilton Wilson | 0.06% | 75 | |
| Total Votes | 133,171 | |||
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential Primary Election results for Baltimore City," May 31, 2016 | ||||
Career
Prior to his involvement in politics, McKesson worked as a community organizer involved with the Black Lives Matter movement, and particularly with the groups We the Protesters and Campaign Zero. McKesson began his activist work with the Ferguson protests in 2014. Prior to his activist involvement, he worked as a public school administrator in Baltimore and Minneapolis, and before that he was a teacher in New York City and Baltimore.[1]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'DeRay McKesson' Baltimore. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Municipal elections in Baltimore, Maryland (2016)
- United States municipal elections, 2016
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Washington Post, "DeRay Mckesson, Black Lives Matter activist, launches last-minute bid to become mayor of Baltimore," February 3, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey, 2016, "DeRay McKesson's Responses," March 29, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Washington Post, "DeRay Mckesson: Why I’m voting for Hillary Clinton," October 26, 2016
- ↑ State of Maryland Board of Elections, "Baltimore City 2016 Presidential Primary Election Local Candidates List," accessed February 4, 2016
 |
State of Maryland Annapolis (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
