Baltimore is back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. A federal race discrimination lawsuit has been slapped on Mayor Brandon Scott by Andrew Freeman, a former Vice President at East Baltimore Development, Inc. (EBDI), who says he was tossed out not because he couldn’t do the job, but because his skin colour didn’t match what City Hall wanted.
Freeman isn’t just some random guy off the street. He’s credited with pulling EBDI back from the brink of bankruptcy. He was getting clapped for his work on Monday and handed his walking papers by Friday. He was told he “didn’t fit in” or “wasn’t a good fit.”
The Paper Trail of a “Political Hit”
Freeman’s own boss, CEO Cheryl Washington, reportedly sent him texts saying the firing wasn’t her call and she didn’t even agree with it.
So, who was calling the shots? The lawsuit points a shaky finger at Calvin Young, the Mayor’s campaign treasurer turned board chair. Allegedly, Mayor Scott got “upset” when he found out Freeman (who is white) was kept around while a Black colleague’s role was cut during a restructure. The lawsuit claims the Mayor felt the organization wasn’t focusing on “core values.” Apparently, in Scott’s Baltimore, “core values” means checking boxes instead of keeping the guys who actually know how to manage real estate and land.
A Pattern of “Crazy” Policies
This lawsuit is just the latest fire in the dumpster of Mayor Scott’s administration. While he’s busy allegedly micromanaging who is “white enough” to work at a development nonprofit, the rest of the city is feeling the heat of his other questionable moves.
Mayor Brandon Scott has been at the center of several heated controversies involving taxpayer money and executive power. One of the biggest scandals involves his city-issued $163,000 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Records revealed this is the most expensive vehicle assigned to any current Maryland leader, costing twice as much as the Governor’s SUV. While Scott argues the luxury vehicle is necessary for security and includes specialized police lighting and communications gear, residents have slammed the purchase as tone-deaf, especially since the city recently hiked fees and fines to close a massive budget gap.
In addition to the car, an Inspector General report recently exposed a massive spending spree within the Mayor’s office. Between 2022 and late 2025, the administration spent over $800,000 on food, flowers, and lavish parties, including more than $52,000 on high-end catering and drinks inside skyboxes during Ravens and Orioles games. Perhaps most controversial was the discovery that taxpayer funds were used for flowers for staff birthdays and even a mayoral baby shower. Many believe that while the Mayor preaches “equity” and “core values,” his administration is using public funds as a personal piggy bank for his inner circle.
Finally, Scott is currently locked in a legal battle over what we call an “unchecked power grab.” A Baltimore judge recently ruled against the Mayor after his administration tried to block the City’s Inspector General from investigating potential fraud within his signature crime program, MONSE. This legal blow comes as Scott pushes to expand his office staff to 134 people, more than the mayor’s offices in Los Angeles and Philadelphia combined. This rapid expansion of his personal staff, coupled with attempts to shut down oversight, has led to growing demands for accountability and even calls for his resignation from frustrated taxpayers.
Why He Should Just Resign
If a Mayor is so focused on identity politics that he’s allegedly forcing out high-performers to fix the “look” of an office, he isn’t leading, he’s playing a game of social engineering with citizens’ tax dollars.
Attorney Tonya Bana put it bluntly: “It’s illegal to make decisions as a government entity based on race.” Baltimore is struggling. We need the best minds in the room regardless of race. If Brandon Scott is more interested in being “upset” over the racial makeup of a successful team than he is about the fact that schools are failing and illegal car rallies are ending in mass shootings, he has clearly lost his core values.
Freeman is asking for accountability, but maybe it’s time for the people of Baltimore to ask for a new Mayor. When your “core values” result in federal lawsuits and a city that feels increasingly unsafe and divided, it’s not just the VP who isn’t a “good fit,” it’s the guy in the Mayor’s office.
