January 22, 2007

As Baltimore Mayor Martin J. O’Malley was sworn in as Governor of Maryland January 17, Sheila Dixon officially became Baltimore’s first female mayor.

Under the city’s charter, Dixon, an African-American city council member since 1987, will finish the remainder of O’Malley’s term, which ends in December of this year.

She was the first black woman to become City Council President, winning citywide races in 1999 and 2004. Dixon said she plans to run for a full four-year term as mayor.

Her inauguration, as press reports noted, marks a milestone for the former elementary school teacher with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and a master’s degree in educational management.