Zac Blanchard is Bolton Hill south’s new city council member

When new 11th District city council member Zac Blanchard took his oath of office on Dec. 5,  he quickly discovered that his assigned office in the main city hall building would not house his authorized staff. Then he learned that his offer to a man whom he wanted as his legislative director had been screwed up by the city’s personnel office.

Oh, and his wife went into labor. On Dec. 7, their second son was born.

A visitor arriving early for a meeting two weeks later found that the security guard posted at city hall did not have Blanchard’s phone number and wasn’t sure which office might be his. In those first days, Blanchard had to take calls on a cell phone and take an elevator down to admit visitors.

But things have gotten better, as he told BHCA’s meeting on Jan. 7. He has two of three staff positions filled and hopes to finalize the other shortly. He has his four committee assignments. He is meeting with constituents about a range of issues and expects a pattern will develop, with meetings all day most days, and visits to his district nights and weekends. “The staff will handle the office, and I will handle the outreach. One of my first meetings was about vacant housing in Upton,” he said, estimating there are roughly 400 “vacants” in his district, which stretches west and south from Bolton Hill to more troubled neighborhoods.

“I think the new vacancy tax, passed just before I got here, will help, as will the approval of TIFs,” he said. TIFs are tax incentives aimed at developers to subsidize new construction. Last year, for the first time, the city authorized the use of TIFs to spur residential and commercial development in disadvantaged parts of town. Blanchard said the city loses upwards of $200 million a year (quoting a study) from uncollected taxes and maintenance costs associated with crumbling properties and lots.

Under the redistricting plan implemented by the mayor over BHCA’s objection, Blanchard represents Bolton Hill from the south side of McMechen Street southward. The north part of the neighborhood is now represented by 7th District council member James Torrence. Blanchard’s district also has all or parts of Madison Park, Marble Hill, Upton, McCulloh Homes, Mt. Vernon, downtown and much of south Baltimore stretching to the harbor and Locust Point.

Blanchard said he intends to introduce a bill to create an independent redistricting committee that would take the future redrawing of council districts out of the hands of the mayor and council members, at least initially. Redistricting comes every 10 years, typically to reflect population shifts in the previous Census.

A Marine veteran and former instructor at the Naval Academy, Blanchard worked for about 18 months as a vice president for the Midtown Community Benefits District and came to know Bolton Hill well, he said. He’s a Naval Academy graduate and lives with his family in Federal Hill, where he was president, like his city council predecessor, of the community association.

Attending the BHCA meeting with Blanchard was his newly hired chief of staff Brandy Savarese, a Reservoir Hill resident who brings a strong transportation policy background to the job, and Ja’Heim Brodie, his constituent service manager, who attended high school in Essex.

Blanchard urged residents who have a concern about city services to use the city’s 311 reporting system and collect a service number, then email his office with the number and a description of the issue. “We’ll follow up then with the appropriate agencies,” he said. Reach him at zacblanchard@baltimorecity.gov or 410-396-4816.

Blanchard is vice-chair of the council’s public safety committee. Other committee assignments are land use and transportation; education, youth and older adults; and housing and economic development.

–Bill Hamilton