Baltimore Mayor Guilty On One Count

The verdicts are in in the trial of Baltimore mayor and Obama supporter Sheila Dixon, and she seems to have beaten most of the more serious charges. She was only found guilty on one count, using gift cards intended for the poor.

Baltimore's mayor was convicted Tuesday on a single charge she took gift cards intended for the city's poor. Although Sheila Dixon was acquitted of a felony theft charge, her conviction could force her from office.

Jurors deliberated more than six days after hearing the Democrat accused of using or keeping $630 worth of gift cards. She allegedly solicited most of the cards from a wealthy developer and then bought electronics at Best Buy, clothes at Old Navy and knickknacks at Target.

Ms. Dixon has been under investigation ever since she served on the City Council for various violations of ethics or other integrity issues. Since she is a Democrat, she of course ascribes to the policy that rules and regulations were made for the little people and not her. For other examples, refer to Charlie Rangel, Chris Dodd or Barney Frank.

The gift card case has revived talk of Dixon's perceived sense of entitlement. Her critics point to a pattern of behavior that suggests she thinks rules don't apply to her. When she became City Council president in 1999, the state ethics commission advised her to step down from her part-time state government job, saying it raised potential conflicts of interest. Dixon kept the second job for more than two years.

She also steered city business to a company that employed her sister. And the city paid Dixon's campaign chairman, without a contract, to do computer work at City Hall.

She has certainly dodged most of the serious charges that were made against her and now it will be up to the city council to take action, and they will probably wait until a sentence is imposed before making any decision.