TJ Smith Registers Campaign Committee, Says Announcement Coming End Of Month

A campaign committee was established Wednesday for likely mayoral candidate T.J. Smith.

The former Baltimore police spokesman resigned earlier this month from his position as press secretary for Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski Jr. At that time, Smith hinted an announcement of some kind was coming.

This week, he established Friends of T.J. Smith, according to Maryland campaign finance records. Records do not list the office Smith seeks.

Smith was in the studio Thursday with Brett Hollander. To start, Hollander asked him point-blank about Smith's timeline.

"Right now, I'm focused on talking to people, meeting with people, and by the end of this month I'll have a final decision," Smith said.

Smith also talked about the recent clashes between Baltimore's police union and top leadership in the department, state's attorney's office and City Hall.

"They have to really work out the differences, and there are a number of them, and really come to a collective resolution," Smith said. "A lot of the problems are longstanding problems, so they're not going to be fixed overnight."

Smith said back-and-forth sniping isn't productive, but said the union should have a seat at the table in determining the best strategy to reduce violent crime.

Smith said there needs to be a focus on victims and witnesses to violent crime and making sure they're OK.

Smith attended a mayoral town hall event sponsored by another station, but was not specifically invited. Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young and City Council President Brandon M. Scott did not attend. Scott is a candidate for mayor, while Young has flirted with running to retain the job he assumed in May. He ended up speaking in the second half of the event.

"One thing that I thought was really enlightening: people weren't at this particular town hall asking the government to do this, this, this and this," Smith said. "They were saying, 'We can help do this, this, this and this.' I feel this new moment in Baltimore where people are trying to see how they could be part of the solutions."

The mayoral field also includes former Maryland Deputy Attorney General Thiru Vignarajah. The winner of the Democratic primary race in heavily Democratic Baltimore typically goes on to win the general election.