William Brangham:

Pugh has since taken a leave of absence and resigned her board seat at the university medical system. An acting mayor has stepped in. But calls for her to leave office permanently are growing.

In a letter earlier this month, Baltimore's entire City Council wrote, "We urge you to tender your resignation, effective immediately."

And this week, Maryland's Republican Governor Larry Hogan said the same. Pugh is just the latest Baltimore mayor besieged by scandal. Her predecessor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, faced heavy criticism for how she handled the 2015 riots after a young black man named Freddie Gray died in police custody. She didn't run for reelection.

Before her, Sheila Dixon resigned after being convicted of embezzlement. The city has also gone through four police commissioners in the last 18 months, while the city's crime is surging. Homicides are up and arrests are down.

So let's get some perspective from a longtime Baltimore journalist and resident. Paul Jay is the editor-in-chief of The Real News Network, a nonprofit headquartered in the city.

Mr. Jay, thank you very much for being here.

Could you just help us understand the nature of — the allegation against the mayor is that these medical centers were buying all of these copies of her book, self-published book, which is really money right into her pocket. And I guess the assumption then is they're somehow trying to curry favor with the mayor; is that it?