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Bmorenews Exclusive: Testimony before Baltimore City Council Opposing Re-Appointment of City Solicitor George Nilson:
SADLY, UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF MR. NILSON, THE CITY SOLICITOR’S OFFICE HAS WRONGFULLY CONSTRUED, INTERPRETED, APPLIED AND IMPLEMENTED THE CITY’S COMPETITIVE BIDDING, CHARTER PROVISION (ARTICLE VI, SECTION 11 ET SEQ.) IN SUCH AN ARBITRARY AND UNLAWFUL MANNER, SUCH THAT IT HAS CREATED AND PERPETUATED AN UNLAWFUL DEFACTO, RACE-BASED CITY CONTRACTING PREFERENCE WHICH ONLY BENEFITS CONTRACTING FIRMS-OWNED BY WHITE MEN. ADDITIONALLY, MR. NILSON’S CITY SOLICITOR’S OFFICE, HAS MISMANAGED THE CITY’S M/WBE UTILIZATION ORDINANCE IN SUCH AN ARBITRARY AND UNLAWFUL WAY SO AS TO RENDER THE SUBJECT M/WBE ORDINANCE PATENTLY IMPOTENT AND OUTRIGHT USELESS, AS IT RELATES AND EFFECTS AFRICAN AMERICAN-OWNED M/WBE FIRMS. FOR EXAMPLE, ALTHOUGH THE CITY’S M/WBE ORDINANCE SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZES THE CITY’S MWBOO CHIEF TO SET SUBGOALS FOR THE VARIOUS MBE SUBGROUPS MADE BENEFICIARIES OF THE ORDINANCE, ON CITY CONTRACTS OVER $1 MILLION, THE CITY’S MWBOO CHIEF, UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF MR. NILSON, HAS FAILED AND REFUSED TO SET ANY SUBGOALS FOR SUCH CITY CONTRACTS, FOR BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN MBE FIRMS, AND THE NET RESULT HAS BEEN THAT MBE FIRMS-OWNED BY AFRICAN AMERICAN PERSONS ARE OFTEN COMPLETELY EXCLUDED FROM AND LEFT OFF CITY ARCHITECTURAL AND ENGINERING CONTRACTS. CITY CERTIFIED M/WBE AFRICAN AMERICAN-OWNED ARCHITECTURAL AND ENGINEERING FIRMS RECEIVE ONLY ONE-HALF OF ONE PERCENT OF CITY A&E CONSULTANTS CONTRACTS. FURTHERMORE, SECTION 28-16 OF THE CITY’S M/WBE ORDINANCE REQUIRES THE CITY’S BOARD OF ESTIMATES TO ETABLISH ANNUAL PARTICIPATION GOALS FOR MBEs AND FOR WBEs.
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