Copyright 1993 The Washington Post
                                                      The Washington Post

                                              February 26, 1993, Friday, Final Edition

   SECTION: METRO; PAGE D1

   LENGTH: 673 words

   HEADLINE: Schmoke Casts Eye on Annapolis;
   Baltimore Mayor May Run for Governor

   SERIES: Occasional

   BYLINE: Richard Tapscott, Washington Post Staff Writer

   DATELINE: ANNAPOLIS, Feb. 25, 1993

   BODY:
   Kurt L. Schmoke, the cerebral, cautious politician who succeeded the more flamboyant William Donald Schaefer as mayor of Baltimore, said
   today he is exploring the possibility of trying to follow Schaefer into the Maryland governorship.

   Schmoke, 43, disclosed his interest in the 1994 governor's race after urging a General Assembly committee here to approve a $ 101 million
   investment by state government in expanding the Baltimore City Convention Center.

   "I'm just responding to a number of people who have asked me," Schmoke, a Democrat, said in an interview. "So we're going to spend a couple
   of months looking at the race." Voter surveys done a year ago showed Schmoke with considerably higher name recognition statewide than
   others planning to enter the Democratic primary, including Lt. Gov. Melvin A. Steinberg, Prince George's County Executive Parris N. Glendening
   and Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr.

   "Schmoke would come into the race as the clear front-runner, particularly in a large Democratic field," said Brad Coker, president of Mason-Dixon
   Political/Media Research Inc. "The question is whether he could sustain that status."

   Schmoke, a Baltimore native who became that city's first black elected mayor in 1987, closely fits the young, policy wonk image gaining some
   currency in the Clinton administration. The mayor was an early and ardent supporter of the new president's campaign.

   He attended Yale University, was a Rhodes Scholar and received a law degree from Harvard. After serving on the domestic policy staff in the
   Carter White House, Schmoke returned to Baltimore as an assistant U.S. attorney and in 1982 was elected as the city's chief prosecutor.

   Though known to have a distaste for confrontation, Schmoke created a sensation soon after his first election as mayor by calling for a full
   debate on decriminalizing drugs. Since then, he has struggled with universal urban problems of crime, low-achieving schools and a dwindling tax
   base, turning often to the state for more money.

   Schmoke's comments today caught several prospective rivals flat-footed, in part because the mayor earlier had expressed interest in a U.S.
   Senate seat, backing away when it became more certain that the 1994 race probably would include Democratic incumbent Paul S. Sarbanes.

   Supporters of other Democratic gubernatorial contenders sought to downplay Schmoke's announcement, saying it was prompted by criticism of
   Baltimore during the current General Assembly session. But the mayor's aides said he became more interested in the governor's race when no
   "preeminent" candidate had emerged.

   As the largely successful mayor of a city of more than 735,000 residents, Schmoke might expect support not only from fellow blacks, but from
   other liberal Democrats as well. Black turnout accounts for about 25 percent to 30 percent of the vote in statewide Democratic primaries, which
   could help keep Schmoke competitive in locales such as Prince George's, the majority-black county that constitutes Glendening's political
   base.

   In campaign finance reports filed in November, Schmoke had $ 132,700 in his account, far behind the $ 700,000 Glendening had in reserve, but
   sufficient seed money to do exploratory work.

   Schmoke could run into trouble in Montgomery, the state's most populous and prosperous county, where Baltimore is widely viewed as a
   continuing drain on the state and even the county.

   Last year, Schmoke infuriated Montgomery lawmakers by saying the city would join in a suit seeking a bigger portion of state education aid. He
   further antagonized the county in November by backing a state aid cut that hit Montgomery harder than any other county.

   "Right now, although a lot of people personally like him, his name is mud around here," said Michael Gildea, Montgomery County Democratic Party
   chairman.

   "Any candidate from Baltimore -- whether it's Schmoke, Steinberg or Curran -- is going to have a tough time here, with the continuing economic
   plundering of Montgomery County that's going on."