Councilmember's Bio:

A woman with a mission to serve, Councilwoman Danielle McCray represents the 2nd District, which covers Northeast Baltimore, the Pulaski Industrial Area, and a portion of Southeast Baltimore. Danielle is the Chair of the Health, Environment, and Technology Committee and a member of the Ways & Means Committee. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Suicide Prevention Legislative Workgroup and is a member of Baltimore City’s Domestic Violence Coordinating Council.

Danielle learned the importance of hard work, civic engagement and public service from her family at a young age. Throughout adolescence, Danielle assisted her mother in running their local community association, understanding the significance of this work when the community successfully halted plans to close a neighborhood recreation center.

In 2011, recognizing that too many elected officials in Baltimore were failing to actively engage our communities and empower the next generation of public servants, Danielle co-founded the B.E.S.T Democratic Club to strengthen civic engagement, bolster voter turnout, and energize aspiring leaders to run for elected office. Through her work with B.E.S.T, Danielle successfully worked with stakeholders to transform the makeup of the Baltimore City Council and the Maryland General Assembly by electing leaders who were best suited to equitably move our City forward.

For five years, Danielle worked alongside then-2nd District Councilmember Brandon Scott to address several of Baltimore City’s most pressing issues: gun violence prevention, public health, and achieving equity within government.

In 2019, running against 21 other candidates, Danielle was nominated by members of her community to fill the vacant 2nd District City Council seat and unanimously confirmed by the City Council. Immediately after being sworn in, she took on the role of Vice Chair for both the Taxation, Finance, and Economic Development Committee and the Legislative Investigations Committee. She also served on the Budget and Appropriations, Labor, Public Safety, and Equity and Structure Committees.

A champion for tax sale reform, she began working on legislation to create a tax sale exemption program right away. Unanimously passed by the Council, the landmark program shields our must vulnerable residents—especially our seniors and disabled population—from losing their homes to the tax sale system. She was able to increase the annual household income threshold ensuring that no homeowner in-need would be excluded from the exemption. 

Since then, Danielle has passed a plethora of bills aimed at protecting our workers, tackling the violence against women epidemic, uplifting women in public service, addressing national public health emergencies, and confronting the often-overshadowed mental health crisis amongst other imperative matters.

Danielle is a daughter of Baltimore. She is the product of the Baltimore City Public School system and is a proud graduate of the prestigious Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. She currently resides in the Waltherson Community.