Baltimore City Council begins confirmation process for Joel Fitzgerald

Baltimore, MD — On Monday, December 6, 2018, the City Council announced the schedule of public hearings related to the confirmation process for Dr. Joel Fitzgerald, who was nominated to lead the Baltimore Police Department.

Councilman Robert Stokes, Chairman of the Executive Appointments Committee, announced the following dates for public hearings:

• Saturday, January 5, 2019, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Baltimore City Hall.
  This hearing will be open to the public and allow citizens to offer testimony on the confirmation of Dr. Fitzgerald to lead the Baltimore Police Department. Members of the City Council will not offer testimony during this hearing.
• Monday, January 7, 2019, at 5 p.m. at Baltimore City Hall
  This hearing will be open to the public but testimony will only be taken from members of the Baltimore City Council. Members of the Council will have an opportunity to question Dr. Fitzgerald in an open hearing of the Executive Appointments committee.

The City Council, under the direction of President Bernard C. "Jack" Young, has engaged in an unprecedented transparent process around the confirmation of Dr. Fitzgerald. President Young is leading a delegation of elected leaders December 9 to 11 to Fort Worth, Texas, to speak with and interview a cross-section of people who have interacted with Dr. Fitzgerald. Once the delegation returns to Baltimore, President Young's office will compile the notes and information gathered on the ground in Fort Worth into a report that will be published and made available to members of the City Council and to the general public.

"The City Council takes seriously its role in the confirmation process for police commissioner. We want to make participation easy for the citizens of Baltimore. I believe that holding an important public hearing on a Saturday will allow for greater access to the democratic process and provide the Council with a diverse array of opinions from our constituents," Council President Young said.

To stay up to date on the Council's confirmation process, please visit https://bit.ly/2rlVm3u

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