Dixon brought this on herself

Sheila Dixon, the mayor of Baltimore, attended the weekly meeting of the Board of Estimates, and the Board of Estimates rolled quickly through routine agenda items that included developers' agreements, reimbursement contracts, consultant agreements, grant agreements, disbursement of funds, transfer of funds, out-of-town travel expenses, contract renewals, contract extensions, pre-qualification of contractors, architects and engineers.

It's the eye-glazing, complex and essential business of a municipal government with a budget of $2.94 billion. It goes on week after week: The board approves contracts for land deals, for the paving of roads, the roofing of schools and the purchase of computer services. Under the law, all of this requires the oversight and consent of trusted public officials, Sheila Dixon being one of them. Dixon has had a seat on the Board of Estimates as City Council president and as mayor. Yesterday morning, it was impossible to miss the irony of the previous 24 hours - staff of the state prosecutor raided Dixon's house in connection with an investigation of city contracts and here she was, back in action, sitting on the board that oversees city contracts.

She hasn't been indicted, but questions have been raised about some of Dixon's actions while City Council president - and some of them were so smelly they warranted investigation. Anyone who says otherwise has a political blind spot.

There's this push-back now against an investigation that seems to have gone on too long and is being conducted by a state prosecutor who was appointed by a Republican governor. Many smell prosecutorial bias. The prosecutor is picking on the Democratic mayor, we've been told by her supporters. This is a "witch hunt." It wouldn't be happening if the mayor were white, or a guy. Mary Pat Clarke, of the all-Democrat Baltimore City Council, called Tuesday's court-authorized search of Dixon's house a "home invasion," which guaranteed her name in the newspaper.

The push-back against the investigation is understandable and predictable. There are a lot of positive things happening in the city, and the last thing we need is a mayor taking a perp walk.

But Dixon brought this on herself.

In 2006, The Sun smoked out Dixon's dealings with Dale Clark, her former campaign chairman, and the smoke has been in the air since.