Holton vows innocence, is 'holding up very well'

One of the more stylish council members, Holton wears her hair in long dreadlocks piled on her head and favors bright-colored suits with ropes of pearls; Welch said Holton is "quite a bargain shopper."

Holton was close with former City Councilman Kenneth N. Harris Sr. When he was murdered last fall, she grew concerned that homicide detectives were not moving quickly enough on his case and introduced legislation requiring Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III to appear before her committee.

Facing criticism from other council members that it would be inappropriate to focus only on one murder, she broadened the scope of the hearing to question the commissioner on all of the city's open homicides, pushing the department's 46.2 percent clearance rate into the news and putting pressure on the department to improve its record.

Holton sparred with some council members in December when she announced a public comment period for a proposed $160 million tax break for a planned development in Westport - and then scheduled the vote on the matter several days earlier.

Holton first won public office in 1995, at a time when three members represented each City Council district. She had a powerful patron - state Sen. Delores G. Kelley of Baltimore County is her aunt.

When the city established single-member districts in 2004, Holton ran against a colleague - Melvin L. Stukes - to represent the new 8th district in southwest Baltimore.

"That was something that neither one of us wanted to do," Stukes said. "I always saw her as being professional."

Baltimore Sun reporter Gadi Dechter contributed to this article.