Keiffer

On Saturday, July 19, 2003, LUCILLE K. KEIFFER, age 80; beloved wife of Art Keiffer, of 57 years; son Artimus Keiffer, of Springfield, OH; sisters Seda Evans and Margie Dingelman, both of Baltimore. Also survived by nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by three infant daughters, her parents, four brothers and four sisters. Funeral Services or Calling Hours will not be observed as Cremation has taken place. Donations may be made to The American Cancer Society. Arrangements by Sheridan Funeral Home.

A state legislator is proposing to abolish the current structure of the Baltimore school system and return its reins to the mayor under legislation due to come before the Maryland General Assembly in January. The bill, pre-filed last week by Del. Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. of the city's 44th District, would designate the mayor as the chief decision-maker of the school system, which would be operated under a mayor-appointed superintendent and the superintendent's Cabinet. The school board's responsibilities would shift from a governing body to an advisory role.

A 35-year-old Baltimore man, convicted last month of molesting the 9-year-old daughter of a former employer, was sentenced yesterday in Harford Circuit Court to 15 years in prison.Eugene Keiffer Jr., of the first block of South Washington Street, had five years of his sentence suspended by Judge Stephen M. Waldron. Keiffer must serve five years of supervised parole and probation upon completing the term.Judge Waldron also ordered Keiffer to pay $675 for court and legal fees and to undergo any treatment recommended for sexual offenders as well as drug and alcohol abusers.

The Young Elected Officials Network had its national conference in Washington last week, and Del. Keiffer Mitchell, in D.C. on other business, decided to stop by. "I went to try to register at the table and they said the age limit is 35 years old," said Mitchell, who turns 44 in September. "I tried to explain to the lady, 'Hey, I’ve been going to the gym on a daily basis.'" They did let Mitchell in, as sort of an elderly observer. While there, he ran into Sen. Bill Ferguson and City Councilman Bill Cole.

A 35-year-old Baltimore man has been convicted of molesting the 9-year-old daughter of a former employer.Eugene Keiffer Jr., of the first block of South Washington St., stood without emotion as the jury forewoman announced the decision in Harford Circuit Court late Wednesday.The jury of six men and six women had deliberated about five hours after the two-day trial before returning guilty verdicts on charges of sexual child abuse, assault and battery and a third-degree sexual offense.Judge Stephen M. Waldron revoked Keiffer's $2,500 bond and ordered a pre-sentence investigation.

In an early campaign gaffe that initially rankled some political insiders and fundraisers, City Councilman and Baltimore mayoral candidate Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. distributed a list of financial supporters that included people who are undecided or who support his opponent in this year's election. Mitchell, a three-term City Council member who officially announced his candidacy in January - and who appears to be Mayor Sheila Dixon's leading opponent - said the e-mail, which included several members of Dixon's transition committee, was a mistake.

Baltimore City Councilman and mayoral candidate Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. airs the second television commercial of this year's mayoral race today, focusing on two issues: Crime and his family background. The 30-second spot, according to the campaign, is the "first in a series." What the ad says: As a dizzying array of black-and-white pictures of crime scenes appear, Mitchell - in his own voice - says, "Today, we're facing a murder crisis in Baltimore. I'm Keiffer Mitchell. I will change things."

In another sign of the divided sentiments over Baltimore's mayoral race, the largest coalition of area unions failed last night to endorse Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke or his challenger, Council President Mary Pat Clarke.Instead, the Metropolitan Baltimore Council AFL-CIO, an umbrella group of 160,000 union members, made "no recommendation." Delegates at the closed-door meeting followed the recommendation of the group's executive board, which met earlier yesterday to decide who would have labor's support in the Sept.

With prayer and a reading of the names of the people killed already this year, the Baltimore City Council paused last night to reflect and find ways to stop the bloodshed.The council proposed several strategies, from additional court fines to a task force on youth and alcohol, in an attempt to rescue the city from the ever-tightening grip of crime.But the most ambitious plan by a councilman to hire additional police officers and expand the state's attorney's office never got off the ground.

Baltimore City mayoral candidate Andrey Bundley said yesterday that he's got a plan "to lead us out of this chaos." Speaking to the media in front of City Hall, Bundley, a school system administrator, said Baltimore desperately needs leadership that he can provide. "We can't afford to keep electing people with disconnected ideas," he said. "I've got a roadmap to lead us out of this chaos." Bundley, 46, is joined in the race for Baltimore's top elected job by Mayor Sheila Dixon, City Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr., Del. Jill P. Carter, Circuit Court Clerk Frank M. Conaway Sr., A. Robert Kaufman, Mike Schaefer and Philip A. Brown Jr. The former high school principal ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for mayor against Martin O'Malley in 2003.

As Maryland lawmakers debated the gay marriage bill, and Del. Luke Clippinger came out to colleagues on the House floor, one of his fellow Baltimore Democrats was moved to tears. "My colleague Luke, I sit right next to him, enduring all these weeks of negativity, for him to finally speak out and say why he's in favor of it, what it means to him, it just got emotional," Del. Keiffer Mitchell told me. There's another reason the gay marriage debate hit home for Mitchell.

He stood on a West Baltimore corner, a hulking man looming over a black podium on a corner that like so many in this city was the site of a recent homicide. There was no raucous applause, no flurry of "Mitchell for Mayor" signs, no clutch of supporters circling City Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. as he hammered away at crime, the cornerstone of his campaign. "Enough is enough," the mayoral contender boomed into the microphone. The television cameras zoomed in on Mitchell. Alone. By all accounts, Mitchell, a three-term councilman, has run an aggressive campaign in his bid to become the city's 49th mayor.

Taking his most negative approach yet in this year's mayoral election, City Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. launched a new television advertisement yesterday that blamed the city's high homicide count on Mayor Sheila Dixon's budget priorities. Mitchell's campaign also confirmed that it has authorized a recorded telephone call to about 30,000 city voters that deals with the mayor's decision to employ her sister, Janice Dixon, on her campaign. In the past, the mayor has been criticized for hiring and steering city contracts to her sister.

Baltimore City Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr., who has been focusing on addressing violence in his mayoral campaign, held a small news conference yesterday to call for the establishment of gang crime enforcement units in every police district. "We need officers out on streets in communities and in neighborhoods, finding out what's going on with gangs," Mitchell said, standing outside the Eastern District station, "because the gang problem is spreading through our city." Mitchell complained that only the Eastern District has its own anti-gang unit, and it was created by officers and the major there, not by command staff or City Hall.

Baltimore City Councilman and mayoral candidate Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. airs the second television commercial of this year's mayoral race today, focusing on two issues: Crime and his family background. The 30-second spot, according to the campaign, is the "first in a series." What the ad says: As a dizzying array of black-and-white pictures of crime scenes appear, Mitchell - in his own voice - says, "Today, we're facing a murder crisis in Baltimore. I'm Keiffer Mitchell. I will change things."

Baltimore City mayoral candidate Andrey Bundley said yesterday that he's got a plan "to lead us out of this chaos." Speaking to the media in front of City Hall, Bundley, a school system administrator, said Baltimore desperately needs leadership that he can provide. "We can't afford to keep electing people with disconnected ideas," he said. "I've got a roadmap to lead us out of this chaos." Bundley, 46, is joined in the race for Baltimore's top elected job by Mayor Sheila Dixon, City Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr., Del. Jill P. Carter, Circuit Court Clerk Frank M. Conaway Sr., A. Robert Kaufman, Mike Schaefer and Philip A. Brown Jr. The former high school principal ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for mayor against Martin O'Malley in 2003.

Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr.'s decision to run for Baltimore mayor has cost him his day job at Harbor Bank, a development the city councilman blames on "Nixonesque politics." "I was told that my colleagues in politics had concerns about me working at Harbor Bank and that's all I can say," said Mitchell, who will begin an unpaid leave of absence Tuesday. "It's a shame that Mr. [Joseph] Haskins" - the bank's chief executive - "and the bank have been subjected to what I term as Nixonesque politics."

Taking his most negative approach yet in this year's mayoral election, City Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. launched a new television advertisement yesterday that blamed the city's high homicide count on Mayor Sheila Dixon's budget priorities. Mitchell's campaign also confirmed that it has authorized a recorded telephone call to about 30,000 city voters that deals with the mayor's decision to employ her sister, Janice Dixon, on her campaign. In the past, the mayor has been criticized for hiring and steering city contracts to her sister.

In an early campaign gaffe that initially rankled some political insiders and fundraisers, City Councilman and Baltimore mayoral candidate Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. distributed a list of financial supporters that included people who are undecided or who support his opponent in this year's election. Mitchell, a three-term City Council member who officially announced his candidacy in January - and who appears to be Mayor Sheila Dixon's leading opponent - said the e-mail, which included several members of Dixon's transition committee, was a mistake.

Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr.'s decision to run for Baltimore mayor has cost him his day job at Harbor Bank, a development the city councilman blames on "Nixonesque politics." "I was told that my colleagues in politics had concerns about me working at Harbor Bank and that's all I can say," said Mitchell, who will begin an unpaid leave of absence Tuesday. "It's a shame that Mr. [Joseph] Haskins" - the bank's chief executive - "and the bank have been subjected to what I term as Nixonesque politics."