The Mayor of Baltimore received $ 700,000 for a self-published book. Now, her city council wants her out



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"All members of Baltimore City Council believe that it is not in Baltimore's interest to continue to serve as mayor. We urge you to resign from now on, "writes this letter in two sentences.

In a statement, council member Brandon Scott, who tweeted a photo of the letter Monday, stressed the "severity of the action (council members) were taken," but said that Baltimore deserved that a mayor can focus on other issues affecting the city.

The letter was signed by 14 members of the 15 – member board – the only member who did not sign it was Bernard C. "Jack" Young, chairman of the board, who held the position of "mayor". Baltimore City Office "from Pugh. took a leave last week.

Despite calls for his resignation, Pugh does not plan to leave his post, according to his spokesman, James Bentley. In a statement issued on Monday, Bentley said Ms. Pugh, whose term will expire in 2020, "intends to resume her duties and continue her work on behalf of the people and the city of Baltimore".

Pugh's permission – which Bentley attributed to pneumonia – occurred the same day Maryland Republican Governor Larry Hogan wrote to the Attorney General's office asking for an investigation into the sale of thousands of books. of Pugh, "Healthy Holly," at the University of Maryland Medical System while she was a member of its board of directors.

UMMS has spent $ 500,000 to fund the purchase of some £ 100,000 from Holly Puppy Healthy Holly LLC, confirmed UMMS spokesperson Michael Schwartzberg, who explained that UMMS had never been in possession of Healthy Holly books or distributing books. The distribution of the book was managed by Healthy Holly LLC.

Pugh – who apologized in March for doing something "to upset people" – recently donated $ 100,000 to the medical system and canceled his book sales contract. She also resigned from the hospital's board of directors, according to Schwartzberg.

Pugh also received about $ 114,000 from Kaiser Permanente for around 20,000 pounds between 2015 and 2018, according to the health care provider. Kaiser Permanente said he delivered the books at back-to-school fairs, elementary schools, faith communities, and early childhood education and care centers.

In addition, Associated Black Charities, a public foundation that works to encourage healthier and more prosperous communities, said it spent about $ 80,000 between 2011 and 2016 to buy approximately 10,000 copies of Pugh's books – a project that the 39; organization learned while she was still a state senator.

Athena Jones and Elizabeth Joseph of CNN contributed to this report.

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