Independent Candidate for Baltimore Mayor Bob Wallace announced his economic development plan for Baltimore City, which includes a goal of creating 100,000 new jobs within his first term as mayor.

Wallace, a Baltimore businessman with roots in Cherry Hill, coined the term “mayor-preneur,” as a part of his plan to use his background as a successful entrepreneur to bring swift change and effective solutions to the city’s problems.

“Since starting my businesses, I have generated over 400 jobs in the city,” Wallace said. “As mayor, I will bring that same innovation and ingenuity to create jobs and job skills training programs in the city on a much larger scale.”

A 2019 study found that small businesses create most of the jobs in major U.S. cities, accounting for roughly 65 percent of all jobs and 99 percent of all business in cities. That’s why supporting small businesses, minority- and women-owned businesses in the city is a key initiative in Wallace’s economic development plan.

The drive to create 100,000 jobs in his first term includes focusing on:

• Supporting small, minority- and women-owned businesses in a post-COVID19 recovery economy
• Providing tax incentives to Maryland small businesses that expand into the city
• Attracting $1 billion of investment into Baltimore City by cutting property taxes and bringing corporate offices, regional headquarters and new businesses to the city from across the nation
• Growing emerging industries, like biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and robotics
• Creating a business environment that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship
• Drastically improving public safety and quality of life so families are encouraged to live and work in Baltimore City
• Expanding vocational training and job skills training programs for teens and young adults in underserved communities across the city
• Implement tax policy to incentivize large and medium-sized business owners to sell businesses to women and minority entrepreneurs
• Reinvesting in infrastructure and public transportation to enhance connectivity and provide opportunities to access jobs across the city
• Offering incentives for businesses to hire city residents
• Tapping the latent research and development capacity at Baltimore’s HBCUs in collaboration with other Baltimore majority universities
• Leveraging Baltimore’s infrastructure by growing the manufacturing sector

For more information and to learn more about Bob Wallace’s plans for Baltimore, please visit: wallaceformayor.com.