BALTIMORE _ Acting Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young announced Wednesday that he's fired three aides with close ties to Mayor Catherine Pugh.
A spokesman for Young confirmed the aides are Gary Brown Jr., Poetri Deal and Afra Vance-White. Lester Davis said they were informed by letter Monday and were terminated immediately because their services weren't needed.
Three other aides to Pugh remain on paid leave.
Brown and Deal worked in the city's lobbying office. Vance-White was the city's director of external relations.
Pugh is on an indefinite leave of absence as she recovers from pneumonia and is receiving her $185,000-a-year salary. Young, the City Council president, stepped up April 2 to the position of ex officio mayor in her absence. Both are Democrats.
Also, Pugh is under investigation by the Office of the State Prosecutor for her sale of "Healthy Holly" children's books. Companies doing business with the city bought the books, and Pugh also sold them to the University of Maryland Medical System, where she held a seat on a volunteer board of directors.
Young disclosed the firings at a news conference after Wednesday's city Board of Estimates meeting. The mayoral news conference is part of the weekly routine at City Hall and Young's appearance there was one more example of his taking on the duties of the job.
But how long he'll serve remains unclear and he has expressed frustration at not knowing more about Pugh's plans. Pugh, meanwhile, has faced calls for her resignation from the City Council, Baltimore's members of the state House of Delegates and business leaders.
Young said Wednesday that the decision on whether or not she should come back to work remains with Pugh. But he said she would be in a difficult position if she did return.
"Because of all of the groundswell calling for her to resign, I mean it would be devastating for her," Young said. "I wouldn't want to see her feelings hurt."
For now, Young emphasized that he is in control of city government.
"People should understand we're still moving the city forward with a steady hand," Young said. "I will continue to steer the ship because the mayor's on an indefinite leave with no signs of when she's going to return."
Asked at the news conference what the city charter says about how long Pugh can be out, City Solicitor Andre Davis said, "Zero."
"As far as the charter itself is concerned, the charter is utterly silent on how long a leave can last, exactly what the reasons are for a leave," he said. "There's just nothing in the charter."
The Baltimore Sun reported April 10 that Young had put Brown, Deal and Vance-White on paid leave.
Vance-White and Brown began working for the city days after Pugh was sworn in as mayor in December 2016. Deal joined in January 2017.
All three have other ties to Pugh.
The Maryland Center for Adult Training, a nonprofit job training program once led by Pugh, has listed the three online as board members.
Also, Pugh and Vance-White are co-owners, along with city Comptroller Joan Pratt, of 2 Chic Boutique, a now-closed consignment store in the Pigtown neighborhood.
And Brown and Deal worked for Pugh while she was a state senator, according to records obtained by the Sun. Deal worked in her office in 2011 and 2012, while Brown was a member of her staff from 2011 until the time Pugh left the Senate to become mayor.
In 2017, Brown pleaded guilty to a campaign finance charge after the state prosecutor's office found he used bank accounts of some of his relatives to donate $18,000 to Pugh's 2016 mayoral campaign. He received probation before judgement. Pugh stood by Brown after his prosecution, calling him a "good employee" and letting him keep his job at City Hall.
According to city records, Vance-White's annual city salary was $117,300, Deal was paid $100,737 and Brown $62,220.
Remaining on paid leave Wednesday are Pugh's chief of staff, Bruce Williams; government relations director Karen Stokes, and Stephanie Hall, who is on the staff of the Baltimore Women's Commission.
