Kevin Plank is the founder and CEO of the Baltimore based Under Armour.

Margaret Flowers is a medical doctor and the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate in Maryland.

Plank also owns Sagamore Development Corporation, which wants to develop Port Covington in South Baltimore.

And Plank wants Baltimore to pony up $660 million in tax breaks to fund the development.

Flowers wants to stop him.

“Port Covington is the wrong project at the wrong time,” Flowers told Corporate Crime Reporter. “We don’t need to put the city into greater debt with the hope that it will be repaid at some date far in the future. We don’t need to spend funds on a new downtown when neighborhoods are failing.”

“Baltimore needs to invest in some trickle up economics,” Flowers said. “If we are going to borrow money, let’s do it to benefit those who already live in our city and who are at the bottom. Let’s invest in high quality schools with career teachers and well-rounded programs. Let’s create community recreation centers that bring residents together. Let’s guarantee youth jobs in the summer for all who want them. Let’s invest in job training and support for those who want to start worker cooperatives and other small businesses. Let’s invest in the health of our residents by making sure that nobody goes without necessary care and by replacing the drug war with a public health approach to drug use.”

“Once this is done and we see a real recovery — a reduction in the wealth divide, a decrease in violence and a healthier population — then we can consider tax breaks for new developments for the wealthy.”

“At the very least, Baltimore should not rush into putting itself into further debt during a lame duck administration,” Flowers said. “Let’s have meaningful discussions with city residents about our needs and goals so we can avoid the mistakes of decades of failed development. Let’s be a model of fair development.”

Flowers said that for generations, wealth inequality in the city of Baltimore has been growing.

Disparities in health and life expectancies are stark with two decade differences between neighborhoods that are located close to each other, even though we house two major medical centers, Flowers said.

The economy of the city may be improving, she said, but just as it is in other parts of the country, those improvements are felt by those who are already doing well.

“The city has invested heavily in what is called the wealthy or white L — the area that runs through the center of the city and East along the waterfront.”

“Areas to the East and West of that have faced disinvestment and the resultant poverty, unemployment and decay for generations.”

“The uprising last year in the wake of the murder of Freddie Gray was a long time in the making. Communities in Baltimore know that their needs are not a priority for the city. They have been fighting for job training and jobs, recreation centers and school improvements only to be ignored or denied.”

“As wealth inequality has grown in Baltimore, so has investment in police to maintain hypersegregation,” Flowers said. “The recent Department of Justice report exposes the brutality and racism that are inherent in the Baltimore Police department. In 2017, Baltimore is planning to budget $480 million for the police department. This is three times the health department budget and demonstrates clearly where the city’s priorities lie.”