While we rightly focus on the outcome of today’s municipal elections in Rockville, Gaithersburg, Takoma Park and elsewhere around the state, there is now another candidate for Baltimore mayor in the primary next April.

David L. Warnock, the Baltimore venture capitalist and philanthropist, is entering the mayor’s race — arguing that his business background and political inexperience are positives for a city in desperate need of job growth and a fresh start.

“We are going to have another uprising if we can’t figure out how to create jobs and economic opportunity for the people who are the least fortunate among us,” said Warnock, a partner in one of Baltimore’s largest private equity firms whose charitable work includes helping ex-offenders.
“I’m the one guy that’s been in the business of creating jobs over the last 15 or 20 years. I really think that can distinguish me.”
Warnock, 57, said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun that he plans to formally file to run for mayor Tuesday. He will join a crowded field seeking to replace Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who is not seeking re-election.
With his wealth and business connections, Warnock’s entrance could put pressure on the field to ramp up fundraising efforts. He also represents an outsider among politicians.

There are four top-tier candidates already in the race: former mayor Sheila Dixon, councilmen Nick Mosby and Carl Stokes, and state senator Catherine Pugh. Whether Warnock will make it five remains to be seen, but his resume and deep pockets certainly make him an intriguing candidate right from the start.