Officer who
was mayoral hopeful lives outside city
Records: Primary residence in Baltimore County
Officer Ivan Gonzalez, a 13-year veteran of the city force, gave as his residential address a rowhouse in Canton when he filed paperwork to run, and a post office box as his mailing address. He registered to vote at the address on Jan. 24, the same day he filed as a candidate.
But in state property records, Gonzalez is listed as the sole owner of a home in Essex that he purchased in 2016. It is registered as his principal residence and he has received a homestead property tax credit since 2017.
The house in Canton, meanwhile, is owned by Zoltan and Debra Kiss, who registered it as their principal residence. State property records describe it as “owner occupied.”
Reached by phone last week, Zoltan Kiss said he knew Gonzalez, but declined to answer questions about whether Gonzalez lived with him or whether he was aware his address was listed for Gonzalez’s mayoral run.
Gonzalez declined to comment.
“You guys are fake news,” he told a reporter Friday before hanging up.
Gonzalez told The Baltimore Sun earlier this year that if elected, he planned to be mayor from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., then patrol the streets.
“After 5 p.m., I’ll grab my goddamn police-issued rifle. … I would get these guys myself,” he said. “That’s how you lead from the front.”
Election rules require anyone running for mayor to be a resident and qualified voter of Baltimore City for at least a year before an election.
Jared DeMarinis, director of the Maryland Board of Elections, said elections officials only check to ensure that candidates are registered to vote at their home address. Other candidates can challenge an opponent’s residence in court, but the elections board generally doesn’t take further action on residency questions.
He noted, however, that candidates swear under penalty of perjury that the information they are entering is accurate.
Gonzalez finished fifth out of seven candidates in the June 2 primary, garnering 670 votes or 12%. He didn’t raise or spend enough funds to need to file state campaign finance reports. He has been fined $2,120 for missing reporting deadlines, according to state election data. On Friday the state sent the Gonzalez campaign a letter asking him to “show cause” why the most recent fine should not be enforced. .
He remains a police officer, assigned to the marine unit, although he is patrolling the streets following budget cuts that disbanded the unit. He made $92,400 in the fiscal year that ended June 30, including overtime, according to the city’s Open Baltimore database.