Recently, I had a conversation with my colleague and friend Delman Coates, the pastor of the Mount Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Md., about endorsements in our local and state elections. He said that when he thinks about black politics in Maryland he thinks about the children's novel written by L. Frank Baum, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” When I asked him to elaborate he said, “The narrative ultimately leads to someone else who is pulling all the strings behind the scenes.”

That conversation caused me to wonder about who is really creating and controlling the policies in our state. Who controls whom to support and what issues to pass on in our local elections? Now, as in times past, there is a barrage of endorsements from establishment politicians who have presided over the economic and political agenda of our city for decades. Maybe I'm naive, but I believe that the people need to be heard more than established politicians in this next election. The citizens of our state have endured enough police brutality, political bargaining and poverty. We deserve more than popular brand name leaders who over promise and underperform. Baltimore, for example, is on the brink of its best days or its worst days dependent upon the agenda of whoever is pulling the strings behind the scenes.

I was raised in Baltimore before going away to college in Texas and graduate school in Chicago. And I have been a pastor here for almost 14 years. I have seen the persistent neglect of our communities and their residents, who have lived with lead in paint and pipes decades before we heard about Flint, Mich., and Jackson, Miss. It is mind boggling to me that, with all of the African-American leadership in our city and state, the communities and children of Baltimore are in a worse situation than we have been since segregation. Our communities are wastelands where the only answer that is being offered is more policing and prayer vigils, while downtown developers are receiving multi-million dollar TIFs and subsidies with no real or robust plan for jobs for inner-city residents. Something is wrong with this picture.

And to be fair we cannot merely criticize those who have been fortunate enough to have been elected without considering those who control the political process. Having African-American elected officials alone does not create change and provide hope to the underserved communities of our city and state. In many instances, restoring the people and rebuilding the properties are not the priorities of those who are pulling the strings. How can these be the priorities when many politicians don't even seek to know the issues and visions of their constituents and community stakeholders? Moreover, if elected officials are not acquiescent and allegiant to their party bosses, State House leaders, special interests and big developers, they become political casualties, pawns or worse — indicted for far less than their political colleagues and counterparts universally have done.

When do we get off this merry-go-round of disaster? We can't as long as we are content to elect people who are sold out to their own ambitions and somebody else's agenda that is totally devoid of empathy and empowerment for the disenfranchised in our state. It is time we understand as a vital and valuable state in America that we can rebuild our communities and schools. We can restore pride and a culture of respect for life within our children. We can create jobs and hold developers accountable to retool and recruit city residents to be gainfully employed. We can develop safe places and innovative programs for young people to recreate and be educated. We can collaborate and connect the ideas and resources of our institutions throughout Maryland to make our cities a model of revitalization for urban centers across America. But we will never realize the vision of an empowered, restored and transformed city if we remain content with the wizard controlling our strings.

Maybe the question we all need to be asking in this election is, who is the wizard of Maryland? In the movie, it was Toto who pulled the curtain and exposed the Wizard. I wonder who will do it in Maryland.

Donté L. Hickman is pastor of Southern Baptist Church in Baltimore City, Harford and Howard counties. His email is pastorhickman@me.com.