Given the leadership travails of the recent past, it was more than a little reassuring to see Brandon Maurice Scott sworn in for a second term as Baltimore’s mayor this week. No conviction for embezzling donated gift cards like former Mayor Sheila Dixon. No federal prison sentence for wire fraud and conspiracy related to “Healthy Holly” children’s books foisted on nonprofits that did business with city government as happened to former Mayor Catherine Pugh. Compared with the roller coaster ride of the previous 15 years or so, the 40-year-old former City Council president’s four years in the top job have been, if nothing else, a welcome respite from personal scandal — with a much-needed laser-like focus on gun violence that has sought to make the city safer not just with arrests but through early intervention and support for at-risk youth.

We’ve had our disagreements. We still believe Mayor Scott must do more to lower the city’s too-high property tax rate that discourages investment and economic growth and needed to be more attentive to longstanding problems in the city’s mismanaged Department of Public Works. And yet we must also acknowledge his successes including a significant drop in homicides that — fingers crossed — will total fewer than 200 this year if trends hold. That was unimaginable a decade ago. There is still much to be done in public safety but there is reason to be encouraged.

Still, of all the positive things that were said about Scott at his second inauguration, the one that sticks out most was voiced by former Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, a longtime supporter and mentor. “Imagine for a moment,” she said, “what Baltimore would look like if we had more Brandons.”

Amen. Scott’s personal story, his childhood in Park Heights where he witnessed violence and drug abuse — and a dearth of male role models — combined with hard work and ambition from his days running track at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School to graduating from St. Mary’s College of Maryland with a degree in political science make him an exceptional example. Even more so since he became a father and husband with another child on the way.

Scott’s experience as a Black man who grew up in Baltimore clearly informs his view and gives him more than a little credibility when speaking to other Black men who, on average, are less likely to hold a college degree, earn less and are more likely to be unemployed than white men or women.

One can disagree with Scott’s position on any given issue but what cannot be denied is that he has devoted his still-young life to making Baltimore a better place and fighting the intergenerational poverty and racial inequities that have for too long plagued this city, this state and this nation. To quote the late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Scott role model, “Communication alone is not enough. You must have the respect of your audience.” The mayor has that respect. He knows what it’s like to sit on a curb in handcuffs accused of a crime he didn’t commit — an incident he recalled during his inauguration.

There are tough challenges ahead. Looming budget deficits may mean far less help coming from Annapolis no matter his mutually supportive relationship with Gov. Wes Moore. Donald Trump’s return to the White House could spell trouble for cities like Baltimore (for which Trump demonstrated more than a bit of disdain in his first term) and the much-needed social safety net funding. The latest statistics suggest the region’s economy is cooling off with the city’s gross domestic product growing just 1.8% last year, less than half the rate of the previous year.

There will be no quick fixes, no magic wands waved, no overnight successes. Scott hasn’t promised that. What he has pledged is to be a mayor who will have “served at the turning point for Baltimore.” His aspiration is to be “remembered as the foundational block for a better city.” That is, indeed, possible. And who better than a young married dad who understands Baltimore, the good and the bad, who has dedicated his life to his city. We could use more like him.