Former Baltimore mayor is mediator and adviser, at arm's length from Obama White House
By Paul West, The Baltimore Sun
At 60, and a decade removed from Baltimore City Hall, Kurt L. Schmoke is busy reinventing himself.
The former mayor is piling new projects on top of a full-time job as dean of Howard University Law School and sinking roots in the Annapolis area, his new home.
"As my wife says, I haven't abandoned Baltimore, I've embraced Maryland," Schmoke said, with a rolling laugh, during a recent interview at his campus office.
He's also emerging as something of a power broker in Barack Obama's Washington — though not in the way some might have expected.
When Schmoke casually drops the name "Michelle" in conversation, he's referring to D.C .schools chief Michelle Rhee, not the first lady.