Jack Young graduated from Northern High School in Baltimore and attended Baltimore City Community College. Young was originally elected to represent Baltimore City Council District 2 in 1996, which he represented until 2003 when district lines were redrawn. After redistricting, he represented District 12 until he was appointed as City Council President in February 2010 to fill the vacancy left when Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was elevated to mayor.
Career
At Johns Hopkins Hospital, Young first worked in the cafeteria and mailroom before joining the radiology department as a file clerk and eventually an administrator, helping digitize the department archives. By the late 1980s, Young began spending his evenings and weekends serving on the staff of Baltimore City Council member Mary Pat Clarke. From 2007 to 2010, Young was a manager at the Maryland Department of Human Resources. He has been a member of the Historic East Baltimore Community Action Council since 1995, and is a co-founder of the Broadway Development Foundation. Young created controversy in 2009 when he said that "it should be required that all top-level people live in the city," referring to a report by the Baltimore Examiner that most Baltimore City police commanders don't live in the city. On February 1, 2010, WBAL-TV's Jayne Miller reported that Young himself owned a home in Harford County for which he had signed an affidavit that declared the Harford County home was his primary residence. Young said the house in Harford County had served as his summer home until he sold it in 2005. In February 2010, Councilman Young was unanimously nominated to fill the position of City Council President after former City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was sworn in as Mayor of Baltimore following the resignation of former Mayor Sheila Dixon.
Mayor of Baltimore (2019 - )
Young was elevated to Acting Mayor on April 2, 2019, when then Mayor Catherine Pugh went on an indefinite leave of absence to recover from pneumonia. The announcement coincided with a scandal over a "self-dealing" book-sales arrangement by Pugh. On May 2, 2019, Pugh resigned and Young became mayor of the city. In July 2019, Young said that Baltimore will not assist ICE agents with immigration raids. He said in a statement: "Immigrants who call Baltimore home should not live in fear of family separation and deportation, and I will continue to do all that is in my power so that all Baltimore residents, including immigrants, feel safe and welcome in our city."
2020 Mayoral race
After the first campaign finance reporting date in mid-January 2020, Young led all candidates with $960,000 cash on hand, Thiru Vignarajah reported having about $840,000, Brandon Scott had nearly $430,000 cash on hand and Sheila Dixon had raised $100,000.
