Former Scott chief of staff leaves City Hall amid vehicle-use questions

Marvin James left Baltimore City Hall on July 1 and is joining Martin-Lauer Associates LLC as an equity partner, a move that lands after questions about how often Mayor Brandon Scott’s former chief of staff was actually in the building and how he used a city-issued vehicle.

James had been paid $198,000 a year as a special adviser after previously earning more than $231,000 as chief of staff. Over a three-week stretch, he arrived at City Hall just twice and used a city vehicle to go to a salon, multiple restaurants and a Washington, D.C. mayoral campaign office during traditional work hours.

Baltimore’s vehicle-use policy bars city-owned vehicles from being used for pleasure or personal business. Scott said his administration would review the allegations, while City Council President Zeke Cohen said accountability is essential to public trust and that anyone in city government should actually work there.

Martin-Lauer Associates is one of the Maryland Democratic Party’s top fundraising shops.

He earned $80,000 as an operations chief, then $91,000 as deputy director of neighborhoods, then $112,000 as a senior mayoral adviser, before becoming chief of staff in May 2023 at $170,000.

James has also faced ethics scrutiny before. In 2023, he amended his filings after failing to disclose about $37,000 in outside political income tied to multiple campaigns. In March 2025, he said he was leaving to care for aging parents, but instead shifted into a $198,000 role rather than departing city payroll.

His Baltimore Civic Fund bio says he previously served as chief of staff for Scott, advised and built constituency plans for seniors and religious leaders for Stacey Abrams’ 2018 gubernatorial campaign, and played a role in advocacy, voting and fundraising efforts for Black religious institutions.