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The Baltimore City Council on Monday called on Mayor Catherine Pugh to resign as the state probes a deal in which a hospital chain where she served as director paid her $500,000 for copies of her self-published children's book "Healthy Holly." Pugh, a 69-year-old Democrat first elected in 2016, last week said she would take an indefinite leave of absence for health reasons after the Baltimore Sun revealed the deal with the University of Maryland Medical System. (4/8)

Fourteen of the council’s 15 members, all Democrats, wrote Monday that it wasn’t in the best interest of the city for her to continue to serve and urged her to resign immediately. Their call for Ms. Pugh to leave office was echoed Monday evening by several members of the state House of Delegates who represent Baltimore. “Baltimore will continue to have a cloud over its head while the investigations into the mayor’s business dealings go on,” Councilman Brandon Scott said. “The city deserves a mayor who can focus on reducing crime, improving schools and restoring trust in government.” (4/8)

Pugh was heavily criticized after the Baltimore Sun reported that she was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for her “Healthy Holly” book series, in most cases by businesses and organizations that work with the government and on whose boards she was sitting. The series follows an African American girl named Holly and is meant to encourage healthy living. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has requested an investigation by the state prosecutor, and Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) has said Pugh should leave office. (Hedgpeth, 4/8)