The mayor, who was elected in 2016, has been on leave to “recuperate from this serious illness,” which her office said stemmed from a bout of pneumonia. She was hospitalized for five days in late March.
Baltimore City Council President Bernard “Jack” Young has been serving as acting mayor since April 2. He has said that he does not want the position on a permanent basis.
Pugh’s leave came as the book scandal was heading toward a full-blown crisis, one that she was unable to tamp down.
At issue is how Pugh handled the sales of the Healthy Holly books, about a young black girl who promotes the benefits of nutrition and exercise.
The Baltimore Sun reported she has received roughly $800,000 over the years from the sale of the books. Some of the biggest benefactors include the University of Maryland Medical System.
UMMS is a private nonprofit for which Pugh served as a board member until mid-March, when she resigned from the position. It paid Pugh roughly $500,000 for copies of the books spread out in five payments from 2012-2018, according to the Sun.
A separate payment by health giant Kaiser Permanente of more than $100,000 for some 20,000 copies of the book between 2015 and 2018 was also reported by the Sun.