Mary-Dulany James
Mary-Dulany James | |
|---|---|
| File:1mdjames.jpg | |
| Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from District 34A | |
| In office January 13, 1999 – January 13, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Mary Louise Preis |
| Succeeded by | Mary Ann Lisanti |
| Constituency | Harford County, Cecil County |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 1, 1960 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Children | Evelyn Ann William Grant Jarrett Dulany |
| Residence | Maryland |
| Alma mater | University of Maryland, College Park University of Maryland School of Law |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Website | Campaign website Legislative homepage Facebook Page @MaryDulanyJames |
Mary-Dulany James (born February 1, 1960) is an American politician who represented district 34A in the Maryland House of Delegates for sixteen years, representing Harford and Cecil Counties along the U.S. Route 40 corridor. Mary-Dulany James represented district 34A, formally district 34, for 16 having first been elected in 1998.
James is the daughter of former President of the Maryland Senate William S. James, serving as Senate President from 1963 to 1974. In October 2013 James officially filled to run for State Senate in District 34 to replace retiring State Senator Nancy Jacobs.[1] On June 24, 2014 James defeated long time Harford County politician and former State Senator Arthur Henry Helton, Jr., and went on to face Republican Bob Cassilly in November.[2] Mary-Dulany James lost in the General Election.
Early life, education, career
James was born in Baltimore, Maryland. James grew up and still lives on her family's farm in Harford County. She attended Havre de Grace High School and then traveled south to the University of Maryland where she earned a B.S. in psychology (with honors) in 1981. Returning to Baltimore, she attended the University of Maryland School of Law, earning a J.D., (with honors) in 1986. While studying for the bar exam she clerked for Judge Edward S. Northrop in the U.S. District Court, District of Maryland. She passed her bar exam and was admitted to Maryland Bar in 1986. She worked for several large law firms in Baltimore, but has returned to Harford County and set up her own practice.[1]
Political career
Maryland House of Delegates
James was elected to the House of Delegates on November 3, 1998, representing District 34 (Harford County). James was re-elected to the newly redisticted District 34A (Harford & Cecil Counties)[3] in November 5, 2002, and was subsequently re-elected in 2006 and 2010.
Committee Assignments
- Member, Appropriations Committee, 1999-2014
- oversight committee on personnel, 1999–2003
- oversight committee on program open space & agricultural land preservation, 1999–2002
- vice-chair, transportation & the environment subcommittee, 2003–2006, member, 1999–2006
- chair, oversight committee on pensions, 2003–2006, member, 2003-2014
- chair, health & human resources subcommittee, 2007-2014
- Joint Subcommittee on Program Open Space and Agricultural Preservation, 2003–Present
- Special Joint Committee on Pensions, 2003–Present, house chair, 2003–2006
- Member, Joint Committee on Base Realignment and Closure, 2007–Present
- Member, Joint Committee on the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area, 2003–07
- Chair, Harford County Delegation, 2001–02, vice-chair, 1999–2000
- Member, Maryland Green Caucus, 1999-2014
- Member, Women Legislators of Maryland, 1999–Present, co-chair, legislative committee, 2005–Present
- Member Maryland Rural Caucus, 2002-2014
- Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Caucus, 2003-2014
- Maryland Veterans Caucus, 2005-2014
- Member, National Conference of State Legislatures
- Member, economic development, trade & cultural affairs committee, 2005–2007
- Member, labor & economic development committee, 2007–Present[4]
Legislative notes
- voted in favor of increasing the sales tax by 20% - Tax Reform Act of 2007(HB2)[2]
- voted for the Clean Indoor Air Act of 2007 (HB359)[3]
- voted for the Maryland Gang Prosecution Act of 2007 (HB713), subjecting gang members to up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $100,000 [4]
- voted for Jessica’s Law (HB 930), eliminating parole for the most violent child sexual predators and creating a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in state prison, 2007 [5]
- voted for Public Safety – Statewide DNA Database System – Crimes of Violence and Burglary – Post conviction (HB 370), helping to give police officers and prosecutors greater resources to solve crimes and eliminating a backlog of 24,000 unanalyzed DNA samples, leading to 192 arrests, 2008 [6]
- voted for Vehicle Laws – Repeated Drunk and Drugged Driving Offenses – Suspension of License (HB 293), strengthening Maryland’s drunk driving laws by imposing a mandatory one year license suspension for a person convicted of drunk driving more than once in five years, 2009 [7]
- voted for HB 102, creating the House Emergency Medical Services System Workgroup, leading to Maryland’s budgeting of $52 million to fund three new Medevac helicopters to replace the State’s aging fleet, 2009 [8]
For the past four years, Delegate James has annually voted to support classroom teachers, public schools, police and hospitals in Cecil and Harford Counties. Since 2002, funding to schools across the State has increased 82%, resulting in Maryland being ranked top in the nation for K-12 education.
The District
District 34 has been redistricted twice since James was first elected. When first elected James was one of three delegates that represented the development corridor in Harford County. The communities represented in district 34 are: Bel Air, Havre de Grace, Aberdeen, Edgewood, Joppatowne, Abingdon, Belcamp/Riverside, and Aberdeen Proving Ground.
After the 2000 Census Maryland redistricted 34 into a split district with two Delegates representing 34A and one Delegate representing district 34B. Then district spanned parts of Harford and Cecil Counties. The communities represented in district 34A are: Havre de Grace, Aberdeen, Edgewood, Joppatowne, Belcamp/Riverside, and Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County. Parts of Perryville and Port Deposit in Cecil County.
James is currently running for State Senate in the recently redistricted District 34. After the 2010 Census Maryland redistricted 34 to similar boundaries prior to the 2000 Census. The communities represented in district 34 are: Bel Air, Havre de Grace, Aberdeen, Edgewood, Joppatowne, Abingdon, Belcamp/Riverside, and Aberdeen Proving Ground.[3]
2014 Maryland State Senate Candidacy
James filed to run for Maryland State Senate in October 2013. In the 2014 Democratic Primary James faced long time Harford County politician and business owner Arthur Henry Helton, Jr. Helton was a former State Senator and County Council Member.[5] Helton had run for State Senate during the last election and lost. Both Helton and James have considerable name recognition in Harford County. James ultimately defeated Helton by a 2 to 1 margin.
James faced Bob Cassilly, former County Council Member in the General Election in November, but was not successful.[6]
Election results
- 2014 Primary Election Results Maryland Senate – District 34 - Harford County[7]
- Voters to choose One:
Name Votes Percent Outcome Mary-Dulany James, Dem. 4,705 61.1% Won Arthur Henry Helton, Jr., Dem. 2,997 38.9% Lost
- 2010 General Election Results Maryland House of Delegates – District 34A - Cecil & Harford County[8]
- Voters to choose two:
Name Votes Percent Outcome Mary-Dulany James, Dem. 12,639 29.2% Won Glen Glass, Rep. 10,931 25.3% Won Patrick McGrady, Rep. 9,889 22.9% Lost Marla Posey-Moss, Dem. 9,745 22.5% Lost Write-Ins 51 0.1% Lost
- 2010 Primary Election Results Maryland House of Delegates – District 34A - Cecil & Harford County[9]
- Voters to choose two:
Name Votes Percent Outcome Mary-Dulany James, Dem. 3,146 37.6% Won Marla Posey-Moss, Dem. 2,639 31.5% Won B. Daniel Riley, Dem. 2,582 30.9% Lost
- 2006 General Election Results Maryland House of Delegates – District 34A - Cecil & Harford County[10]
- Voters to choose two:
Name Votes Percent Outcome Mary-Dulany James, Dem. 12,697 31.7% Won B. Daniel Riley, Dem. 10,969 27.3% Won Glen Glass, Rep. 8,554 21.0% Lost Sheryl Davis Kohl, Rep. 8,085 19.9% Lost Write-Ins 22 0.1% Lost
- 2002 General Election Results Maryland House of Delegates – District 34A - Cecil & Harford County[11]
- Voters to choose two:
Name Votes Percent Outcome Charles R. Boutin, Rep. 11,182 34.79% Won Mary-Dulany James, Dem. 10,947 34.06% Won B. Daniel Riley, Dem. 9,957 30.98% Lost Write-Ins 59 0.18% Lost
- 1998 General Election Results Maryland House of Delegates – District 34 - Harford County[12]
- Voters to choose three:
Name Votes Percent Outcome Mary-Dulany James, Dem. 18,357 18% Won Charles R. Boutin, Rep. 17,844 18% Won B. Daniel Riley, Dem. 17,798 18% Won Robert E. Shaffner, Rep. 16,236 16% Lost Robin Walter, Rep. 15,370 15% Lost Michael Griffin, Rep. 15,207 15% Lost
References
- ^ "General Assembly October 2013 Update". Maryland Reporter. Retrieved on July 3, 2014
- ^ "Democratic establishment largely prevails from top to bottom, as few State House incumbents lose". Maryland Reporter. Retrieved on July 3, 2014
- ^ a b "LEGISLATIVE ELECTION DISTRICTS". Maryland Archives. Retrieved on July 3, 2014 Cite error: The named reference "Maryland Legislative Districts" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "MARY-DULANY JAMES". Maryland Archives. Retrieved on July 3, 2014
- ^ "Md. General Assembly races: October update on candidates". Maryland Reporter. Retrieved on July 10, 2014
- ^ "Harford County State Senate District 34 Democratic Candidates: Helton vs James". Harford County Dagger. Retrieved on July 10, 2014
- ^ "State Senate Primary Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved on July 2, 2014
- ^ "House of Delegates General Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved on July 2, 2014
- ^ "House of Delegates Primary Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved on July 2, 2014
- ^ "House of Delegates Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved on Nov. 3, 2007
- ^ "House of Delegates Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved on July 2, 2014
- ^ "House of Delegates Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved on July. 2, 2014