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Del. Adrienne Jones becomes first African American, first woman to serve as Maryland House speaker
Maryland Politics
Del. Adrienne Jones becomes first African American, first woman to serve as Maryland House speaker
By Erin Cox, Local reporter covering Maryland state politics, and Ovetta Wiggins
May 1 at 3:08 PM
The Maryland House of Delegates on Wednesday elected the first female and first African American speaker in state history, choosing Del. Adrienne Jones of Baltimore County as a consensus candidate after a bitter battle between two other veteran members that threatened to cleave the party — and the powerful Legislative Black Caucus — in two.
Jones, who is speaker pro tem, withdrew her candidacy for speaker last week to rally black lawmakers around Del. Dereck E. Davis of Prince George’s County.
But the Democratic caucus, which holds more than two-thirds of House seats, was divided over whether to support Davis, a political centrist, or Baltimore City Del. Maggie McIntosh, who had the support of the party’s left flank and liberal advocacy groups.
Davis would have been the first person of color to lead the chamber; McIntosh would have been the first woman and the first openly gay person to do so.
....
Erin Cox is a politics reporter covering Maryland. She joined The Washington Post in 2018 and has written about Maryland since 2007. Follow https://twitter.com/ErinatThePost
Ovetta Wiggins covers Maryland state politics in Annapolis. She came to The Washington Post in 2003 and previously worked at the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Bergen Record in New Jersey. Follow https://twitter.com/OvettaWashPost
Del. Adrienne Jones becomes first African American, first woman to serve as Maryland House speaker
By Erin Cox, Local reporter covering Maryland state politics, and Ovetta Wiggins
May 1 at 3:08 PM
The Maryland House of Delegates on Wednesday elected the first female and first African American speaker in state history, choosing Del. Adrienne Jones of Baltimore County as a consensus candidate after a bitter battle between two other veteran members that threatened to cleave the party — and the powerful Legislative Black Caucus — in two.
Jones, who is speaker pro tem, withdrew her candidacy for speaker last week to rally black lawmakers around Del. Dereck E. Davis of Prince George’s County.
But the Democratic caucus, which holds more than two-thirds of House seats, was divided over whether to support Davis, a political centrist, or Baltimore City Del. Maggie McIntosh, who had the support of the party’s left flank and liberal advocacy groups.
Davis would have been the first person of color to lead the chamber; McIntosh would have been the first woman and the first openly gay person to do so.
....
Erin Cox is a politics reporter covering Maryland. She joined The Washington Post in 2018 and has written about Maryland since 2007. Follow https://twitter.com/ErinatThePost
Ovetta Wiggins covers Maryland state politics in Annapolis. She came to The Washington Post in 2003 and previously worked at the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Bergen Record in New Jersey. Follow https://twitter.com/OvettaWashPost