Government

Jones Chosen as New Md. House Speaker

WASHINGTON INFORMER — Maryland Del. Adrienne Jones of Baltimore County was unanimously chosen Wednesday as the state’s new House speaker during a special session among her colleagues. Jones, who served as speaker pro tem to organize House sessions when the late House Speaker Michael Busch wasn’t in attendance, becomes the state’s first woman and African American to hold the position.

Published

6 years ago

May 3, 2019

Oakland Post

By William J. Ford

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland Del. Adrienne Jones of Baltimore County was unanimously chosen Wednesday as the state’s new House speaker during a special session among her colleagues.

Jones, who served as speaker pro tem to organize House sessions when the late House Speaker Michael Busch wasn’t in attendance, becomes the state’s first woman and African American to hold the position.

“I’m probably going to take a deep breath,” Jones, 64, said. “I know the Baltimore region best, [but] other areas [will] not be neglected because I’m a visual person. I like to go out in areas. … I’m visual.”

According to the legislation handbook, some of the duties of the speaker includes the appointment of committee leadership, assigns bills to committee and decides all points of order. However, the speaker must also maneuver political posturing which Busch received praise for from his Democratic colleagues and Republican members.

Before Jones received the 139 unanimous votes on the House floor, the House Democratic Caucus deliberated for more than four hours while considering two additional delegates, Maggie McIntosh of Baltimore City and Dereck E. Davis of Prince George’s County, for the position.

All three lawmakers have served in the House for more than 20 years.

McIntosh, a gay white woman, and Davis who’s Black, chair two prominent committees in the House. McIntosh leads Appropriations and Davis heads Economic Matters.

Either would have made history if selected as House speaker, as only white men have held the position.

Busch, 72, had held the position since 2003 and served as the longest House speaker in state history. He died April 7, one day before the last day of the legislative session, of pneumonia following complications from a 2017 liver transplant.

According to those familiar with Wednesday’s discussions, McIntosh received 50 votes and Davis 48.

The House Republicans voted as a bloc during its session, with all 42 votes for Davis.

The winner needed 71 votes to secure the position.

To ensure caucus unity and avoid the need for GOP votes, Jones was backed by all 98 Democrats, though more progressive members of the party sided with McIntosh.

“There were a number of people that wanted to support Chairman Davis … [and] join in with the Republican Caucus,” said a teary-eyed McIntosh minutes after the Democratic Caucus meeting. “I basically said, ‘We need to stay this room until we find someone who gets 71 votes. So we stayed in this room and did it. It was the best debate I ever heard. I’m proud.”

Davis, 51, praised Jones, who stepped out of the speaker race Friday to support him.

“‘House of Cards’ doesn’t have anything on us — talk about high drama,” Davis said from the House floor. “No one will ever forget the courage, the conviction and just the strength you showed those vital few weeks of this passed legislation session guiding us through … and performing admirably. [Less than] one week ago, you were willing to step aside for me and I’m honored to step aside for you now.”

House Minority Leader Del. Nic Kipke (R-Anne Arundel County) said Jones treats every member with respect.

“She’s not a partisan person, which we really appreciate, being the minority in Maryland like Republicans are,” he said. “We look forward to working with her to solving the big problems that are in our in the state. We’re excited about her nomination and election today.”

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. also congratulated Jones.

“Del. Jones has been a key House leader on issues including education, health and environment for years and is a natural successor to Speaker Busch,” Miller said in a statement. “I congratulate her and look forward to continuing to partner with her in the future.”

This article originally appeared in the Washington Informer.

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

2 days ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.