The loss of population for Baltimore City in the 2020 U.S. Census is translating into a reduced voice in the Maryland General Assembly for the city. It also means that some Bolton Hill residents will have new legislative representatives as part of a consolidated General Assembly District 40 with its senator and three assembly delegates.
Assembly District 44A, since 2010 a city single-member carve-out from a district that was mostly in Baltimore County, will move entirely into the county. District 44A previously included a northwest sliver of Bolton Hill that ran down south from the west side of Bolton Street to McMechen Street.
“The maps have been approved by both the Senate and the House of Delegates,” said District 40 Sen. Antonio Hayes. “Legislative redistricting, unlike congressional maps, are in the form of a resolution – not a bill like congressional. The Governor does not have the ability to veto like he does with the congressional map and other pieces of legislation. Therefore, the map passed by the General Assembly is final. There will inevitably be lawsuits and the courts will rule if these maps are legally sufficient or, as in 2002, the courts can go as far as drawing their own maps,” Hayes said.
Roxane Lee Prettyman, who was chosen by the Democratic State Central Committee in 2021 to fill a vacancy in 44A, will be out of work unless she chooses to run in another district. A native of Sandtown-Winchester and a member of the central committee when selected, she is a retired paralegal. The senator who represented District 44 is Charles E Snydor III, who lives in Windsor Mill, in Baltimore County. His district no longer will bleed into the city, but he likely will continue to hold the seat.
The filing deadline for all candidates for state offices is Feb. 22. The Democratic primary is June 28. All Baltimore city representatives are Democrats.
All of Bolton Hill now falls into District 40, represented by Sen. Hayes, first elected in 2018, and by three incumbent delegates: lawyer Marlon Amprey, appointed last year by the party committee with Hayes’ support; Frank M. Conaway Jr., elected since 2006; and union staffer Melissa Wells, first elected in 2018. All face re-election this year.
The Bulletin will run information on the coming primary elections in the March issue after the filing deadline.
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