In a surprise move, Maryland Sen. Ulysses Currie has decided not to resign and will serve out the remainder of his term in the General Assembly.
On Nov. 29, Currie sent a letter to Maryland Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller (D-District 27) rescinding his expected Dec. 1 resignation from the General Assembly’s upper chamber, according to the The Daily Record. Currie, a Democrat who has represented District 25 in the General Assembly as a member of the House of Delegates from 1987-1995 and the Senate from 1995 to the present, said political bickering over who will succeed him made him reconsider leaving his post. His term is set to end in 2018.
Ulysses Currie represents District 25 in the Maryland Senate. (Courtesy Photo)
“Since my announcement, it has been nothing but petty political jockeying and deal-making with only the 2018 election in mind,” Currie said in the letter, according to the Washington Post. “This has created a level of divisiveness and discord I have rarely seen in Prince George’s County and which I cannot allow to continue.”
On Nov. 4, Currie sent a letter to Miller submitting his resignation, citing health reasons. Currie made it clear that he hoped that his wife, the Rev. Shirley Gravely-Currie, would succeed him but others showed interest in the seat.
Currie’s successor would have been selected by the Prince George’s County Democratic Central Committee. Other than Rev. Currie, other contenders for the seat included former Del. Melony Griffith and Delegates Darryl Barnes and Angela Angel.
A contender only needed to get the most votes to be recommended to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) for the seat. By law, Hogan would be required to appoint the committee’s recommendation to the seat.
Barnes told the AFRO he won’t cross Currie. “At this time, I will respect his wishes,” he said. “Sen. Currie has been a friend and a mentor to me.”
Angel told the AFRO that she, too, will respect Currie’s decision. “It is his seat and his right to do what he wants,” she said. “I understand his concern about the political environment around his seat.”
The jockeying for the seat has been so intense that some county members of the Assembly such as Del. Jay Walker (D-District 26), who is the chairman of the Prince George’s County delegation, told the AFRO recently that he didn’t want to get involved.
However, Brenda Queen-Howard, who is a member of the central committee and lives in District 25 wasn’t so understanding.
“For him to rescind his resignation a day before it was set to take place to me is not right,” Queen-Howard told the AFRO. She has also said that Currie has done nothing for the District in the last two years. “I suspect he did it because his wife didn’t have the votes to get the seat from the committee.”