Mary Ann Lisanti
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 34A district
In office
January 13, 2015 – January 11, 2023
Serving with Glen Glass
Preceded byMary-Dulany James
Succeeded byAndre Johnson Jr.
ConstituencyHarford County
Member of the Harford County Council
District F
In office
December 4, 2006 – December 1, 2014
Preceded byCecilia M. Stepp
Succeeded byCurtis L. Beulah
Personal details
Born (1967-10-27) October 27, 1967 (age 56)
Havre de Grace, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materCollege of Notre Dame of Maryland (B.A.)
Central Michigan University (M.S.)
ProfessionExecutive director
WebsiteCampaign website
Facebook page

Mary Ann Lisanti (born October 27, 1967) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party, who represented District 34A in the Maryland House of Delegates. Previously she represented district F on the Harford County Council, representing Havre de Grace, Abingdon, Belcamp/Riverside and Aberdeen Proving Ground.[1] In January 2014 Lisanti filed to run for the Maryland House of Delegates and to not seek a 3rd term on the County Council.[2] In early March 2019, the House of Delegates unanimously censured Lisanti for a racial slur directed at the African-American majority Prince George's County, with her own county's Democratic Party calling for her resignation.

Political career

2014 Maryland State Delegate candidacy

Lisanti entered the race for Delegate in district 34A after much speculation that she might run for the seat left open when Delegate Mary-Dulany James decided to run for Maryland State Senate.[2] On June 24, 2014 Lisanti led the Democratic primary by nearly 10 percentage points, with Marla Posey-Moss coming in second, after a heavily contested race with five candidates vying for two seats. Lisanti and Posey-Moss faced Republicans Glen Glass and Mike Blizzard in the General election in November.[3] Glass and Lisanti finished 1 and 2, thus gaining election.[4]

Censure

On February 26, 2019, The Washington Post reported that Lisanti referred to Prince George's County, Maryland as a "n----- district" [thus in the original] in conversation with another Democratic legislator.[5] She was removed as the chair of a subcommittee.[5] Two days later she was unanimously censured by the House of Delegates in a 136-0 vote, but refused to resign her seat.[6] On March 2, 2019, the Harford County Democratic Central Committee called for Lisanti to resign for using the racial slur.[7]

2022 Maryland State Senate candidacy

On January 28, 2022, Lisanti entered the race for State Senate in District 34, seeking to succeed Senator Robert G. Cassilly,[8] who announced his candidacy for Harford County executive in April 2021.[9] Lisanti lost the Democratic primary to Mary-Dulany James.[10]

Election results

Voters to choose one:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Mary Ann Lisanti, Dem. 1,898   64.6%    Won
Gunther Hirsch, Dem. 1,057   35.8%    Lost
Voters to choose one:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Mary Ann Lisnati, Dem. 7,433   60.3%    Won
John P. Correri, Jr., Rep. 4,877   39.6%    Lost
Write-Ins 13   0.1%    Lost
Voters to choose one:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Mary Ann Lisanti, Dem. 7,167   51.8%    Won
Sheryl Davis Kohl, Rep. 6,646   48.1%    Lost
Write-Ins 16   0.1%    Lost
Voters to choose two:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Mary Ann Lisanti, Dem. 2,473   29.0%    Won
Marla Posey-Moss, Dem. 1,895   22.2%    Won
Pat Murray., Dem. 1,784   20.9%    Lost
Steve Johnson, Dem. 1,574   18.4%    Lost
Maria Terry, Dem. 812   9.5%    Lost
Voters to choose two:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Glen Glass, Rep. 10,779   28.41%    Won
Mary Ann Lisanti, Dem. 10,015   26.40%    Won
Mike Blizzard, Rep. 9,041   23.83%    Lost
Marla Posey-Moss, Dem. 8,057   21.24%    Lost
Write-Ins 49   0.13%    Lost
Voters to choose two:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Mary Ann Lisanti, Dem 3,794 46.8%    Won
Steve Johnson, Dem 2,190 27.0%    Won
Sarahia Benn, Dem 2,123 26.2%    Lost
Voters to choose one:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Mary-Dulany James, Dem 6,598 65.65%    Won
Mary Ann Lisanti, Dem 3,453 34.35%    Lost

References

  1. ^ "Mary Ann Lisanti, Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. September 9, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Zumer, Bryna. "Harford's Lisanti runs for legislature; Jennings, Glass, McComas hope to keep seats". The Aegis. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  3. ^ Zumer, Bryna (June 25, 2014). "Glass leads Republican race for District 34A delegates; Lisanti tops Democrats". The Aegis. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates, Legislative District 34A". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. December 2, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Maryland delegate Mary Ann Lisanti loses leadership post over racial slur". NBC News. Associated Press. February 26, 2019.
  6. ^ Collins, David (February 28, 2019). "House votes to censure Lisanti; Delegate refuses to resign; Harford County Democrat used racial slur to describe Prince George's County district". WBAL-TV. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  7. ^ Anderson, David (March 2, 2019). "Harford County Democratic Central Committee calls for Del. Lisanti to resign for racial slur". The Aegis.
  8. ^ Gaskill, Hannah; Kurtz, Josh (January 28, 2022). "Lisanti Enters Contested Race for Harford County Senate Seat". Maryland Matters. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  9. ^ Kurtz, Josh (April 28, 2021). "Sen. Cassilly Jumps Into Race for Harford County Executive". Maryland Matters. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  10. ^ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results for State Senator". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. August 24, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  11. ^ "Harford County Council Primary Results" (PDF). Harford County Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  12. ^ "Harford County General Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  13. ^ "Harford County General Results". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  14. ^ "State Delegate Primary Results". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  15. ^ "2018 Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  16. ^ "2022 Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Retrieved August 8, 2023.

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