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

7 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.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Lake Calhoun renaming heads to MN Supreme Court

Don't Miss

Hair braiding bill represents ‘new narrative’ at legislature

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Community

Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

2 days ago

August 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

bpusa-syndication

Posts by bpusa-syndication

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of August 12 – 18, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of August 12 – 18, 2026

Published

2 days ago

August 15, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Commentary

COMMENTARY: Why Local School Tax Measure G1 Will Not Be on the November Ballot

POST NEWS GROUP — Measure G1 is the local tax measure that supports middle school teacher retention and the expansion of arts, music, and world language programs at both OUSD middle schools and charter middle schools. The current measure expires in 2029.

Published

2 days ago

August 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

By Jennifer Brouhard, Oakland School Board President

There has been considerable speculation recently about why Measure G1 will not appear on the November ballot and what that means for the Oakland Unified School District’s current budget.

I want to provide some clarity about what happened and, importantly, what did not happen.

Measure G1 is the local tax measure that supports middle school teacher retention and the expansion of arts, music, and world language programs at both OUSD middle schools and charter middle schools. The current measure expires in 2029.

Because these funds are important to our schools and to the continuity of these programs, the district initially intended to place a renewal initiative on the November ballot to provide greater early certainty about funding beyond the expiration of the current measure.

As part of that process, the Board scheduled a special meeting for the required public hearing on the ballot initiative. There has been some suggestion that this meeting was noticed only one day in advance. That is not accurate.

Public hearings of this nature are subject to specific notice requirements, and the meeting must be noticed at least two weeks before the hearing. In practice, the notice may appear even earlier depending on publication schedules. The notice for the Measure G1 public hearing was published in the Tribune on 7/24/2026 and 7/31/2026.

So, why wasn’t the Measure G1 paperwork ultimately filed?

After the Board approved placing the measure on the ballot, the next step required the Alameda County Superintendent of Schools to sign the necessary paperwork before it could be submitted to the Oakland City Clerk.

During that process, Alameda County Superintendent Alysse Castro raised concerns about potential litigation stemming from another court case unrelated to OUSD and about whether proceeding with the measure could expose the district or County to legal challenges. Superintendent Castro’s action is unprecedented and concerning.

It is important to distinguish between the Board’s decision to pursue Measure G1 and the subsequent procedural and legal issues that arose. The Board did approve moving forward with the measure. The measure did not fail because the Board chose not to support it, nor was the public hearing improperly noticed.

The decision not to proceed with the November ballot was made in light of the County’s concerns about potential litigation and the County’s required approval process.

We also need to be clear about what this does, and does not, mean for OUSD’s current budget. The existing Measure G1 funds remain available through the expiration of the current measure in 2029. The immediate issue is the longer-term continuity of funding beyond that date, not the elimination of these resources from the current year’s budget.

Our responsibility as a Board is to protect the educational programs and services our students depend on while ensuring that our decisions comply with the law and protect the district from unnecessary legal and financial risk.

We will continue working to understand the County’s concerns, explore our options, and advocate for the resources our students deserve. Our middle school students, teachers, and school communities deserve stability, and continued investment in arts, music, world languages, and teacher retention—and that work remains a priority for Oakland Unified.

Jennifer Brouhard is a retired OUSD educator and is the current OUSD School Board President representing District 2.