Jill P. Carter

Jill P. Carter is an American politician who represents Maryland's 41st legislative district of Baltimore City in the Maryland House of Delegates.^[1] She was elected to the Maryland legislature after defeating four incumbents in the Democratic primary that September. She was the third African-American female attorney elected to the Maryland Legislature and has served from 2003 to the present.

Background

Jill P. Carter is the daughter of the late Walter P. Carter, who was a civil rights activist and leader in the desegregation movement in Maryland in the 1950s and 1960s. Her mother, Zerita Joy Carter, is a retired public school educator. Carter attended Western High School in Baltimore. Carter received her B.A. in English from Loyola College in Maryland in 1988, and her J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1992.

Career

Prior to law school, Carter was a journalist for Afro American Newspapers. She was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1993. She has worked as a staff attorney for The Legal Aid Bureau, the Office of the Public Defender, and the Office of the City Solicitor. She is a member of Monumental City Bar Association, the Maryland Trial Lawyers' Association and a founding member of the Black Lawyers Group and founder and president of the Walter P. Carter Foundation. She was the Executive Director of the Maryland Minority Business Association in 2002, chair of the Baltimore Branch NAACP Legal Redress Committee, and was listed in Maryland's Top 100 Women in the Daily Record in 2006. In 2009,she was the honored as an "Exceptional Woman in Business and Government", at the first annual "Pretty in Pinstripes" Women's History Month celebration.^[2]

Carter was elected to the Maryland legislature after defeating four incumbents in the Democratic primary that September. She was the third African-American female attorney elected to the Maryland Legislature. The first was Lena K. Lee who served from 1967–1982; the second, Lisa Gladden, served from 1998–2002; and, finally, Jill Carter (2003–present).

During her first term from 2003–2006, she was the only African-American female attorney serving in the Maryland House of Delegates. She is currently a member of the House Judiciary Committee and chair of the Estates and Trusts Subcommittee,^[3] the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, and the Women Legislators of Maryland. Carter voted against legalizing slot machines in Maryland in 2005.^[4] Prior to her re-election in 2006, she became a vocal critic of then mayor (now Governor Martin O'Malley's "failed policing policies". She posited that the so-labeled, zero tolerance, arrest strategy failed to cause significant reduction in a soaring crime rate in Baltimore City, but, rather, pressured police officers to make tens of thousands of arrests that did not produce criminal charges.^[5] She has oft been referred to as a lone voice in the wilderness for her challenges to established politicians on matters of adequate housing for the poor,^[6] lead poisoning of children, to adequately fund public education, both in the legislature,^[7][8] and in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.,^[9] and, in 2007, calling for a special session of the legislature to deal with the BGE utility rate increase.^{[10][11][12][13]}

In 2008, Carter was the only member of Baltimore City's state delegation to receive a grade of "Outstanding" from the local NAACP.^[14]

Legislative notes

2005

• Sponsored House Bill 1297 in 2005^[15]
• Voted against slots in 2005^[16]

2006

• Voted for the Healthy Air Act in 2006^[17]

2007

• Voted for the Clean Indoor Air Act of 2007^[18]
• Voted in favor of prohibiting ground rents in 2007^[19]
• Voted in favor of the Tax Reform Act of 2007^[20]
• Voted against raising sales and services taxes by 20%, i.e. the Transportation and Sales Investment Act of 2007^[21]

Election results

• 2006 Democratic Primary for Maryland House of Delegates – District 41^[22]

Voters to choose three:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Jill P. Carter, Dem.	13,196	31.2%	Won
Samuel I. Rosenberg, Dem.	9,215	21.8%	Won
Nathaniel T. Oaks, Dem.	9,189	21.7%	Won
Wendall Phillips	6,480	15.3%	Lost
Kevin Hargrave	2,095	5.0%	Lost
Karen M. Ferguson	2,116	5.0%	Lost

Baltimore mayoral race

Carter declared her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the Baltimore mayoral election of 2007^[23] She had criticized the city's Mayor and administration for giving unfair advantages to developers and corporations at the expense of the poor and middle class, and had vowed to replace the police department's leadership if elected Mayor.^[24] In a poll of likely democratic voters released by the Baltimore Sun on July 16, 2007, Carter trailed Mayor Dixon (47%), Councilman Mitchell (15%) and Andrey Bundley (4%) with 2% of those polled.^[25] Despite her campaign activities, such as camping out all night on some of the city's most violent street corners,^[26] serving hot dogs, having one-on-one conversations with residents,^[27] and distributing voter registration forms, Carter's campaign failed to raise enough money to become viable, the political establishment did not support her, and Carter eventually finished fourth in the race with only 2.8% of the vote.

Primary election results

• 2007 Democratic Primary for Mayor of Baltimore.^[28]

References and notes

External links

• Mayoral campaign Web site