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Sheila S. Ruth
Ruth in 2017
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 44B district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 31, 2020
Serving with Pat Young (2020–2023) and Aletheia McCaskill (2023–present)
Appointed byLarry Hogan
Preceded byCharles E. Sydnor III
Personal details
Born (1963-10-22) October 22, 1963 (age 61)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMarried
ChildrenOne son
ResidenceCatonsville, Maryland
Alma materUniversity of Maryland University College, 1982-87. Villa Julie College, B.S. (liberal arts & technology), 1995

Sheila S. Ruth (born October 22, 1963)[1] is an American politician who represents district 44B, based in Baltimore County, in the Maryland House of Delegates.[1]

Career

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Following her graduation from University of Maryland University College in 1987, Ruth became a publishing systems programmer for Attis Publishing Services from 1987 to 1989 and a computer specialist for the U.S. Government Accountability Office from 1989 to 1992. Afterwards, she became a computer analyst for Villa Julie College from 1992 to 1994. She would receive a B.S. degree from Villa Julie College in 1995. She later worked as a website developer in the same year, and as a website technologies instructor in 1999. Following her graduation, Ruth became a self-employed website developer.[1]

She has served as the president of Imaginator Press since 2003 and is the current vice president of Cybils Awards. From 2004 to 2008, she served as the president of Mid-Atlantic Book Publishers Association.[1]

Ruth entered into politics in 2016, motivated by the 2016 presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders and horrified by the election of Donald Trump, by founding the Baltimore County Progressive Democratic Club.[2]

In 2017, Maryland Democratic Party chair Kathleen Matthews invited Ruth to serve on the party's diversity leadership council.[3] In July 2019, Ruth voted in favor of a resolution calling on the state's Democratic National Committee members to support a standalone climate debate. Only one of the fourteen Democratic National Committee members, Larry Cohen, voted in favor of a standalone climate debate, with five members voting present and eight members voting against it.[4]

In 2018, she became a member of the Baltimore County Democratic Central Committee. She is also the co-chair of the Baltimore City/County chapter of Our Revolution and is a board member of Get Money Out-Maryland.[1] As an activist, she organized support for a package of Baltimore County bills meant to strengthen ethical standards and institute public campaign financing, and was a lead organizer pushing for the passage of Baltimore County's anti-discrimination housing law that prevents landlords from denying applicants based on their source of income.[5]

In January 2018, Ruth filed paperwork to run for the Baltimore County Council, seeking to unseat incumbent councilmember Tom Quirk.[6] During the primary, she earned the endorsements of the Baltimore Sun editorial team,[7] but was defeated with 43.3 percent of the vote.[8]

In the legislature

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In January 2020, Governor Larry Hogan appointed Ruth to fill the vacancy created by the appointment of Charles E. Sydnor III to the Maryland Senate.[9]

Ruth filed to run for a full term in 2022.[10] She was endorsed by Progressive Maryland.[11] In July 2022, Ruth finished first in the six candidate Democratic primary race for the two seats in district 44B.[12][13]

Committee assignments

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  • Environment and Transportation Committee, 2020–present (environment subcommittee, 2020–present; natural resources, agriculture and open space subcommittee, 2020–present)[1]

Other memberships

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  • Women Legislators of Maryland, 2020–present[1]

Electoral history

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Baltimore County Council District 1 Democratic Primary Election, 2018[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tom Quirk 6,674 57
Democratic Sheila Ruth 5,087 43

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Sheila S. Ruth, Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. March 14, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  2. ^ Guldin, Bob (January 4, 2018). "You Say You Want a Revolution? Can't Tell Md. Players Without a Scorecard". Maryland Matters. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  3. ^ Hicks, Josh (July 1, 2017). "Maryland progressive groups learn that 'movements are messy'". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  4. ^ Gaines, Danielle E. (September 12, 2019). "Most Maryland DNC Members Opposed Climate Debate Resolution". Maryland Matters. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  5. ^ DeVille, Taylor (January 28, 2020). "Baltimore County Democrats nominate state delegate, Catonsville progressive for vacant seats". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  6. ^ "Baltimore County 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election Local Candidates List". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. July 19, 2018.
  7. ^ "Baltimore County Council endorsements". The Baltimore Sun. June 20, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Baltimore County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. July 31, 2018.
  9. ^ Wood, Pamela (January 30, 2020). "Maryland Gov. Hogan appoints Hettleman, Ruth to vacant seats in General Assembly". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  10. ^ "2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election State Candidates List". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. June 9, 2022.
  11. ^ Kurtz, Josh (November 24, 2021). "Progressive Md., Working Families Party Release New Round of Endorsements". Maryland Matters. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  12. ^ Gaskill, Hannah (July 29, 2022). "Wins, losses and close calls among Baltimore City and County General Assembly races". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on July 30, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  13. ^ "Unofficial 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
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