Politics & Government
MD Lawmakers Censure Delegate Mary Ann Lisanti: Report
Elected officials unanimously voted to censure a Maryland state delegate who is accused of using a racial slur in conversation.
ANNAPOLIS, MD — The Maryland House of Delegates reportedly voted unanimously Thursday night to censure Delegate Mary Ann Lisanti for using a racial slur. The vote took place at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28, according to WBAL, which reported it means she can vote but cannot hold any committee positions.
The move to censure Lisanti, a Havre de Grace woman who represents Harford County, came days after a Washington Post article reported she had used a racial slur in conversation with another elected official.
Lisanti referenced a section of Prince George's County as a "n----- district," while speaking with a fellow white lawmaker last month about knocking on doors to campaign in that district.
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The fateful conversation took place at an Annapolis cigar bar, according to The Washington Post.
"I deeply apologize to the citizens of my district, people of Maryland, all of my colleagues in the Maryland General Assembly and everyone reading this for my word choice several weeks ago. I am sickened that a word that is not in my vocabulary came out of my mouth. It does not represent my belief system, my life's work or what is my heart," Lisanti said in a statement on Tuesday, Feb. 26.
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After leaders and lawmakers encouraged her to tender her resignation and Lisanti refused to give up her office, WBAL reported the House of Delegates determined the alternative was an official censure, which passed, 136-0, Thursday night.
A censure is an official condemnation of one's actions that is one step below expulsion in terms of disciplinary actions taken in the Maryland General Assembly, The Baltimore Sun reported. Usually it follows an investigation or some sort of ethics complaint, neither of which occurred in this case.
Speaker of the House Michael Busch, a Democrat, drafted the resolution to censure Lisanti, and told The Washington Post that resigning was "her call to make."
After the House voted to censure her, Lisanti told the paper she would not resign.
"Quitting is easy, but not the road to redemption," Lisanti said, adding: "I am up for the challenge, and that is why I'm staying."
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