Del. Chanel A. Branch, a Democrat from East Baltimore’s 45th District, officially withdrew Monday as a candidate for City Council in the April 28 primary election, waiting till the Maryland State Board of Elections deadline to take herself out of the running.
Branch, who turns 40 Thursday, was one of four candidates — all Democrats — who had filed for the District 2 City Council seat, including Councilwoman Danielle N. McCray, 35, who took the post June 11, 2019. The incumbent is sister of state Sen. Cory V. McCray (D-Baltimore City).
The other two candidates for the 2nd District in the Democratic primary are Melissa Y. “Mel B.” Bagley, 36, and Tamira Dunn, 33.
Branch was appointed to the House of Delegates Jan. 27 by Republican Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. and sworn in the following day, after being nominated Jan. 13 by the seven-member Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee for the 45th District, which she chairs. During that public meeting, part of which Baltimore Brew reporter Fern Shen was barred by the committee from attending, Branch cast the deciding vote for herself, winning 3-2-1-1.
She took the place of former Del. Cheryl D. Glenn (D), who resigned from the House Dec. 18, five days before a federal criminal information was unsealed charging her with mail fraud and bribery. Glenn, 68, pleaded guilty to the two charges Jan. 22 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore and is scheduled to be sentenced May 8.
Branch is the daughter of 45th District Del. Talmadge Branch, the House deputy majority whip, one of 24 Democrats running in Tuesday’s special election to fill the 7th Congressional District seat formerly held by U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings.
William F. Zorzi
Reporter
Bill Zorzi is a contributor to Maryland Matters and has served stints as a full-time reporter and contractor. Earlier he was a Baltimore Sun reporter and editor for nearly 20 years, focusing on government and politics. An Annapolis bureau veteran, he wrote a weekly column, “The Political Game” for the paper. Zorzi left newspapers for several years to write for television, including for the HBO series, “The Wire” and the HBO miniseries “Show Me a Hero,” which dealt with an explosive housing desegregation case in Yonkers, NY. He returned to reporting in 2018, when he joined Maryland Matters.
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