Skip to main content
Blog Election 2022 Government & Politics

Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Endorses Gansler for Governor

Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess (D). Photo by Hannah Gaskill.

Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess (D) endorsed former Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler (D) in the 2022 gubernatorial race Thursday morning.

“At a time when families across Anne Arundel County and throughout Maryland remain concerned about crime and violence, I believe it is important to have someone with a proven record of leadership in the Governor’s Office,” Leitess said in a statement. “Doug Gansler is that candidate.”

Leitess is in her second, non-consecutive term as Anne Arundel County’s top prosecutor and has taken on a number of high-profile cases over the course of her 30-year career, including the 1998 Scotland Williams double-murder trial and her recent murder conviction of a leader of the Aryan Brotherhood.

In July, Leitess successfully prosecuted the gunman responsible for murdering five Capital Gazette newspaper employees. The assailant was sentenced to six life sentences and more than 300 years behind bars for related charges.

Leitess also served as the chief of the Baltimore Special Victims Unit and has been a champion in the fight against domestic violence and abuse.

Former state attorney general Douglas F. Gansler (D).

A like-minded prosecutor, Gansler served as Montgomery County’s state’s attorney for two terms and initiated the first drug court and domestic violence dockets in Montgomery County.

At the Legislative Black Caucus’ candidates reception earlier this month, Gansler declared that state prosecutors under his administration would be required to have a domestic violence court or their state funding would be withheld.

“We have to be bold,” Gansler said at the reception. “We have to think differently.”

During his time as Montgomery County state’s attorney, Gansler also created the jurisdiction’s gang and environmental crimes divisions and prosecuted the Beltway Snipers.

“Over the course of my career, I have had the opportunity to work with Doug, both in his capacity as Attorney General and as Montgomery County State’s Attorney,” Leitess said in a statement. “He was, and remains, deeply respected by his colleagues for the level of preparation, thoughtfulness and innovation he brought to the coordinated effort for safer communities.”

In a statement, Gansler thanked Leitess for her support, adding that, if elected, he would work closely with her office.

“For nearly three decades, Anne Colt Leitess has been on the front lines of the work to protect our children, families and neighborhoods from harm,” he said. “It is an honor to have her endorsement, and I look forward to collaborating with her on these shared priorities as Maryland’s next Governor.”

[email protected]

REPUBLISHING TERMS

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

To republish, copy the following text and paste it into your HTML editor.

License

Creative Commons License AttributionCreative Commons Attribution
Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Endorses Gansler for Governor