Prince George’s Democrats Fill House of Delegates Vacancy
For the second time in as many months, the Prince George’s Democratic Central Committee chose one of their own — Faye Martin Howell — to fill a District 24 vacancy in the House of Delegates.
Howell defeated LaTasha Ward at a special meeting of the central committee on Thursday. The vote was 16-2, with one abstention.
Howell’s nomination will be forwarded to Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R), who by law has 15 days to confirm the committee’s selection. She will then take the seat that came open on Oct. 1, when Erek L. Barron (D) was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to become U.S. Attorney for Maryland.
A Prince George’s County native, Howell worked as an information technology specialist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency until her retirement in 2009. Before the vote, she described her long history of community activism.
Sen. Joanne C. Benson (D-Prince George’s) and Del. Cheryl Landis (D-Prince George’s), until recently the chair of the central committee, spoke glowingly on Howell’s behalf. Benson called Howell a “highly-respected” public servant with an “outstanding reputation.”
Howell indicated that she intends to run for a four-year term in 2022. Ward has already filed to run for the House next year.
District 24 includes the Central Prince George’s communities of Glenarden, Seat Pleasant, Landover, Largo and Mitchellville, among others.
This is the third time in recent weeks that Prince George’s Democrats have had to fill a vacancy in the legislature.
In August, Del. Ron Watson was picked to fill the Senate seat that came open when Doug Peters was tapped to serve on the University of Maryland Board of Regents. Landis was then selected in September to fill Watson’s seat in the House.
Bruce DePuyt
Reporter
Bruce DePuyt is a contributor to Maryland Matters, where he was a full-time reporter until December 2022. Previously, DePuyt spent nearly three decades on local television, including 14 years as producer and host of “NewsTalk” on NewsChannel 8 in the Washington, D.C., region. He was a reporter and anchor on “News 21” in Montgomery, where he also served as producer and host of “21 This Week.” He then became a reporter and anchor at NBC affiliate WVIR in Charlottesville, Va. He appears occasionally on WTOP (103.5 FM), WAMU (88.5 FM) and MPT.
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