Upset in northwest’s 41st District places Dalya Attar over Malcolm Ruff as area’s prospective state senator
Ruff was backed by former Senator Jill Carter and local powerbroker attorney Billy Murphy. But he lost to Attar in a 5-3 vote
Above: Delegate Dalya Attar answers questions from a Democratic Central Committee panel last night. (Facebook Zoom)
In a major upset in Baltimore’s 41st District, Democratic Party committee members last night voted to recommend Delegate Dalya Attar over Delegate Malcolm P. Ruff, her district colleague, to take the place of state Senator Jill Carter.
Carter, who resigned last month to take a job at the Maryland Board of Contract Appeals, had backed fellow progressive Ruff for the position, which now requires the formal approval of Governor Wes Moore.
With a succession plan seemingly in place, Carter had posted Instagram photos of herself with Ruff at a January 7 fundraiser he held at a Cross Keys restaurant, declaring, “District 41 is in good hands.”
“Passing of the baton, love to see it!” Montgomery County Delegate Gabriel Acevero chimed in on the post. “Let’s go @brotha_malcolmesq.”
Baltimore lawyer and powerbroker Billy Murphy was said to have helped strike the deal to install Ruff, a trial attorney and associate at Murphy’s law firm, Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, as the new senator.
But after interviewing the two delegates and six other candidates in an online meeting last night, the Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee’s 41st District Committee voted 5-3 to send Attar’s name to Moore for confirmation.
Voting for Attar were Alex Friedman, Lakesha Brown Wright-El, Angela Gibson, Sandy Rosenbluth and City Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer.
For Ruff: Brian Easley, Dayvon Love and Tammy Stinnett.
The result seemed to shock some of the commenters on the Facebook Live feed, where the vast majority lauded Ruff and jokingly referred to themselves as “Ruff Riders.”
“Write to the governor, everyone,” urged retired Circuit Court Judge Wanda Keyes Heard. “It’s not over until the governor confirms it.”
Reached by The Brew last night, Carter texted this statement about the outcome:
“I’ve worked well with Delegate Attar for years, and I believe she is decent person.”
“While I supported Delegate Ruff because I believe he is a unifier in a diverse and sometimes divided district, I stand ready to assist Delegate Atttar in her transition and I hope she takes me up on that,” she said.
Democratic Central Committee members interview Malcolm Ruff (top left) for a senate vacancy in Maryland’s 41st District. (Facebook/Zoom)
Past Political Rivalries
Carter’s description of the district as diverse and sometimes divided is apt, especially so when it comes to this vacancy.
The 41st wraps around the northwest corner of the city and extends southward and to the east, encompassing voters in Yale Heights, Edmondson Village, West Arlington, Grove Park, Pimlico, Cheswolde, Fallstaff, Mount Washington, Cross Keys and Roland Park, among other neighborhoods.
Tensions have historically flared between the communities on either side of Northern Parkway and the Pimlico Race Course, where distinct African-American and Orthodox Jewish communities have sought to co-exist and sometimes collaborate.
In 2022, Carter ran on a slate that included Attar, longtime delegate Samuel I. “Sandy” Rosenberg and Delegate Tony Bridges.
(Ruff himself is the product of a party appointment, becoming a delegate in 2023 after Bridges resigned to accept a position as assistant secretary for the Maryland Department of Transportation. The Central Committee sent Moore the names of both Ruff and former Delegate Angela Gibson. Ruff was selected.)
• Fireworks in the 41st over a delegate’s abortion votes and a councilman’s political slate (7/4/22)
Where conflict flared was in the race to select members of the 41st District Central Committee who have considerable behind-the-scenes powers, including the power to fill legislative vacancies.
The spark was lit after an all-white slate was formed by Councilman Schleifer and five fellow members of the Orthodox community: his cousin Sandy “Ronnie” Rosenbluth, Alex Friedman, Bassheva “Shevy” Friedman, Tzvi Skaist and Tzvi Topper.
In response, Carter formed her own slate composed of both white and Black district residents.
Only three from Schleifer’s slate were elected to sit on the eight-member committee – Schleifer, Rosenbluth and Friedman – and all three voted for Attar last night.
They were joined by two members who had been elected from Carter’s slate: Angela Gibson and Lakesha Brown Wright-el.
Post by Westport community leader Keisha Allen about last night’s vote. (Bluesky)
During her committee interview, Attar answered a question about juvenile crime by proposing to keep children out of trouble by ensuring access for all to “Grade A schools.”
Asked her views on dealing with the state’s current budget deficit, she said, “My first choice for cuts would be from public universities.”
Ruff spoke about legislation he pushed to make Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park a state park and to redevelop the Pimlico racetrack as well as the unifying effect of events he organizes, such as a Juneteenth celebration.
Knowing “the pulse of the district,” Ruff said he has earned broad constituent support. “I know that I’m the candidate who will get the most done for our community,” he told the committee before the vote.