Sean Stinnett gets nod for northwest delegate seat
Uniting the 41st’s political factions with a helpful assist from his wife, the community president is set to go to Annapolis.
Above: Sean Stinnett was nominated to fill the seat vacated by Dalya Attar after she was appointed to the state Senate. (LinkedIn)
Sean A. Stinnett emerged as the consensus candidate to fill an open House of Delegates seat in a district known for its political infighting.
Originally a long shot for the post, the 53-year-old state employee bridged the gap between the Black and Orthodox Jewish communities to win five of the seven votes cast last night by District 41 representatives of the Baltimore City Democratic State Central Committee.
One of those votes came from his wife, Tammy K. Stinnett, chair of the Democratic Central Committee, who doubles as the day-to-day administrator for the powerhouse Annapolis lobbying firm, Harris Jones & Malone.
The deciding votes, however, were from the faction led by City Councilman Yitzy “Isaac” Schleifer.
Schleifer, Alex Friedman and Sandy Rosenbluth joined Tammy Stinnett and Brian Easley to nominate Sean Stinnett, allowing him to surge past two party insiders who had actively campaigned for the seat.
Chezia Cager secured a single vote from Dayvon Love, director of public policy for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle.
Cager briefly served as chief of staff for Mayor Brandon Scott, then lingered on the city payroll for an additional 16 months until September 2024. (here and here).
Angela Gibson voted for herself. A retired City Hall aide, Gibson was appointed to the General Assembly in 2017-18, filling the slot vacated by Delegate Nathaniel T. Oaks, who later pleaded guilty to federal wiretap charges.
Panelist Lakesha Brown (also known as Lakesha Wright-El) didn’t show up at the meeting. Earlier in the week, she withdrew her own candidacy for the delegate’s position.
All of the panelists and nominees are Democrats.
Former state delegate Angela Gibson and former mayoral chief of staff Chezia Cager were shunned by the Central Committee panel.
West Arlington President
Last night’s nomination clears the way for Stinnett to fill the seat held by Delegate Dalya Attar, who was nominated last month by the same committee to replace retiring state Senator Jill P. Carter.
His name will be forwarded to Governor Wes Moore, who has 15 days to officially approve the nomination. Stinnett can then join delegates Samuel “Sandy” Rosenberg and Malcolm Ruff to represent the district during the final weeks of the 2025 General Assembly.
In a presentation live-streamed last night, Stinnett recounted his role as a procurement officer at the Maryland Department of General Services.
A liaison for minority-owned and veteran-owned small businesses, he pledged to advance racial and social justice causes and support state school funding as a delegate.
A well-known-and-liked figure in the district, he is the president of the West Arlington Community Association and was a coordinator for the 300 Men March Movement.
Between 2021 and 2023, he was a $92,000-a-year operations director in Mayor Scott’s office and has been a modest but regular contributor to the Baltimore City Democratic State Central Committee.