Ric Metzgar
Metzgar in 2023
Member of theMaryland House of Delegates from the6th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 14, 2015 Serving with Robin Grammer Jr.,Robert B. Long
Preceded by	Michael H. Weir Jr.
Personal details
Born	(1953-11-28)November 28, 1953 (age 72) Essex, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Children	2

Richard W. Metzgar (born November 28, 1953) is an American politician who has served as a member of theMaryland House of Delegates from thesixth district since 2015.

Metzgar was born and raised inEssex, Maryland, on November 28, 1953.^[1] His father worked for theGlenn L. Martin Company and his mother owned a dry cleaning business and worked for theMaryland Republican Party.^[2] Metzgar graduated fromKenwood High School and attended Northwest Bible College and later earned aclinical pastoral education certificate from theCommunity College of Baltimore County.^[1]

Metzgar worked as the general manager of G & W Motors from 1989 to 2015 and as the president of My Son's Parking, Inc. from 1994 to 1998.^[1] Metzgar also started the Gateway Pastors and Churches Association and served as a ministry leader for several area churches and as an associate pastor at Essex Church of God from 2004 to 2014.^[1][2]

In 2006 and 2010, Metzgar was an unsuccessful candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 6.^[3][2] During his 2010 candidacy, he ran on a platform involving environmental and economic issues, includingderegulation, pollution, and public safety.^[2]

Metzgar was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates alongside RepublicansRobin Grammer Jr. andRobert B. Long in the2014 Maryland House of Delegates election, during which the three ran on a platform involving economic issues.^[4] He was sworn in on January 14, 2015. Metzgar was a member of the Ways and Means Committee from 2015 to 2017, afterwards serving in the Health and Government Operations Committee until 2019. He has since served as a member of the Appropriations Committee.^[1]

In July 2015, after GovernorLarry Hogan announced that he had been diagnosed withnon-Hodgkin lymphoma, Metzgar held a "Hogan Strong" vigil in Bel Air.^[5]

Metzgar served as an alternative delegate for the2020 Republican National Convention.^[1] During the2022 Maryland gubernatorial election, he endorsed state delegateDan Cox, calling his opponentKelly Schulz a "third term" of GovernorLarry Hogan,^[6] whom he criticized for disapproving of Cox and former PresidentDonald Trump.^[7]

During his 2006 House of Delegates campaign, Metzgar said he would support strengtheningJessica's Law.^[8]

In May 2015, following the beating of Richard Fletcher, a 61-year-old Dundalk resident who intervened in a fight outside his home, Metzgar called for the closure of the Baltimore Community High School, where the perpetrators of the attack attended.^[9] TheBaltimore City Board of Education voted to close the school in January 2016.^[10]

During the 2016 legislative session, Metzgar supported legislation that would require police to obtain a warrant to use astingray phone tracker, which can locate a cellphone's user within six feet.^[11]

During the debate on theJuvenile Restoration Act, which abolishedlife without parole sentences for juveniles, in 2021, Metzgar supported an amendment that would make the bill not apply to people convicted ofschool shooting-related crimes. The amendment was rejected in a 51–83 vote.^[12]

During the 2019 legislative session, Metzgar voted against the Clean Energy Job Act, a bill that expanded the state's clean energy mandates.^[13] In 2023, he supported the POWER Act, which expanded the state'soffshore wind energy goals.^[14]

During the 2019 legislative session, Metzgar said he opposed the End-of-Life Option Act, which would have providedpalliative care to terminally ill adults, citing his faith.^[15] He supported a bill to establish the Prescription Drug Affordability Board, a body tasked with making recommendations to the Maryland General Assembly on how to make prescription drugs more affordable.^[16]

During the 2020 legislative session, Metzgar supported legislation to allow sales of liquor in Baltimore County on Sundays.^[17]

In October 2023, Metzgar participated in a protest against theBaltimore County Board of Education and its policies towardtransgender students participating in school sports and using bathrooms that correspond to theirgender identity.^[18]

During the 2024 legislative session, Metzgar introduced a bill toban abortions if a "fetal heartbeat" is detected.^[19] He reintroduced the bill during the 2025 legislative session.^[20]

During his 2010 House of Delegates campaign, Metzgar said he supported repealing tax increases passed under theMartin O'Malley administration.^[2]

Metzgar is married and has two adult children.^[1]

• Media related toRichard W. Metzgar at Wikimedia Commons

• 1953 births
• Living people
• Businesspeople from Maryland
• Community College of Baltimore County alumni
• Republican Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates
• 21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly

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