Roy Dyson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theMaryland Senate from the 29th district | |
| In office January 11, 1995 – January 14, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Bernie Fowler |
| Succeeded by | Stephen M. Waugh |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's1st district | |
| In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Bauman |
| Succeeded by | Wayne Gilchrest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Royden Patrick Dyson (1948-11-15)November 15, 1948 (age 77) Great Mills, Maryland, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | University of Maryland, College Park University of Baltimore |
Royden Patrick Dyson (born November 15, 1948), is a formerDemocratic politician fromMaryland. Dyson served in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1980 to 1991 and as aMaryland state senator from 1995 to 2015.
Dyson was born inGreat Mills, Maryland. Dyson attended private schools and graduated from Great Mills High School in 1966. He attended theUniversity of Maryland, College Park, and theUniversity of Baltimore in 1968, 1969, and 1970. He also served as a legislative assistant in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1974 for U.S. RepresentativeWilliam D. Ford of Michigan.[1]
In 1975, Dyson was elected to theMaryland House of Delegates for district 29. The following year, Dyson ran for Congress in theEastern Shore-based 1st District, losing to two-termRepublicanRobert Bauman. In 1978 he was a delegate in 1978 to the Democratic National Issues Conference. In 1980, Dyson narrowly defeated Bauman after Bauman suffered a sex scandal in the weeks prior to election day.[2][3]
In the 1988 election, Dyson was dogged by allegations of improper contributions from defense contractors.[4][5] His Republican opponent wasWayne Gilchrest, a high school teacher who had never run for office before. Dyson won by a smaller than projected margin of 1,431 votes.[6]
During his campaign, Dyson's chief of staffTom Pappas died by suicide by jumping from a building while on a trip to New York with Dyson to meet with executives fromUnisys.[2][7] Shortly before the trip, Pappas was the subject of a front-pageWashington Post article, accusing Pappas of misconduct.[8] Dyson refuted the article's claims as untrue.[9] Others critiqued the front page piece for obfuscating facts and suggesting innuendo to titillate readers.[10]
In 1990, Gilchrest defeated Dyson 57% to 43% despite again being badly outspent by Dyson, who received substantial PAC contributions in all of his later campaigns.[11][12][13]
In 1995, Dyson was elected to theMaryland Senate, representing District 29 (St. Mary's County and southernCalvert County).[1] He served in the Maryland Senate until January 14, 2015[1] after losing the2014 Maryland Senate Election to Republican Steve Waugh.[14][15]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's 1st congressional district 1981–1991 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
