Melony Griffith
Griffith in 2022
President pro tempore of theMaryland Senate
In office January 8, 2020 – January 11, 2023
Preceded by	Kathy Klausmeier
Succeeded by	Malcolm Augustine
Member of theMaryland Senate from the 25th district
In office January 9, 2019 – October 31, 2023
Preceded by	Ulysses Currie
Succeeded by	Nick Charles
Member of theMaryland House of Delegates from the 25th district
In office January 13, 1999 – January 14, 2015
Preceded by	Michael Crumlin
Succeeded by	Darryl Barnes
Personal details
Born	Melony Ghee (1963-06-05)June 5, 1963 (age 62) Abilene, Texas, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Children	2
Education	Montana State University, Billings (BS) Howard University (MSW)

Melony Ghee Griffith (born June 5, 1963) is an American politician who was a member of theMaryland Senate representingDistrict 25 inPrince George's County from 2019 until her resignation on October 31, 2023. She previously served aspresident pro tempore of the Maryland Senate from 2020 to 2023, and as a member of theMaryland House of Delegates from 1999 to 2015.

Melony Ghee was born on June 5, 1963, inAbilene, Texas,^[1] to father Frank F. Ghee Jr., and mother Mary E. Ghee.^[2] She grew up as amilitary brat inMontana^[3] and graduated fromCharles M. Russell High School. She later attendedEastern Montana College, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology, criminology and rehabilitation in 1985. In 1987, she graduated fromHoward University with aMaster of Social Work degree.^[1]

After graduating from Howard, Griffith worked as aclinical social worker. From 1992 to 1993, she worked as a project coordinator for theNational Basketball Players Association's Health Education Project at theJohns Hopkins University. She later served as a senior program officer for theAcademy for Educational Development from 1998 to 2004, afterwards working in various positions for the Prince George's County Health Department until 2009.^[1]

Griffith first got involved in politics in 1996, running as awrite-in candidate for thePrince George's County Board of Education in District 7.^[4]

Griffith was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 13, 1999. She was a member of the Judiciary Committee until 2002, afterwards serving on the Appropriations Committee until she left the legislature in 2015.^[1] During her tenure, Griffith gained a reputation as a policy wonk, especially in health care policy.^[5]

In 2000, Griffith served as a delegate to theDemocratic National Convention, pledged toAl Gore.^[1]

2014

On October 15, 2013, Griffith announced that she would run for the Maryland Senate in District 25, challenging incumbent state senatorUlysses Currie. Currie was seen as a vulnerable candidate following his federal corruption trial, in which he was acquitted after arguing that his conducts violated Senate ethics rules rather than federal laws, and subsequentcensure.^[6]

The Democratic primary was seen as the most competitive election in the district since Currie's election in1994, with the Prince George's County establishment backing Currie and area newspapers backing Griffith.^[3] Griffith ran on a platform focusing on economic development, jobs, education, and public safety,^[7] and ran a "nice" campaign against Currie, whom she considered a friend, by not mentioning his corruption charges to voters. Currie enjoyed a significant fundraising advantage over Griffith, having almost three times the cash on hand as her.^[8]

Griffith was defeated by Currie in the Democratic primary in June 2014, receiving 37.7 percent of the vote to Currie's 58.7 percent.^[9]

2018

In November 2016, after state senator Ulysses Currie announced he would resign from the Maryland Senate, Griffith applied to serve the remainder of his term in the Maryland Senate.^[10] However, Currie rescinded his resignation later in the month a few days before it was sent to go into effect, citing the "political fighting" over the selection of his replacement.^[11]

In June 2017, after Currie announced that he would not seek re-election in2018, Griffith announced that she would again run for the Maryland Senate in District 25.^[5] She received support from the Prince George's County establishment in her run against state delegateAngela Angel,^[12][13] whom she defeated in the Democratic primary with 55 percent of the vote.^[14]

Griffith was sworn into the Maryland Senate on January 9, 2019. She was a member of the Budget and Taxation Committee from 2019 to 2022, afterwards serving as the chair of the Finance Committee.^[1]

In January 2020, Griffith was elected by the Maryland Senate to serve as president pro tempore, making her the first African American woman to have the role.^[15] She stepped down as president pro tempore in 2023.^[16]

During the2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Griffith supportedJoe Biden and served as a co-chair of the Maryland Women for Biden group, alongsideAdrienne A. Jones,Angela Alsobrooks, andYvette Lewis.^[17]

In April 2022, Griffith signed 103 Maryland measures into law together with Republican GovernorLarry Hogan and House SpeakerAdrienne A. Jones. It was the first time that two Black women had taken part in such a ceremony as Maryland's presiding officers. Jones represented the house while Griffith as the President pro tem represented the Maryland Senate.^[18]

On October 6, 2023, Griffith announced that she would resign from theMaryland Senate at the end of the month to become the head of the Maryland Hospital Association.^[19] She is the organization's fifth president, as well as the first African American woman to hold the position.^[20]

Griffith has two children^[1] and has lived inSuitland, Maryland since 2002.^[21]

In May 1999, Jeb Bello, amaître d'hôtel at theTreaty of Paris restaurant inAnnapolis, Maryland, filed a lawsuit against Griffith, asking for $3.1 million in damages and alleging that she defamed him by portraying him as "a bigot and a racist" for seating a white couple before her and a Black companion, which culminated into a campaign that prevented him from finding another job in Annapolis.^[22] The case was settled out of court in January 2001.^[23]

Griffith chaired a work group to develop House SpeakerAdrienne A. Jones' "Black agenda", which included proposals to extendMedicaid coverage for pregnant women until 12 months postpartum.^[24]

During the 2023 legislative session, Griffith said she supported a bill to allow non-citizens to enroll in health insurance programs, calling it a "first good step".^[25]

During the 2023 legislative session, during a committee hearing on the Fair Wage Act, a bill that would have raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour by October 2023 and indexed future increases toinflation, Griffith supported an amendment to the bill delaying the increase to 2024 and removing provisions indexing it to inflation.^[26]

In October 2011, ahead of the special legislative session to redrawMaryland's congressional districts, Griffith expressed disappointment with the failedLegislative Black Caucus of Maryland pressure campaign toward GovernorMartin O'Malley to draw a map that considered "specific issued raised by the caucus".^[27]

In 2001, Griffith voted for a bill to ban discrimination on the basis ofsexual orientation.^[28] During the 2006 legislative session, she voted against overturning a committee decision to kill a proposed constitutional amendment to bansame-sex marriage in Maryland.^[29] In December 2011, Griffith said she opposed theCivil Marriage Protection Act, a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland.^[30]

During the 2007 legislative session, Griffith voted for a bill creating a referendum to legalizeslot machine gambling in Maryland.^[31] In February 2012, she said she opposed a plan to build a casino inNational Harbor, Maryland, noting that Prince George's County voted against slots in the 2008 referendum^[32] and saying that she preferred "other forms" of economic development for the county.^[33]

• Official website
• "Members – Senator Melony G. Griffith".mgaleg.maryland.gov.Maryland General Assembly. May 22, 2023. RetrievedOctober 6, 2023.

• 1963 births
• 20th-century African-American politicians
• 20th-century African-American women politicians
• 20th-century American women politicians
• 21st-century African-American politicians
• 21st-century American women politicians
• African-American state legislators in Maryland
• 21st-century African-American women politicians
• Democratic Party Maryland state senators
• Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates
• Living people
• Montana State University Billings alumni
• Politicians from Great Falls, Montana
• Women state legislators in Maryland
• Politicians from Prince George's County, Maryland
• Charles M. Russell High School alumni
• 21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Official website not in Wikidata