In unanimous vote, Maryland House censures delegate for using racial slur
Maryland’s House of Delegates unanimously voted 136-0 to censure Del. Mary Ann Lisanti for using a racial slur.
Lisanti, a Democrat who represents Harford County, was disciplined by her colleagues days after it was reported that she referred to a legislative district in Prince George’s County as “a n— district.”
Censure typically means that a lawmaker may not serve on a committee, but that they may vote on the floor.
In terms of disciplinary measures by House leadership, censure falls between a public reprimand and expulsion. Previous disciplinary measures in the body include:
- Del. Tony McConkey’s 2013 reprimand for working language into a bill that would have directly benefited his real estate business.
- State Sen. Ulysses Currie’s 2012 censure for failing to report work for a grocery store chain. He was acquitted of federal charges, but an ethics committee found violations.
- State Sen. Larry Young 1998 expulsion for using his office for personal gain.
The 51-year-old, who is in her second term, admitted Monday to using a racial slur in January when she was speaking to another colleague at an Annapolis cigar bar.
The Washington Post had first reported she used the slur. When asked about it by the news outlet, she reportedly said, “I don’t recall that … I don’t recall much of that evening.” When asked by the Post whether she had ever used the slur, it reported that she said, “I’m sure I have … I’m sure everyone has used it.”
Lisanti later issued an apology to the Legislative Black Caucus in private on Monday night.
On Tuesday, she did the same before the House Democratic caucus, and then issued a public statement, saying she had used “a word not in my vocabulary” and wrote that “it does not represent my belief system, my life’s work, or what is in my heart.”
Still, calls for Lisanti’s resignation piled up quickly over the course of the week, with members of the Legislative Black Caucus, the chair of the Maryland Democratic Party and Republican Gov. Larry Hogan calling for Lisanti to step down.
She had already been stripped of two leadership assignments.
Zelphia Smith, chair of the Harford County chapter of the NAACP, said Tuesday that she was hurt and angry over Lisanti’s use of the word. Smith also pointed out she had known Lisanti’s mother, and said she “would be appalled.”
Smith added that Lisanti had been supported over the years by the African-American community in her district, and that she owed her constituents an explanation and apology.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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