Gary Simmons (politician)

Gary Simmons (born July 25, 1971) is an American politician and retired military law enforcement officer. He is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for District 12B in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.^[1][2]

Gary Simmons
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 12B district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 11, 2023
Preceded by	Ned Carey
Personal details
Born	(1971-07-25) July 25, 1971 (age 53) Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Tuskegee University (BS)
Website	Campaign website

Background

Simmons graduated from Walter G. O'Connell Copiague High School in 1990, and later attended Tuskegee University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice and political science in 1994.^[1] Before becoming a state delegate, Simmons was a sergeant field training officer at Luminis Health, Inc.^[3]

In 2022, Simmons ran for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 31 (later drawn into the newly created District 12B),^[3] seeking to succeed outgoing state delegate Ned Carey.^[2] He won the Democratic primary on July 19, 2022, and defeated Republican challenger Ashley Arias in the general election on November 8.^[4][5]

In the legislature

Simmons was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 11, 2023.^[6] He is a member of the House Judiciary Committee.^[7]

In January 2025, after the Anne Arundel Democratic Central Committee voted to nominate state delegate Shaneka Henson to fill the remainder of Sarah Elfreth's term in the Maryland Senate, Simmons wrote a letter to state and local Democratic officials calling on the central committee to take action against Geonta Simmons, one of its members, for openly discussing what occurred at a private meeting of four elected officials (both the Simmonses, state senator Clarence Lam, and central committee member Jacqueline Allsup) about the District 30 Senate vacancy. However, Simmons accidentally used his official legislative stationery to publish the letter, which may have been a violation of legislative ethics rules, which prohibit the official stationery being used for matters related to a political campaign. Simmons later retracted his letter—calling it a "rookie mistake" in an interview with Maryland Matters—and resent it ten days later on a personal stationery, and subsequently retracted that letter as well. Deadra Daly, the Maryland General Assembly's ethics counsel, told Maryland Matters that she was concerned by Simmons using his official letterhead to publish the letter since central committee matters "seems to fall in the political category", but added that Simmons admitting his own error may mitigate the risk of any potential consequences.^[8]

Electoral history

Maryland House of Delegates District 12B Democratic primary election, 2022^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gary Simmons	829	34.7
	Democratic	Daniel J. McGinty	809	33.9
	Democratic	Jeff Garcia	751	31.4

Maryland House of Delegates District 12B general election, 2022^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gary Simmons	5,856	55.41
	Republican	Ashley Arias	4,692	44.40
	Write-in		20	0.19

References

1. "Members – Delegate Gary Simmons". mgaleg.maryland.gov. Maryland General Assembly. January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
2. Kurtz, Josh (September 1, 2022). "A look at the latest fundraising in a dozen competitive legislative districts". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
3. Munro, Dana (February 23, 2022). "Severna Park Del. Brian Chisholm runs for reelection in District 31". The Capital. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
4. Kurtz, Josh (November 16, 2022). "Pittman, Elfreth claim victory as several races await final counts of mail-in ballots". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
5. Munro, Dana (November 18, 2022). "Everett Sesker defeats Anne Arundel Sheriff Jim Fredericks; Pittman secures second term, final election results show". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
6. "Gary Simmons, Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. January 19, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
7. Gaines, Danielle E. (January 5, 2023). "Jones announces new Democratic caucus, committee leaders for 2023 General Assembly session". Maryland Matters. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
8. Kurtz, Josh (January 30, 2025). "Lawmaker uses official stationery to blast central committee member — then withdraws letter". Maryland Matters. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
9. "Official 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. August 24, 2022.
10. "Official 2022 Gubernatorial General Election Results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. December 7, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.

External links

• "Members – Delegate Gary Simmons". mgaleg.maryland.gov. Maryland General Assembly. January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.