# Stephen W. Lafferty

Stephen W. Lafferty (born February 28, 1949) is an American politician who was a member of Maryland House of Delegates from January 2007 to September 2019, representing District 42 from 2007 to 2015, and District 42A from 2015 to 2019. Lafferty was the first Democrat to be elected in district 42 since it was moved to Baltimore County after the 21st century census and redistricting. In September 2019, he resigned from the House of Delegates to serve as chief sustainability officer for Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski.

## Background

Lafferty was born in Washington, D.C., on February 28, 1949. He attended the University of Maryland, College Park where he earned his B.A. in American studies in 1971. Just a year later at Bowling Green State University, he earned a M.A. also in American studies; and then a teacher's certificate at Towson State University in 1977. He was a teacher (mathematics & social studies) for Baltimore City Public Schools from 1974–1978. Lafferty served as executive director & assistant director for the Baltimore American Indian Center, Inc. during 1978–1980. He received a J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1983. He was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1983.
He is married to Betsy Lafferty. Lafferty resides in Stoneleigh.

## In the legislature

Lafferty was a member of House of Delegates from January 10, 2007, to September 6, 2019. He served on the House Environmental Matters Committee and its housing & real property, its land use & ethics and its local government & bi-county subcommittees. He also contributed to the ground rent legislation of 2007 through the ground rent work group.

### Legislative notes

* voted for the Clean Indoor Air Act of 2007 (HB359)
* voted in favor of prohibiting ground rents in 2007(SB106)
* voted for the Maryland Gang Prosecution Act of 2007 (HB713), subjecting gang members to up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $100,000
* voted for Jessica's Law (HB 930), eliminating parole for the most violent child sexual predators and creating a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in state prison, 2007
* voted for Public Safety – Statewide DNA Database System – Crimes of Violence and Burglary – Post conviction (HB 370), helping to give police officers and prosecutors greater resources to solve crimes and eliminating a backlog of 24,000 unanalyzed DNA samples, leading to 192 arrests, 2008
* voted for Vehicle Laws – Repeated Drunk and Drugged Driving Offenses – Suspension of License (HB 293), strengthening Maryland's drunk driving laws by imposing a mandatory one year license suspension for a person convicted of drunk driving more than once in five years, 2009
* voted for HB 102, creating the House Emergency Medical Services System Workgroup, leading to Maryland's budgeting of $52 million to fund three new Medevac helicopters to replace the State's aging fleet, 2009
* co-sponsored and voted for HB0294 (cross filed with SB281) that restricted gun possession, 2012

## Post-legislative career

In 2019, Lafferty became Baltimore county's first chief sustainability officer.

## Election results

* 2006 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 42
       Voters to choose three:
    Name Votes Percent Outcome Susan Aumann, Rep. 22,054  18.3%  Won Stephen W. Lafferty, Dem. 21,117  17.5%  Won William J. Frank, Rep. 20,522  17.0%  Won Dilip Paliath, Rep. 19,490  16.2%  Lost Tracy Miller, Dem. 19,168  15.9%  Lost Andrew Belt, Dem. 18,006  14.9%  Lost Other Write-Ins 88  0.1%  Lost
* 2002 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 42
       Voters to choose three:
    Name Votes Percent Outcome Susan Aumann, Rep. 21,326  17.2%  Won William J. Frank, Rep. 20,881  16.9%  Won John G. Trueschler, Rep. 21,591  17.4%  Won Stephen W. Lafferty, Dem. 18,958  15.3%  Lost James W. Campbell, Dem. 18,168  14.7%  Lost Matthew Joseph, Dem. 17,478  14.1%  Lost Rick Kunkel, Green 5,464  4.4%  Lost Other Write-Ins 66  0.1%  Lost