# Mary Ann Lisanti

Mary Ann Lisanti (born October 27, 1967) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party, who represented District 34A in the Maryland House of Delegates. Previously she represented district F on the Harford County Council, representing Havre de Grace, Abingdon, Belcamp/Riverside and Aberdeen Proving Ground. In January 2014 Lisanti filed to run for the Maryland House of Delegates and to not seek a 3rd term on the County Council. She was first elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2018. Before her tenure in the state legislature, she served on the Harford County Council. In early March 2019, the House of Delegates unanimously censured Lisanti for a racial slur directed at the African-American majority Prince George's County, with her own county's Democratic Party calling for her resignation.

## Early life and education

Lisanti was born and raised in Havre de Grace, Maryland. She attended Havre de Grace High School, where she was involved in student government. She later earned an undergraduate degree from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland and a master’s degree from Central Michigan University.

## Political career
### 2014 Maryland State Delegate candidacy

Lisanti entered the race for Delegate in district 34A after much speculation that she might run for the seat left open when Delegate Mary-Dulany James decided to run for Maryland State Senate. On June 24, 2014, Lisanti led the Democratic primary by nearly 10 percentage points, with Marla Posey-Moss coming in second, after a heavily contested race with five candidates vying for two seats. Lisanti and Posey-Moss faced Republicans Glen Glass and Mike Blizzard in the General election in November. Glass and Lisanti finished 1 and 2, thus gaining election.

### Maryland House of Delegates

Lisanti was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2014 and began serving in the 2015 legislative session. During her tenure, she was involved in various legislative initiatives and initially served on the Economic Matters Committee before being appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee in 2019. She also held leadership roles, including serving as Chair of a subcommittee and as Joint-Chair of the Unemployment Insurance Oversight Committee.
She was a member of multiple caucuses and task forces, including the Maryland Cyber Security Council, Rural Maryland Council, and the Veteran’s Caucus.

### 2022 Maryland State Senate candidacy

On January 28, 2022, Lisanti entered the race for State Senate in District 34, seeking to succeed Senator Robert G. Cassilly, who announced his candidacy for Harford County executive in April 2021. Lisanti lost the Democratic primary to Mary-Dulany James.

### Local government and public service

Before her election to the Maryland House of Delegates, Lisanti served two terms on the Harford County Council. She was appointed to various boards and commissions, including the Chesapeake National Historic Trail Advisory Board by President Barack Obama. Maryland Governors Martin O’Malley and Larry Hogan appointed her as Vice Chairman of the State’s Growth Commission. Additionally, she chaired the Local Government Advisory Committee, which provided recommendations to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Lisanti has also worked in staff positions for the Maryland Senate Finance Committee, Harford County Executive’s Office, and the county’s Department of Planning and Zoning. She also served as a city manager, overseeing municipal operations, public finance, infrastructure projects, and emergency management initiatives. Beyond government service, Lisanti founded Transition Maker, LLC, a consulting firm.

### Censure

On February 26, 2019, The Washington Post reported that Lisanti referred to a legislative district in Prince George's County, Maryland as a "n----- district" [thus in the original] in conversation with another Democratic legislator. She was removed as the chair of a subcommittee. Two days later she was unanimously censured by the House of Delegates in a 136-0 vote, but refused to resign her seat. On March 2, 2019, the Harford County Democratic Central Committee called for Lisanti to resign for using the racial slur.

## Election results

* 2006 Primary Election Results Harford County Council – District F
       Voters to choose one:
    Name Votes Percent Outcome Mary Ann Lisanti, Dem. 1,898  64.6%  Won Gunther Hirsch, Dem. 1,057  35.8%  Lost
* 2006 General Election Results Harford County Council – District F
       Voters to choose one:
    Name Votes Percent Outcome Mary Ann Lisnati, Dem. 7,433  60.3%  Won John P. Correri, Jr., Rep. 4,877  39.6%  Lost Write-Ins 13  0.1%  Lost
* 2010 General Election Results Harford County Council – District F
       Voters to choose one:
    Name Votes Percent Outcome Mary Ann Lisanti, Dem. 7,167  51.8%  Won Sheryl Davis Kohl, Rep. 6,646  48.1%  Lost Write-Ins 16  0.1%  Lost
* 2014 Primary Election Results Maryland House of Delegates - District 34A - Harford County
       Voters to choose two:
    Name Votes Percent Outcome Mary Ann Lisanti, Dem. 2,473  29.0%  Won Marla Posey-Moss, Dem. 1,895  22.2%  Won Pat Murray., Dem. 1,784  20.9%  Lost Steve Johnson, Dem. 1,574  18.4%  Lost Maria Terry, Dem. 812  9.5%  Lost
* 2014 General Election Results Maryland House of Delegates – District 34A - Harford County
       Voters to choose two:
    Name Votes Percent Outcome Glen Glass, Rep. 10,779  28.41%  Won Mary Ann Lisanti, Dem. 10,015  26.40%  Won Mike Blizzard, Rep. 9,041  23.83%  Lost Marla Posey-Moss, Dem. 8,057  21.24%  Lost Write-Ins 49  0.13%  Lost
* 2018 Primary Election Results Maryland House of Delegates - District 34A - Harford County
       Voters to choose two:
    Name Votes Percent Outcome Mary Ann Lisanti, Dem 3,794 46.8%  Won Steve Johnson, Dem 2,190 27.0%  Won Sarahia Benn, Dem 2,123 26.2%  Lost
* 2022 Primary Election Results Maryland Senate - District 34
       Voters to choose one:
    Name Votes Percent Outcome Mary-Dulany James, Dem 6,598 65.65%  Won Mary Ann Lisanti, Dem 3,453 34.35%  Lost