ANNAPOLIS (Feb. 22, 2010) - Governor Martin O’Malley Friday submitted a list of 191 “green bag” nominations for appointment and reappointment to the Maryland Senate for State boards and commissions.
The term “green bag” derives from the historical green satchel that is used once every year to bring the gubernatorial nominations to the Senate. When not in use, the bag is stored at the Maryland State Archives. It is state tradition that a senior member of the governor’s staff delivers the “green bag” to the Senate.
Among the 191 nominees applicable to southern Maryland are:
The Honorable Sheila E. Hixson, St. Mary’s College Board of Trustees: Delegate Sheila Hixson is being nominated for appointment to the St. Mary’s College Board of Trustees. Delegate Hixson was elected as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates in 1976, representing District 20 in Montgomery County. She is the chair of the House Ways & Means Committee, and the first woman ever to chair that committee in Maryland. As chair, she is responsible for state and local taxation matters; education programs and financing; elections; transportation funding; lottery and horse racing; and issues relating to children youth and families. She is also a member of Maryland’s Thornton Commission and one of the original supporters of the five-year Bridge to Excellence Plan for public primary and secondary education. She graduated from Northern State Teachers College. She is a resident of Montgomery County.
The Honorable James A. Kenney, III, St. Mary’s College Board of Trustees: Judge Kenney is being nominated for appointment to the St. Mary’s College Board of Trustees. Judge Kenney is an accomplished lawyer, practicing for the past 44 years. In 1997, he was appointed judge in the Court of Special Appeals by Governor Glendening, where he served until his retirement in March 2007. Judge Kenney is the founding member of the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Foundation and served as Foundation President from 1993 to 1999. He has served as an adjunct associate professor in the political science department of St. Mary’s College of Maryland since 1964. He was Assistant State’s Attorney for St. Mary’s County from 1964 to 1967 and has served as chair of the St. Mary’s County Economic Development Commission. Judge Kenney received his Bachelor of Arts from Dickinson College in 1959, attended the Yale Divinity School from 1959 to 1960, and received his Juris Doctor from the George Washington University School of Law in 1963. He was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1963 and is a member of the American Bar Association, the Maryland State Bar Association, the Maryland Bar Foundation, the American Adjudicature Society, and the American College of Real Property Lawyers. Judge Kenney also served on the Board of Governors, Southern Maryland Education Center from 1994 to 1999. He is a resident of St. Mary’s County.
The Honorable Francis Jack Russell, Maryland Workforce Corporation Board: Commissioner Russell is being nominated for appointment for the Maryland Workforce Corporation Board. Commissioner Russell is currently the President of the Board of County Commissioners for St. Mary’s County and has served in that role since 2006. Commissioner Russell has been a commercial fisherman for 40 years, and is also a teacher. He has been a member of the Tidal Fisheries Advisory Board, the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, the Citizen Advisory Committee for Comprehensive Land Use Plan for St. Mary's County, and the Executive Board for the Rural Maryland Council. He is currently a member of the the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland, the Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays, and the Patuxent River Commission. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Maryland in 1965. He is a resident of St. Mary’s County.
Other nominees applicable to southern Maryland include:
-- Michael Fedorczyk (Calvert) appointed to State Board of Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Examiners.
-- Albert Warfield (Charles) appointed to the Elevator Safety Review Board.
-- William Frazier (Charles) appointed to the Emergency Number Systems Board.
-- Karen Brandt (Charles) appointed to the State Board of Environmental Sanitarian Registration.
-- Donald Ocker (St. Mary's) appointed to the State Board for Professional Land Surveyors.
-- Walter Boynton (Calvert), David Bourdon (Calvert), Luis Dieguez (St. Mary's), John Fringer (Calvert), and Pamela King (St. Mary's) appointed to the Patuxent River Commission.
A full list of the nominees is at www.governor.maryland.gov/documents/100219GreenBag.pdf .