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Dereck Eugene Davis was 27 years old when he was elected to represent Prince George鈥檚 County in the House of Delegates in 1994.
鈥淲hen I came in, I was serving [in Annapolis] with giants like Clarence Blount and Elijah Cummings,鈥� Davis (D) said in an interview Thursday. 鈥淎s a fellow African-American, I didn鈥檛 want to be the one to embarrass myself.鈥�
He did all right for himself.
Davis quickly rose through the ranks in the House, spending 19 years as chair of the Economic Matters Committee, a role with a huge portfolio that made him one of its most powerful members. In 2019, Davis fell a couple of dozen votes short of becoming House speaker.
Now, Davis鈥� time as a member of the House is winding down, after spending half of his life in the legislature. On Thursday, his colleagues overwhelmingly elected him to be the 24th state treasurer in the history of Maryland (Until the 1850鈥檚, the Eastern Shore and the western shore of Maryland had separate treasurers).
The counting of the secret ballots stopped when Davis reached 94 votes, a majority of the General Assembly. Another candidate, government CPA Joseph Zimmerman, received one vote. Single write-in votes were cast for Robin L. Grammer III 鈥� presumably the son of Del. Robin L. Grammer Jr. (R-Baltimore County) 鈥� and for 鈥淟et鈥檚 Go Brandon,鈥� coded conservative language for 鈥淔*** Joe Biden.鈥�
Raucous applause, desk pounding as Del. receives a majority of the vote.
鈥� Danielle E. Gaines (@DanielleEGaines)
On Dec. 17, Davis will be sworn in to replace Nancy K. Kopp (D), who is retiring after almost two decades as treasurer 鈥� and half a century of state government service. Davis will be the first state treasurer from Prince George鈥檚 County and the second African-American to hold the post, after Richard N. Dixon (D) of Carroll County, who served from 1996 to 2002.
Davis was invited to the rostrum to address his longtime House colleagues. 鈥淪o this is what it looks like from up here,鈥� he joked 鈥� a reference to his unsuccessful run for speaker in 2019.
鈥淭he incredible show of support means a great deal to me,鈥� Davis continued. 鈥淚t is with a great deal of humility and a spirit of thanksgiving that I stand before you today as treasurer-elect for the state of Maryland.鈥�
Davis鈥� 10-minute speech to his colleagues was full of reminiscences, inside jokes and gratitude to Kopp and legislative staffers 鈥� and especially his colleagues on Economic Matters.
鈥淚t鈥檚 truly been a blessing to be your chairman for 19 sessions,鈥� he said.
Davis also had a request for lawmakers: 鈥淲hen I come before your budget committee and the Appropriations Committee, don鈥檛 give me crap. Just give me my damn money.鈥�
Immediately after Davis spoke, House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) announced that Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles) would take the gavel at Economic Matters.
Then Davis crossed the State House lobby to thank state senators for their votes and promised to represent both chambers on the Board of Public Works to the best of his ability.
Davis ended his speech by recalling a phone conversation he had, after he lost his bid as speaker of the House,聽 with late Senate president Thomas V. 鈥淢ike鈥� Miller Jr. (D), who died earlier this year.
鈥淗e was trying to be soothing in the beginning,鈥� Davis recalled, 鈥渁nd I guess he could sense I was feeling sorry for myself or something, and then it flipped.鈥�
The treasurer-elect harkened back to Miller鈥檚 colorful vocabulary.
鈥淗e said some things 鈥� I can鈥檛 repeat them here 鈥� that he wanted me to tell some other people: Let鈥檚 just say it was anatomically impossible.鈥� The chamber burst into laughter.
鈥淏ut it snapped me right out of it, and I certainly appreciate[d] it,鈥� Davis continued. 鈥淧resident Miller was somebody I greatly respected.鈥�
Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) welcomed Davis to the Board of Public Works, which consists of the governor, the state comptroller and the treasurer.
鈥淒ereck and I have always had a great relationship,鈥� Hogan said in a statement. 鈥淚 look forward to welcoming him to the Board of Public Works, and working with him to continue changing Maryland for the better.鈥�
Kopp will attend one more BPW meeting, next Wednesday.
In an interview, Davis recalled that when he was first elected to the legislature, he was engaged to be married. Now, he has a son who is about to turn 23 and a daughter who is 16.
鈥淵ou look at all the changes that have occurred for me and in my life,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll of the changes came while I鈥檝e been sitting on the floor of the House of Delegates.鈥�
But Davis said he is ready for the next chapter of his public life.
鈥淚鈥檓 starting to get excited,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e resisted that urge. I didn鈥檛 want to get ahead of myself.鈥�
Maryland Matters’ Hannah Gaskill contributed to this report.
