Hogan appoints Jill Carter to fill Senate vacancy

A former state delegate and member of Mayor Catherine Pugh’s administration will serve out the remaining term of disgraced Sen. Nathaniel T. Oaks.

Gov. Larry Hogan named Jill P. Carter to fill out the remainder of the 2018 term following Oaks’ resignation after he pleaded guilty to federal bribery and corruption charges.

“Jill Carter’s dedication to Baltimore City and our state is admirable,” Hogan said in a statement. “I have no doubt she will serve the constituents of District 41 well.”

Carter, a Democrat and candidate for the 41st District Senate seat, was one of two names sent to Hogan earlier this month after the Democratic Central Committee in the 41st District failed to select one nominee to send to the governor.

Carter, 53, previously served 14 years in the House of Delegates before resigning to become the director of the city’s Office of Civil Rights and Wage Enforcement under Pugh.

During her time in the House, Carter was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.

Carter was born in Baltimore and attended Western High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Loyola College in 1988. She earned her law degree from the University of Baltimore four years later and was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1993.

Carter’s name, along with that of Joyce J. Smith, was sent to the governor in early April after a majority of the central committee failed to select one nominee. Smith, a member of the committee, voted for herself while a number of other members abstained from the voting.

Carter was one of two candidates who appeared at a rally on the last day of the 2018 legislative session calling for an end to long-time Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr.’s political career.

Oaks served in the seat slightly less than a year after being appointed to fill the vacancy created by the departure of Lisa Gladden, who retired because of health issues.

Oaks resigned on March 28, one day before entering into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors on bribery and corruption charges related to a phony development scheme he participated in during his time in the House. Oaks is scheduled to be sentenced later this year.