Former Baltimore sheriff candidate pleads to campaign finance charges

A 2014 candidate for Baltimore sheriff pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations Tuesday for filing a false campaign report using his treasurer’s electronic signature.

Richard Parker, 41, of Gwynn Oak, received a one-year suspended sentence and was placed on three years probation by Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Michael Wachs, according to a news release from the Office of the State Prosecutor, which handled the case. He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.

Parker was a Democratic challenger to longtime Sheriff John W. Anderson in the 2014 primary. Anderson won with more than 56% of the vote and continued on to win the general election. Parker received 12.9% of the vote, according to the Maryland Board of Elections.

Parker filed a campaign finance report in January 2015 that indicated he had more than $40,000 in his campaign account, though his actual account “never contained an amount close” to that, according to the Office of the State Prosecutor. He also signed his treasurer’s name without her knowledge or consent.

“It is essential that people are held accountable when they fail to comply with laws to preserve transparency in the democratic process,” Deputy State Prosecutor Kelly Madigan said in a statement.

Attorney Howard Miliman called Parker a “fish out of water” in politics with no experience at the time of the election. He said Parker is a military veteran and career public servant who wants to move on.

Miliman, of D’Alesandro & Miliman P.A. in Baltimore, said once Parker completes community service he will move to modify the conviction to probation before judgment.

The case is State v. Richard Parker, C-02-CR-19-002050.