At a Jan. 24 ceremony in the Senate Chambers of the State House in Annapolis, Del. Dalya Attar (D-41st) was sworn in as a member of the Maryland Senate by Senate President Bill Ferguson.
She is the first Orthodox woman to serve in the state Senate in its 248-year history and is believed to be the highest-ranking Orthodox woman in American political history.
At the ceremony last Friday, Ferguson noted, presumably half-jokingly, that the swearing-in needed to be performed fairly quickly before sundown due to the impending arrival of Shabbat.
Attar replaces former Sen. Jill P. Carter (D-41st), who resigned from her position on Jan. 3 after being nominated by Gov. Wes Moore to serve on the Maryland Board of Contract Appeals.
Members of the Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee voted 5-to-3 on Jan. 21 to recommend Attar to fill the vacancy in the Senate. The nomination was approved by Moore.
In what was considered a major upset, Attar, 34, who lives in Northwest Baltimore, prevailed over Del. Malcolm P. Ruff (D-41st) and six other Democrats who interviewed via Zoom for the Senate appointment.
“Wow, I don’t even know where to begin. I’m so grateful to be here,” Attar said at the swearing-in ceremony, noting that both of her parents came to the United States as young immigrants from Iran and Morocco. “I’m here because of their hard work, and I am now living the American Dream. I can’t thank them enough.”
She praised Carter and Del. Samuel I. “Sandy” Rosenberg (D-41st) (“He’s the dean of the district”) for their leadership and mentorship over the years. “I look forward to working with everybody,” Attar said. “I’m here because of all my constituents, who have always been there for me. I’m so grateful to be here.”
Carter praised Attar’s nomination. “I’ve worked well with Delegate Attar for years, and I believe she is a decent person,” she told the Baltimore Brew media outlet. “While I supported Delegate Ruff because I believe he is a unifier in a diverse and sometimes divided district, I stand ready to assist Delegate Atttar in her transition, and I hope she takes me up on that.”
According to Baltimore Brew, Attar, during the committee interview process, emphasized her commitment to education as a means of combating juvenile crime.
“If we are not sending our children to Grade-A schools, we cannot blame them for ending up in the [criminal justice] system,” she said.
When asked about how to deal with Maryland’s $3 billion budget deficit, she reportedly said, “My first choice for cuts would be from public universities.”
Covering northern and southwest Baltimore, the 41st District is considered one of the city’s most diverse jurisdictions.
A Baltimore-born married mother of two, Attar is a graduate of the Bais Yaakov School for Girls, the University of Baltimore and the Francis King Carey School of Law at University of Maryland. She is a congregant of the Baltimore Sephardic Center Beit Yaakov Synagogue in Park Heights.
She was elected to the House of Delegates in 2018.
In an interview with Jmore last year, Attar said, “As a delegate, helping thousands of constituents with all different problems they are facing is what gives me the strength to continue in my line of work. … Being able to help so many people is what inspires me.”
Last week, Attar told Baltimore Jewish Life, “It is my absolute honor and privilege to be chosen as senator for District 41. With the help of Hashem, I will continue to work my hardest to help all of my constituents and to fight in Annapolis for our district.”
Israeli-Americans Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin talked about the pain of losing their 23-year-old son, who was kidnapped and later murdered in the Oct. 7th tragedy.
A committed philanthropist and community leader, Russel was president of R&H Motors.
The mother of four was a native of Winchester, Virginia, who spent most of her life in Northwest Baltimore.
The remaining 6,000 members of the community are expected to immigrate by 2030.