Del. Dana M. Stein Elected Speaker Pro-Tem of the House of Delegates

January 12, 2024 JMORE Staff

Earlier this week, Del. Dana M. Stein (D-11B) was sworn in by Judge Sylvia Siegert, chief clerk of the House, as Speaker Pro Tem of the Maryland General Assembly. To his right are his wife, Margaret, and son, James. (Provided photo)

The old baseball manager Leo Durocher got it wrong. Nice guys don’t always finish last. In fact, they sometimes even come out ahead.

This week was proof of that when Del. Dana M. Stein (D-11B) of Baltimore County was elected Speaker Pro-Tem of the Maryland House of Delegates on Wednesday, Jan. 10, the first day of the Maryland General Assembly.

“It will be a great honor to serve with Speaker Adrienne Jones,” Stein wrote on social media. “Thank you to my fellow delegates for their kind words and support of my candidacy.”

Last May, Jones announced that Stein was her nominee for the role of Speaker Pro-Tempore when the General Assembly returned to session. The position of Speaker Pro-Tem is elected by the full chamber.

“Dana has been at the center of some of Maryland’s biggest climate and environmental policy victories,” Jones said at the time. “I’m pleased he has agreed to take on a new role with an expanded portfolio as Speaker Pro-Tem.”

The role of Speaker Pro-Tem is to preside over the election of the Speaker of the House and administer the House Speaker’s oath of office, as well as to preside over the House when the Speaker is away or ill.

The previous Speaker Pro-Tem was Del. Sheree L. Sample Hughes (D-37A) of Dorchester and Wicomico counties. In 2019, she succeeded Jones, who served as Speaker Pro-Tem for 17 years.

Stein, 65, was first appointed to the General Assembly from 2002 to 2003 and has served continuously since 2007. He is the former vice chair of the House Environment and Transportation Committee.

A Northwest Baltimore County native and 1976 graduate of Milford Mill High School, Stein lives in Pikesville with his wife, Margaret Presley, and their three children. He received his bachelor’s degree in government at Harvard University and law degree from Columbia Law School. He is the author of the 2010 futuristic novel “Fire in the Wind” (Tate Publishing), which deals with climate change.

Stein belongs to Baltimore Hebrew Congregation and Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom Congregation.

Stein is the founder and executive director of Civic Works, a nonprofit created in 1993 to strengthen Baltimore’s neighborhoods through community service, education and skills development.

Stein’s legislative district includes Pikesville, Owings Mills, Randallstown, Glyndon, Lutherville and Timonium. He was one of the speakers at a Dec. 14 community gathering at Baltimore Hebrew marking the rededication of the synagogue’s vandalized lawn signs declaring support for Israel.