Gov. Larry Hogan today appointed Chanel Branch to the House of Delegates to fill the 45th District seat vacated by Cheryl Glenn, who last week pleaded guilty on federal bribery and fraud charges.
Branch, the daughter of House Majority Whip Talmadge Branch, was nominated for the seat after a controversial vote by 45th Legislative District of the Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee, a group she chairs.
As The Sun reported on Jan. 14, Branch received three votes from the seven-member committee, with three other candidates receiving support. Branch cast the deciding vote for herself.
The Baltimore Brew reported two days later that two residents– Doris Minor Terrell, president of the Broadway East Neighborhood Association, and Rita Crews, president of the Belair Edison Neighborhood Association–sent a letter to the Baltimore City Democratic State Central Committee requesting a re-vote.
“I think the process was flawed and change is needed,” Terrell told the website.
A Hogan administration official told the Brew the governor’s office would review the letter, but had already received official notification from Democratic leadership.
“I am confident that Chanel Branch will represent the citizens of Baltimore City admirably in her new role as state delegate,” Hogan said in a statement today. “I offer Ms. Branch my sincere congratulations and look forward to working with her during this legislative session.”
Branch currently works for the Maryland Department of Human Services, as director of support operations for strategy and administration.
In a criminal information unsealed last month, federal prosecutors revealed that Glenn had accepted more than $33,000 in bribes to help two companies get into Maryland’s medical cannabis business and introducing a bill to create a new liquor license in her district. She abruptly resigned the week before the charges became public.
Branch will serve out Glenn’s terms, which runs until January 2023.
