She interviewed in September and was sworn in by October
Annapolis, MD (KB) Dr. Brenda Thiam is now a freshman Delegate in Annapolis for the Hagerstown area.
She said in the middle of her campaign for Hagerstown City Council, she got wind of a seat on the Delegation opening up. She said she applied, interviewed in September, and was being sworn in by October.
“By October the 6th, I was being sworn in with the Speaker of the House and the next day I was in Annapolis meeting with top leadership within the Republican caucus,” she recalled.
Delegate Thiam said she has learned the importance of relationships during her time in Annapolis.
“The relationship-building is the most important part of this process, I feel, because the Republicans are the minority in the General Assembly,” she explained. “Sometimes it’s difficult, as I’ve been told, to get our bills passed.”
She said the first bill she was able to work on during her time in office concerned disabled veterans and fishing licenses.
Delegate Thiam also said she received many messages about the incident at the Capitol last month. Many people expected her to speak out against the incident.
“People were looking to me to make the statement, speak out, and they weren’t Republican friends — it was Democrats telling me you need to speak out against this, you need to say that this is wrong and this is not right,” she said.
She said she refused to speak negatively of the former President.