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Anthony O'Donnell

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Anthony O'Donnell
Image of Anthony O'Donnell
Prior offices
Maryland House of Delegates District 29C
Successor: Jerry Clark

Maryland Public Service Commission
Predecessor: Anne Hoskins

Education

Bachelor's

Regents College, State University of New York, 1985

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Navy

Years of service

1979 - 1987

Personal
Religion
Christian

Anthony O'Donnell was a member of the Maryland Public Service Commission. O'Donnell assumed office in 2016. O'Donnell left office on June 1, 2024.

O'Donnell (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Maryland House of Delegates to represent District 29C. O'Donnell won in the general election on November 4, 2014.

He was appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) for a term that began in August 2016.[1] Hogan reappointed O'Donnell to another term in February 2021.[2] O'Donnell retired from the office on June 1, 2024. [3]

O'Donnell is a former Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 29C from 1995 to 2016. He resigned on July 31, 2016, after he was appointed by the governor to the Maryland Public Service Commission.[4] Gov. Hogan appointed Jerry Clark (R) to fill O'Donnell's seat in the House of Delegates.[5]

O'Donnell served as Minority Leader from 2007 to 2013; on April 30, 2013, Republican representatives voted to replace him with Nicholaus Kipke.[6]

Biography

O'Donnell served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1995-2016. Prior to entering public service, O'Donnell worked for Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in a number of capacities, including as a nuclear instrumentation and controls technician, a supervisor, an engineering analyst, and as the director for emergency preparedness. Before that, he served in the United States Navy from 1979 to 1987.[1]

Education

B.S., S.U.N.Y., Regents College (1985)[1]

Political career

Maryland Public Service Commission (2016-2024)

O'Donnell was appointed to the Maryland Public Service Commission by Gov. Larry Hogan for a term that began in August 2016. O'Donnell replaced Anne Hoskins, who was appointed to finish the term of W. Kevin Hughes, who became commission chair in 2013. He retired on June 1, 2024.[1]

Opposition to appointment

Upon O'Donnell's appointment, the Sierra Club of Maryland, issued a statement criticizing O'Donnell for voting against a number of pieces of energy and environmental legislation:

In his past twelve years in office, Delegate O’Donnell has demonstrated strong opposition to expansion of offshore wind, the renewable portfolio standard, the EmPOWER Maryland program, and other programs likely to come before the Commission. Through his appointments, and his recent vetoes, Governor Hogan is sending a clear signal that Maryland is closed to business, when those businesses are aimed at reducing Maryland’s contribution to climate change, cleaning up Maryland’s air, and bringing thousands of new clean energy jobs to the State.[7][8]

About the office

The Maryland Public Service Commission is an independent agency in the executive branch of the Maryland state government. Established in 1910, the commission regulates all public utilities and transportation companies. It consists of five appointed members.[9]

Maryland House of Delegates

Committee assignments

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, O'Donnell served on the following committees:

Maryland committee assignments, 2015
Environment and Transportation
Rules & Executive Nominations
2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, O'Donnell served on these committees:

Note: O'Donnell also served on the Spending Affordability, the Subcommittee on Land Use and Ethics and the Subcommittee on Natural Resources.

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, O'Donnell served on these committees:

Note: O'Donnell also served on the Subcommittee on Environment, the Subcommittee on Local Government and Bi-County Agencies and the Subcommittee on Natural Resources.

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2014

See also: Maryland House of Delegates elections, 2014

Elections for the Maryland House of Delegates took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 24, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 25, 2014. Len Zuza was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while incumbent Tony O'Donnell was unopposed in the Republican primary. O'Donnell defeated Zuza in the general election.[10][11][12]

Maryland House of Delegates District 29C, General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTony O'Donnell Incumbent 68.6% 9,924
     Democratic Len Zuza 31.4% 4,548
Total Votes 14,472

2012

See also: Maryland's 5th Congressional District elections, 2012

O'Donnell ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Maryland's 5th District. O'Donnell ran on the Republican ticket.[13] He defeated candidates David Hill and Glenn Troy Morton in the Republican primary on April 3, 2012.[14] He lost to incumbent Steny Hoyer in the November general election.

The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run was January 11, 2012.[15]

General election

U.S. House, Maryland District 5 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngSteny Hoyer Incumbent 69.4% 238,618
     Republican Anthony O'Donnell 27.7% 95,271
     Libertarian Arvin Vohra 1.3% 4,503
     Green Bob Auerbach 1.5% 5,040
     N/A Other Write-ins 0.1% 388
Total Votes 343,820
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections "Representative in Congress"

Republican Primary

U.S. House, Maryland District 5 Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngTony O'Donnell 73.7% 17,329
David Hill 14% 3,289
Glenn Morton 12.3% 2,903
Total Votes 23,521

Media

The following is a video of Anthony O'Donnell's official announcement for his candidacy for the 5th Congressional District of Maryland on December 13th, 2011.[16]


Anthony O'Donnell, "Tony O'Donnell for Congress MD-5 Official Announcement "[17]

2010

See also: Maryland House of Delegates elections, 2010

O'Donnell defeated Chris Davies (D) and Shawn Quinn (L) in the general election on November 2, 2010 to win re-election.[18]

Maryland House of Delegates, District 29C General Election (2010)
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Anthony O'Donnell (R) 8,009
Chris Davies (D) 5,610
Shawn Quinn (L) 474

2006

On November 7, 2006, Anthony O'Donnell ran for District 29C of the Maryland House of Delegates, beating Norma Powers.[19]

Anthony O'Donnell raised $78,016 for his campaign.[20]

Maryland House of Delegates, District 29C
Candidates Votes Percent
Anthony O'Donnell (R) 7,739 60.3%
Norma Powers (D) 5,091 39.6%
Write-Ins 11 0.1%

Campaign themes

2012

A complete list of O'Donnell's campaign issues can be found at his official campaign website.[21]

  • Spending & Debt

Excerpt: "Our national debt is approaching immoral, unsustainable levels from out of control spending. Washington must learn to live within its means like every American household does."[22]

  • Jobs & The Economy

Excerpt: "Reduce regulatory restricts," "cut regulations that strangle jobs" and "Repeal unconstitutional Obamacare."[23]

  • Traditional Marriage

Excerpt: "Bill Clinton proudly defended marriage, and defined it as one man and one woman. The traditional family is the foundation of everything we hold dear."[24]

Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


Anthony O'Donnell campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2014Maryland House of Delegates, District 29CWon $59,978 N/A**
2012U.S. House - Maryland District 5Lost $138,016 N/A**
2010Maryland House of Delegates, District 29CWon $117,962 N/A**
2006Maryland House of Delegates, District 29CWon $173,738 N/A**
2002Maryland House of Delegates, District 29CWon $33,457 N/A**
1998Maryland House of Delegates, District 29CWon $55,272 N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
O’Donnell and his wife, Lori, have three children and two grandchildren. They live in Drum Point in Lusby.[1] He is Chair of the Calvert County Delegation, and a member of the National Conference of State Legislatures, Task Force on Traffic Capacity Across the Chesapeake Bay, Taxpayers Protection Caucus, Maryland Rural Caucus, Maryland Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus, and the Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee of Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.[25]

Recent news

See also

Maryland State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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External links

Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Maryland Public Service Commissioner, "Commissioner Anthony J O'Donnell," accessed Sept. 15, 2016
  2. Maryland Matters, "Hogan’s ‘Green Bag’ Includes Appointees to State Board of Elections, Education, Regents," February 19, 2021
  3. Maryland Matters, "O’Donnell retires after eight years on Public Service Commission," June 4, 2024
  4. The Baltimore Sun, "Hogan appoints long-serving delegate, a former Republican leader, to regulatory commission," accessed September 14, 2016
  5. Southern Maryland Online, "Jerry Clark Will Take O'Donnell's Seat in Md. House," accessed Sept. 15, 2016
  6. The Baltimore Sun, "House GOP deposes O'Donnell, chooses Kipke as leader," April 30, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2013
  7. Sierra Club, "Maryland Climate Coalition Statement on Appointment of Delegate O’Donnell to the Public Service Commission," accessed Sept. 15, 2016
  8. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  9. Maryland State Archives, "Public Service Commission - Origin and Functions," accessed September 24, 2011
  10. Maryland Secretary of State, "Official primary election candidate list," accessed March 3, 2014
  11. Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates," accessed December 5, 2014
  12. Maryland State Board of Elections, "2014 Official General Election Results," accessed April 30, 2015
  13. The Washington Post, "O’Donnell launches bid to unseat Hoyer" accessed January 6, 2012
  14. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named primary
  15. Maryland State Board of Elections "2012 Primary Results"
  16. Anthony O'Donnell's YouTube Profile
  17. YouTube channel
  18. Maryland Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed March 4, 2014
  19. Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2006 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates," accessed March 24, 2014
  20. Follow the Money, "O'Donnell's 2006 campaign contributions," accessed March 25, 2014
  21. Anthony O'Donnell's Official Campaign Website
  22. Anthony O'Donnell's Official Campaign Website
  23. Anthony O'Donnell's Official Campaign Website
  24. Anthony O'Donnell's Official Campaign Website
  25. Project Vote Smart - Rep. O'Donnell's Biography," accessed March 25, 2014

Political offices
Preceded by
Anne Hoskins
Maryland Public Service Commission
2016-2024
Succeeded by
Odogwu Obi Linton
Preceded by
-
Maryland House of Delegates District 29C
1995-2016
Succeeded by
Jerry Clark (R)


Current members of the Maryland House of Delegates
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Adrienne Jones
Majority Leader:David Moon
Representatives
District 1A
District 1B
District 1C
District 2A
District 2B
District 3
Kris Fair (D)
Ken Kerr (D)
District 4
District 6
Bob Long (R)
District 7A
District 7B
District 8
Kim Ross (D)
District 9A
Chao Wu (D)
District 9B
District 11A
District 11B
District 12A
District 12B
District 13
District 15
Lily Qi (D)
District 16
District 17
Joe Vogel (D)
District 18
District 21
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27A
District 27B
District 27C
District 28
District 29A
District 29B
District 29C
District 30A
District 30B
District 32
District 33A
District 33B
District 33C
District 34A
District 34B
District 35A
District 35B
District 36
District 37A
District 37B
District 38A
District 38B
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District 39
Greg Wims (D)
District 40
District 41
District 42A
District 42B
District 42C
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District 46
District 47A
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Democratic Party (102)
Republican Party (39)