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Ulysses Currie

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Ulysses Currie
Image of Ulysses Currie

Democratic Party

Prior offices
Maryland House of Delegates
Maryland State Senate District 25
Successor: Melony Griffith

Education

Bachelor's

North Carolina A&T State College, 1959

Graduate

The American University, 1968

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Years of service

1960 - 1963

Personal
Birthplace
Whiteville, N.C.

Ulysses Currie was a Democratic member of the Maryland State Senate, representing District 25. He was first elected to the chamber in 1994, and he served until January 2019. He died on December 27, 2019 due to dementia.[1]

Biography

Currie earned his bachelor's degree from North Carolina A&T State College and his M.Ed. from American University. When he served in the state Senate, his professional experience included working as a teacher. He also served in the United States Army.[2]

Committee assignments

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Currie served on the following committees:

Maryland committee assignments, 2015
• Budget & Taxation
• Executive Nominations
• Legislative Policy

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Currie served on these committees:

Note: Currie also served on the Special Committee on Pensions, Subcommittee on Capital Budget, Subcommittee on Education, Business, and Administration and Subcommittee on Pensions.

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Currie served on these committees:

Note: Currie also served on the Special Committee on State Employee Rights and Protections and the Joint Legislative Work Group to Study State, County and Municipal Fiscal Relationships.

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

2018

See also: Maryland State Senate elections, 2018

Ulysses Currie did not file to run for re-election.

2014

See also: Maryland State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the Maryland State Senate 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. Incumbent Ulysses Currie defeated Terry Goolsby and Melony Griffith in the Democratic primary, while Kory Boone was unopposed in the Republican primary. Currie defeated Boone in the general election.[3][4][5]

Maryland State Senate District 25, General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngUlysses Currie Incumbent 92% 29,097
     Republican Kory Boone 6% 1,902
     Democratic Matthew Fogg (write-in) 1.7% 524
     Democratic Jennifer Lowery-Bell (write-in) 0.3% 87
Total Votes 31,610


Maryland State Senate, District 25 Democratic Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngUlysses Currie Incumbent 58.7% 8,173
Melony Griffith 37.7% 5,253
Terry Goolsby 3.6% 503
Total Votes 13,929

2010

See also: Maryland State Senate elections, 2010

Currie ran unopposed in the November 2 election, and received 31,189 votes to win re-election. Jennifer Lowery-Bell, a write-in candidate, received 281 votes.[6]

In the September 14 primary election, Currie ran unopposed.[7]

2006

On November 7, 2006, Currie ran unopposed for District 25 of the Maryland State Senate.[8]

Currie raised $299,776 for his campaign.[9]

Maryland Senate, District 25
Candidates Votes Percent
Ulysses Currie (D) 26,333 99.7%
Write-Ins 79 0.3%

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.

Ulysses Currie campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2014Maryland State Senate, District 25Won $270,110 N/A**
2010Maryland State Senate, District 25Won $234,872 N/A**
2006Maryland State Senate, District 25Won $467,670 N/A**
2002Maryland State Senate, District 25Won $152,578 N/A**
1998Maryland State Senate, District 25Won $84,565 N/A**
Grand total$1,209,795 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Maryland

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Maryland scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.








2018

In 2018, the Maryland General Assembly was in session from January 10 through April 9.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to consumer interests.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to reproductive health.
Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Currie was married to Shirley Gravely-Currie and had two sons.[10]

Noteworthy events

Censure by the Maryland State Senate (2012)

On February 17, 2012, Currie was unanimously censured by the Maryland State Senate for failing to disclose consulting fees he charged from Shoppers Food Warehouse while working on legislation to benefit the grocery store. Curry apologized for his actions and voted in favor of the censure.[11]

Federal corruption probe

Currie was the subject of a federal corruption probe since at least May 2008, when he was accused of pushing for legislation favorable to a supermarket firm which employed him as a consultant. He also did not promptly disclose on financial statements that the firm paid him.

In February 2010, Currie was accused of using campaign contributions to pay some $41,500 in criminal defense legal fees. The Attorney General's office has explicitly stated that campaign money can only be used for election related expenses. Currie has declined to comment, and so far no charges have been brought against him.[12]

The trial for the corruption charges began on September 27, 2011.[13]

Bribery trial

Federal bribery charges against Currie resulted in a trial that began on September 26, 2011. The charges allege Currie used his position of power to benefit Shoppers Food Warehouse, which he served as a consultant for but did not disclose on ethics forms for five years. Further, the $245,000 he received in payments, they allege, amount to bribes and extortion. Specific complaints against Currie alleging he pressed state officials to help Shoppers in a variety of ways, including land acquisition, road improvements and stoplights.[14]

Evidence introduced by Currie's attorneys on October 26 showed the senator to have a long history of omissions and sloppiness in his state financial disclosure forms, claiming his failure to disclose his work for Shoppers was not unusual but an oversight.[15]

Currie was found not guilty in November 2011 after three full days of deliberation by a federal jury.[16]

The Maryland Senate censured Currie in February 2012.[17]

First Citizen award

In March 2015, the Maryland Senate awarded Currie with the First Citizen Award, which is given to Marylanders "who have been dedicated and effective participants in the process of making government work for the benefit of all."[18]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Washington Post, "Ulysses Currie, former Maryland state lawmaker, dies at 82," December 27, 2019
  2. ↑ Maryland General Assembly, "Former Senator Ulysses Currie," accessed September 23, 2019
  3. ↑ Maryland Secretary of State, "Official primary election candidate list," accessed March 3, 2014
  4. ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for State Senate," accessed December 5, 2014
  5. ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "2014 Official General Election Results," accessed April 30, 2015
  6. ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "2010 General Election Official Results," accessed February 24, 2014
  7. ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official Primary Results," accessed February 24, 2014
  8. ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2006 Gubernatorial General Election results for State Senator," accessed February 24, 2014
  9. ↑ Follow the Money, "Currie's 2006 campaign contributions," accessed March 24, 2014
  10. ↑ Ulysses Currie, Maryland State Senator
  11. ↑ The Washington Post, “Md. Senate censures Currie for undisclosed payments from Shoppers Food Warehouse,” accessed December 1, 2023
  12. ↑ Baltimore Sun, "Currie's payments to lawyer queried," February 12, 2010
  13. ↑ Gazette.net, "Currie was selling ‘power of his office,’ prosecutor says," September 27, 2011
  14. ↑ Washington Post, "Md. Sen. Ulysses Currie’s bribery trial set for Monday," September 25, 2011
  15. ↑ Washington Post, "Sen. Ulysses Currie depicted by defense team as disorganized," October 26, 2011
  16. ↑ wjla.com, "Ulysses Currie found not guilty in corruption trial," November 8, 2011
  17. ↑ Washington Post, "Maryland Senate honors member it once censured," March 19, 2015
  18. ↑ The Maryland State House, "The First Citizen Award," accessed October 9, 2015
Political offices
Preceded by
- 		Maryland Senate District 25
1995-2019 		Succeeded by
Melony Griffith (D)


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