Brian Alan Chisholm (born November 7, 1970) is an American politician who represents northern

Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, wh ...

in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

. A member of the Republican Party, he represented District 31B from 2019 to 2023, afterwards representing the 31st district.

Early life and education

Chisholm was born in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, and graduated from

Severna Park High School Severna Park High School is a public high school located in the suburban CDP of Severna Park, Maryland, United States. It is part of the Anne Arundel County Public Schools system. SPHS opened its doors to students in 1959 and was the seventh pub ...

Severna Park, Maryland Severna Park is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. Severna Park is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, and is located approximately north of Annapolis, south of Baltimore and east ...

. He holds a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in Marketing from

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

Political career

Chisholm was a member of the Pension Oversight Commission of

Anne Arundel County, Maryland Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, Mar ...

from 2015 to 2018. He was vice-chair of the commission from 2017 to 2018. In 2014, Chisholm ran for election to one of two District 31B seats in the Maryland House of Delegates, but came in fourth in a field of eight candidates in the Republican primary. On October 19, 2017, he announced that he would again run for the House of Delegates, and, together with incumbent and fellow Republican

Nic Kipke Nicholaus Ryan Kipke (born January 26, 1979) is an American politician. Since 2007, he has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing Maryland House of Delegates District 31, District 31. He previously served as the Minori ...

, won. Chisholm was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates om January 9, 2019, and has served as a member of the Health and Government Operations Committee during his entire tenure. He is also a member of the Maryland Freedom Caucus.

Political positions

COVID-19 pandemic

In April 2020, Chisholm sent a letter to the

Maryland Department of Health The Maryland Department of Health is an agency of the government of Maryland responsible for public health issues. The Department is headed by a Secretary who is a member of the Executive Council/Cabinet of the Governor of Maryland. Currently t ...

asking the agency to publicly release more information about

COVID-19 outbreak The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Soon after, ...

s in elder care facilities. In May 2020, Chisholm attended a Reopen Maryland rally to protest COVID-19 restrictions put into place through

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...

s by Governor

Larry Hogan Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 62nd governor of Maryland from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party and son of three-term U.S. representative Lawrence Hogan, he served as co-ch ...

. Chisholm introduced legislation during the 2021 legislative session that would provide a property

tax credit A tax credit is a tax incentive which allows certain taxpayers to subtract the amount of the credit they have accrued from the total they owe the state. It may also be a credit granted in recognition of taxes already paid or a form of state "dis ...

to businesses in

that were affected by the state's COVID-19 emergency declarations. The bill received a favorable report from the Anne Arundel County Delegation, but stalled in committee.

Criminal justice

In July 2020, Chisholm organized a " Back the Blue" rally in

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, which he said was separate from the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

movement. In 2021, Chisholm opposed legislation that would remove the

governor of Maryland The governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

from the Maryland Parole Commission, and introduced an amendment that would require inmates serving a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are c ...

to get "unanimous agreement" from the state's parole board to be released. His amendment was rejected in a 91–41 vote.

Education

In April 2023, Chisholm sent a letter to State Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury accusing the

Maryland State Department of Education Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is a division of the state government of Maryland in the United States. The agency oversees public school districts, which are 24 local school systems—one for each of Maryland's 23 counties plus on ...

of hiding scores from failing scores by altering data files available on the department's website. An investigation conducted by the state inspector general found no evidence of these claims.

Electoral reform

In 2021, Chisholm opposed legislation that would allow register voters to opt-in to an

absentee ballot Absentee or The Absentee may refer to: * Absentee (band), a British band * The Absentee, a novel by Maria Edgeworth, published in 1812 in ''Tales of Fashionable Life'' * ''The Absentee'' (1915 film), a 1915 American silent film directed by Christy ...

list instead of reapplying for mail-in ballots before statewide elections, introducing an amendment that would require voters to have a government-issued ID to vote. His amendment was rejected.

National politics

In May 2024, Chisholm signed onto a letter condemning the jury's guilty verdict in the Trump hush money trial, calling the ruling a "political prosecution from a kangaroo court and left-leaning prosecutor" that is turning the U.S. justice system into a "third world parody of law and order".

Taxes

In 2021, Chisholm opposed legislation that would allow Maryland counties to set up a

progressive income tax A progressive tax is a tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases. The term ''progressive'' refers to the way the tax rate progresses from low to high, with the result that a taxpayer's average tax rate is less than the ...

, introducing an amendment that would have required counties to lower the tax on lower income brackets if officials opt to increase the tax for higher income brackets. His amendment was rejected.

Personal life

Chisholm currently lives in

and works as a mortgage banker. He is married and has one child. Chisholm co-owns, with former state delegate Sid Saab, a fitness gym in Severna Park. In February 2021, a former employee filed a lawsuit against the two lawmakers, alleging that she was retaliated against for reporting sexual harassment by another co-worker. A federal jury ruled for the employee in September 2023.

Electoral history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chisholm, Brian A. 1970 births Living people Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin People from Severna Park, Maryland Businesspeople from Maryland Clemson University alumni Republican Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates 21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly