Catherine I. Riley (March 21, 1947 – September 30, 2024) was an American lobbyist, civil servant and politician from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. She represented

Harford County Harford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Stati ...

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 ...

from 1975 to 1982 and in the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

from 1983 to 1990.

Early life

Catherine I. Riley was born in

Harford County, Maryland Harford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Wa ...

, on March 21, 1947. She attended parochial schools in Bel Air. She graduated in 1969 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

from Towson State College.

Career

Riley served in

representing

District 6 District Six is a place in Cape Town, South Africa. District Six may also refer to: :Government divisions * District 6, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam * District 6 (New York City Council), in the United States * VI District, Turku, in Finland * Dist ...

from 1975 to 1982. She also represented

District 34 A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

in the

from 1983 to 1990. She ran as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. In 1995, Governor

Parris Glendening Parris Nelson Glendening (born June 11, 1942) is an American politician and academic who served as the 59th governor of Maryland from 1995 to 2003. He previously served as the county executive of Prince George's County, Maryland from 1982 to 19 ...

hired Riley to his legislative lobbying team. She continued in that role and was appointed by Glendening to serve on the

Maryland Public Service Commission The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent administrative agency within the state government which regulates public utilities and certain taxi cab and other passenger services in Maryland. Similar to other state public utilitie ...

on May 21, 1999. She was appointed head of the Commission on October 18, 2000 by Glendening after

Glenn Ivey Glenn Frederick Ivey (born February 27, 1961) is an American politician and attorney serving as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 4th congressional district since 2023. The district covers most of the black-majority areas on the Maryland s ...

announced he was stepping down. She served in that role until 2003.

Personal life and death

Riley was friends with fellow senator

Thomas V. Miller Jr. Thomas Vincent Miller Jr. (December 3, 1942 – January 15, 2021), known as Mike Miller, was an American politician from Maryland. He had been a state senator representing the 27th District ( Calvert, Charles, and Prince George's Counties) from ...

She died on September 30, 2024, at the age of 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Catherine 1947 births 2024 deaths Politicians from Harford County, Maryland Democratic Party Maryland state senators Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Towson University alumni 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians Women state legislators in Maryland 20th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly 21st-century Maryland politicians