Angela Alsobrooks: An inspiring career that has just begun

Although the recent 2024 election brought many surprises, the one of the most exciting was the election of Angela Alsobrooks as senator of Maryland! Born in Seneca, South Carolina to a Washington Post distributor and receptionist, Alsobrooks eventually moved to Maryland following her great-grandfather’s murder for resisting arrest. She attended high school in Washington DC, and got her bachelor’s degree at Duke, then a degree at the University of Maryland School of Law. After various other jobs at law firms, she eventually became the assistant state’s attorney in Prince George’s County, Maryland, with a focus on domestic violence cases within the county. In 2002, she left this position to become an education liaison for Prince George’s County’s Executive.

Angela Alsobrooks stands in front of her supporters while on the campaign trail.

Her interest in politics started early, as president of her school’s student government. Then, she interned for House Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, and attended the Democratic National Convention. Over the years, she volunteered on many presidential campaigns, such as Al Gore’s and Bill Clinton’s. 

During her time as Maryland’s state’s attorney, Alsobrooks approached crime head on-with a focus on rehabilitating troublemaking juveniles. Her efforts paid off-we a decline of 50% in violent crime rates. On top cracking down on juvenile violence, she increased vandalism and burglary prosecutions and supported initiated to dedicate government allocated resources to the Prince George’s County school system and communities struggling with social issues. Within her office, Alsobrooks created a Special Prosecutions Unit to handle police misconduct cases among other things, a case close to her heart. 

She announced her candidacy for the US Senate from Maryland in 2023, and as she’s been elected, she will become the first Black senator from Maryland and also the third black woman ever elected to the senate. Alsobrooks has advocated for addressing community safety and healthcare. As for her policies on various topics, she supports harsh punishments for juveniles guilty of violent crimes, but also aimed to make it easier to keep juveniles away from the justice system and assist drug users in attending college or job training. In addition, she has endorsed legislature to raise Maryland’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, making it easier for residents to earn a living wage. She wants to increase investments into preschool education to make it accessible for every child, and invest in more career education in upper levels of school. During her time as a county executive, she created a county-wide composting initiative for residents and signed an executive order supporting a goal of halving the county’s greenhouse gas emissions in the next 6 years. 

Alsobrooks wants to restrict gun purchases and supports Israel’s ‘right to defend itself’ in regards to the US-Israel relationship. She supports capping insulin prices at $35 dollars, expanding the Affordable care act and protecting social security, as well as signing a bill that provides instate college tuition to undocumented immigrants. 

As for her stance on social issues, specifically surrounding women, she is against restrictions on abortion, and views it as “family decision for a woman, a family, and her doctor”.