Ulysses Currie
{{Short description|American politician (1937–2019)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name =
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1937|7|10}}
| birth_place = Whiteville, North Carolina, U.S.
| residence =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|12|27|1935|7|10}}
| death_place =
| state_delegate1 = Maryland
| district1 = 25th
| term_start1 = January 1987
| term_end1 = January 11, 1995
| predecessor1 =
| successor1 = Michael A. Crumlin, Dereck E. Davis, Brenda Bethea Hughes{{Cite web |url=https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/1994/results_1994/gahod.html |title=1994 Gubernatorial General Election Results |website=elections.maryland.gov |publisher=Maryland State Board of Elections |quote=Legislative District: 25}}
| alongside1 = Dennis C. Donaldson, Juanita Miller (1987–1991);{{Cite web |url=https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/1986/results_1986/gahod.html |title=1986 Gubernatorial General Election Results |website=elections.maryland.gov |publisher=Maryland State Board of Elections |quote=Legislative District: 25}} Michael Arrington, Beatrice Tignor (1991–1995){{Cite web |url=https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/1990/results_1990/gahod.html |title=1990 Gubernatorial General Election Results |website=elections.maryland.gov |publisher=Maryland State Board of Elections |quote=Legislative District: 25}}
| state_senate = Maryland
| district = 25th
| term_start = January 11, 1995
| term_end = January 9, 2019
| predecessor = Beatrice Tignor{{Cite web |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/speccol/sc2600/sc2685/senate/html/legis25sen.html |title=Maryland Senate, Legislative District 25 |website=msa.maryland.gov |publisher=Maryland State Archives}}
| successor = Melony G. Griffith
| party = Democrat
| religion =
| occupation = Teacher
| majority =
| relations =
| spouse = Married
| children = 2
| footnotes =
}}
Ulysses Currie (July 10, 1937 – December 27, 2019) was an American politician from Maryland. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented District 25 in Prince George's County, first in the house of delegates from 1987 to 1995, then in the senate from 1995 to 2019. Currie was the Chair of the Budget and Taxation Committee before having to resign the chairmanship because of an ethics violation.
Background
Currie, the son of a sharecropper, grew up in Whiteville, North Carolina. He was the first of his family to go to college and earned his undergraduate degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/31/AR2008053102005.html |title=Md. Senator in Raid Rose to Power Above the Fray |last=Rein |first=Lisa |date=June 1, 2008 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=August 12, 2008}} He served in the United States Army from 1960 to 1963, and was stationed at Fort Dix and in Germany.{{cite news |last=Rosen |first=Jill |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2008-05-31-0805300270-story.html |title=FBI inquiry into Currie's consulting grows |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |date=May 31, 2008 |access-date=June 12, 2019}} After serving in the army, he moved to the Washington metropolitan area to attend American University. Currie worked for 25 years as an educator in Prince George's County Public Schools.
In the legislature
Currie was originally elected to the House of Delegates in 1986, representing District 25 in Prince George's County. During his time in the house, he became Majority Whip, the 3rd-ranking position in the House after the Speaker and the Majority Leader. Currie was elected to his seat in the State Senate in 1994. He was a member of the Budget and Taxation Committee.
FBI investigation
On May 29, 2008, it was reported that the FBI had searched Currie's District Heights home and taken documents related to his work as a consultant to Shoppers Food & Pharmacy.{{Cite news
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/29/AR2008052902818.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2008052902823
|title=FBI Raids Home of Maryland State Senator
|access-date=May 29, 2008
|newspaper=The Washington Post
|first1=Rosalind S.
|last1=Helderman
|first2=John
|last2=Wagner
|first3=Ovetta
|last3=Wiggins
|date=May 29, 2008
}} On September 1, 2010, a federal grand jury indicted Currie and Shoppers Food Warehouse Corporation executives William J. White and R. Kevin Small in connection with a scheme from 2002 to 2008 in which the supermarket chain allegedly paid Senator Currie in exchange for using his official position and influence in matters benefitting White, Small, and the supermarket chain.{{cite press release |title=Maryland Senate Budget and Taxation Committee Chairman Ulysses Currie Indicted Along with Company Executives for Taking Bribes from Shoppers Food Warehouse in Return for Official Actions |url=https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/baltimore/press-releases/2010/ba090110.htm |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |access-date=September 9, 2010 |date=September 1, 2010}} {{PD-notice}} Currie was acquitted on November 8, 2011. However, in 2012 he was censured by the state senate for ethics violations from facts discovered during the investigation,{{Cite news |last=Bishop |first=Tricia |date=November 8, 2011 |title=Currie not guilty of bribery, conspiracy in Shoppers case |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-ulysses-currie-verdict-20111108,0,2219175.story}} and was forced to resign from the chairmanship of the Budget and Taxation Committee.{{Cite news |last=Cox |first=Erin |date=November 30, 2016 |title=Senator Ulysses Currie rescinds resignation from Maryland General Assembly |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-currie-rescinds-resignation-20161130-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201135547/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-currie-rescinds-resignation-20161130-story.html |archive-date=December 1, 2016 |url-status=live}}
Later years and death
On June 1, 2018, Maryland's Head Start Program was renamed the Ulysses Currie Head Start Program to honor Senator Currie.{{cite web |title=Ulysses Currie, Maryland State Senator |website=Maryland Manual Online |publisher=Maryland State Archives |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/05sen/former/html/msa12163.html |access-date=December 29, 2019 |date=December 27, 2019}}
Currie died early on December 27, 2019. He was 84.{{cite news |last1=Wood |first1=Pamela |title=Former Sen. Ulysses Currie of Prince George's, who fought corruption charges but voted for own censure, dies |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-ulysses-currie-20191227-7hz6xfehrbam5lrsdckdkvbewu-story.html |access-date=December 27, 2019 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=December 27, 2019}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{cite news |last=Mosk |first=Matthew |title=Md. Cabinet Member Said He Objected to Aide |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 21, 2005 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/20/AR2005122001580_pf.html |access-date=November 2, 2008}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Currie, Ulysses}}
Category:Democratic Party Maryland state senators
Category:United States Army soldiers
Category:American University alumni
Category:North Carolina A&T State University alumni
Category:People from Whiteville, North Carolina
Category:People from District Heights, Maryland
Category:Military personnel from Maryland
Category:Military personnel from North Carolina
Category:African-American state legislators in Maryland
Category:20th-century African-American politicians
Category:21st-century African-American politicians
Category:Politicians from Prince George's County, Maryland
Category:20th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly
Category:21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly
{{Maryland-politician-stub}}