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BIO  Rich Madaleno was born in Silver Spring, Maryland and is a lifelong resident of Montgomery County. He has been an effective legislative force in Annapolis for more than 20 years, as a budget analyst, county advocate, Delegate, and Senator.Rich was elected to the House of Delegates in 2002 and to the Maryland Senate in 2006. In 2010, he was reelected to a second four-year term. He is regarded as one of the foremost experts on Maryland’s budget process and serves as Chairman of the Education, Business, and Administration Subcommittee of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. He previously served two terms as Chairman of the Montgomery County Senate Delegation. Throughout his legislative career, Rich has been a progressive voice for expanding economic opportunity, investing in education, and fighting for civil rights. Rich led the effort to increase and promote the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is recognized as the single most effective anti-poverty program. He worked to close corporate tax loopholes, saving Maryland taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. Rich served as floor leader on Governor Martin O’Malley’s top economic priority, InvestMaryland, which will promote Maryland’s Innovation Economy and create jobs throughout the state. In his first term in the Senate, Rich secured passage of the education funding package that brought Montgomery County schools $450 million in annual state aid – an increase of 50% over previous levels. The Washington Post labeled this package as a “huge victory for the county,” and the Gazette described it as “stunning.” Former County Executive Duncan simply said, “We couldn’t have done it without him.” In recent years, Rich has continued to increase state funding to Montgomery County Public Schools at rate 5-times the state average. Rich has also worked to increase funding for programs that help people with developmental disabilities. He led the successful effort to increase the tax on alcohol for the first time in a generation, which provided emergency resources to developmentally disabled individuals waiting for care. He has also directed hundreds of millions of dollars from the Capital Budget to organizations that provide care to the developmentally disabled community. As the first openly gay person ever elected to the Maryland General Assembly, Rich is recognized as a civil rights leader. During his first four years as a Senator, Rich laid the groundwork for the passage of Marriage Equality legislation through the Maryland Senate during the 2011 legislative session. He is also the lead sponsor of legislation banning discrimination based on gender identity in housing, employment, and public accommodations. In 2009, he successfully passed legislation amending inheritance laws to provide greater protection to same-gender couples.
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Outside of work, Rich is active in the community. He has been a Sunday school teacher and social justice chair at his church in Bethesda and is a regular volunteer at a local food bank.  |
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