PERSON: Catherine Pugh

Mayor

Catherine E. Pugh (born March 10, 1950) is an American politician from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. She is currently serving in her 2nd term in the Maryland State Senate, representing Maryland’s District 40 in Baltimore City.

Pugh was first elected to the Baltimore City Council, where she served from 1999 to 2004. Pugh was appointed to an open seat in the Maryland House of Delegates in 2005, where she served for one year before winning a seat in the State Senate in 2006. Pugh currently sits on the Finance Committee and serves as the Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate. Pugh is a past Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and the Women’s Caucus of Legislators in Maryland. She leads the state on Cyber Security and Telemedicine expansion legislation. Pugh is also responsible for diversifying the state’s pension fund having led the passage of Senate Bill 606, which led to African Americans and other people of color management of the 40billion dollar fund going from 300 million dollars to 4.2 billion. Catherine Pugh is currently President of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.