Charles E. Sydnor III (born March 18, 1974) is an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bic ...

who represents district 44 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- ...

and who previously represented district 44B in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

Background

Sydnor grew up in the West Hills section of

Baltimore City Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

and graduated from the

Baltimore Polytechnic Institute The Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, colloquially referred to as BPI, Poly, and The Institute, is a U.S. public high school founded in 1883. Established as an all-male manual trade / vocational school by the Baltimore City Council and the Baltim ...

high school in 1992. In 1996, after four years of college, he earned a bachelor's degree in history from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

. He simultaneously earned a master's degree from the

University of Maryland Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

in policy science and a Juris Doctor from

University of Maryland School of Law The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S. Its location places Maryland ...

, both being awarded in 2000. Sydnor served as a law clerk for the Honorable William D. Quarles in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. Thereafter, in 2001, he began his legal career as staff attorney with

Enterprise Community Partners Enterprise Community Partners, formerly The Enterprise Foundation, is a national nonprofit organized around three central goals: to increase housing supply, advance racial equity and build resilience and upward mobility. Founded in 1982 by develo ...

, Inc.

Maryland State Delegate

Delegate Sydnor was sworn in on January 14, 2015, and assigned to the House Judiciary Committee and to that committee's Civil Law and Procedure and Criminal Justice subcommittees. Later that year, he also served on the Commission for Body-worn Cameras and was appointed to the

National Conference of State Legislatures The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States. Background ...

’ Law, Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. In 2016, he was appointed to the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland's Executive Board as its Parliamentarian. On January 11, 2017, he was named chair of the Civil Law and Procedure subcommittee.

Policing reform

In 2015, Sydnor was the primary sponsor of HB533 (''Public Safety - Law Enforcement Officers - Body-Worn Digital Recording Device and Electronic Control Device''), a law enabling Maryland police officers to use

body-worn cameras A body camera, bodycam, body worn video (BWV), body-worn camera, or wearable camera is a wearable audio, video, or photographic recording system. Body cameras have a range of uses and designs, of which the best-known use is as a part of poli ...

and ''Baltimore City and Baltimore County - Police Behavioral Health Units - Pilot Program'', which established behavioral health units consisting of specially trained officers who are to identify individuals with mental health and/or substance use disorders.

Privacy

In 2019, Sydnor introduced HB30 to restrict police from accessing consumer genealogical databases to identify criminal suspects through DNA samples submitted by relatives. He introduced his bill after a suspect was arrested in the

Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. (born November 8, 1945) is an American serial killer, sex offender, burglar, and former police officer who committed at least 13 murders, 51 rapes, and 120 burglaries across California between 1974 an ...

murders by police who used a consumer DNA database to identify him.

Maryland State Senator

On December 30, 2019, Maryland governor

Larry Hogan Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 62nd governor of Maryland since 2015. A moderate member of the Republican Party, he was secretary of appointments under Maryland governor Bo ...

announced the appointment of Sydnor to the state Senate seat left vacant with the retirement of

Shirley Nathan-Pulliam Shirley Nathan-Pulliam (born May 20, 1939) is a former American politician from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Nathan-Pulliam resigned in 2019 due to poor health. Background Nathan-Pulliam was born in Trelawny, Jamaica ...

. He took office on January 8, 2020.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sydnor, Charles E. Democratic Party Maryland state senators African-American state legislators in Maryland 1974 births Living people Politicians from Baltimore Johns Hopkins University alumni Baltimore Polytechnic Institute alumni 21st-century American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people