Elizabeth Bobo (born December 21, 1943) 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 ...

from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. She served as Howard County Executive and 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, ...

. Bobo was the first and only female Howard County Executive, serving from 1986 to 1990.

Early life and law career

Bobo was born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

on December 21, 1943. She graduated from Seton High School in Baltimore before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature from the

University of Maryland University College The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC, formerly University of Maryland University College) is a public university in Adelphi, Maryland. It is the largest of the University System of Maryland campuses. Established in 1947, UMGC focuses on ...

and a Juris Doctor degree from the

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 ...

. Bobo was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1992 and practiced as an attorney before her election to the House of Delegates.

Political career

Bobo served one term as Howard County Executive from 1986 to 1990. She was Howard County's first and only female executive. In 1987, Bobo partnered with developer

Kingdon Gould III Kingdon Gould III (born June 16, 1948) is an American real estate developer, active in the Washington, D.C.-area. He is part of the fifth generation of the Gould family of financiers, philanthropists and diplomats, which includes his father Kingd ...

to form a business outreach program. Charles I. Ecker defeated Bobo's bid for reelection as county executive in 1990. In 1993, Bobo married former planning board member and councilperson Lloyd G. Knowles. In 1994, Bobo was elected to the

. She served four terms there, representing District 12B in Howard County. As a member of the House of Delegates, Bobo voted in favor of increasing the sales tax whilst simultaneously reducing income tax rates for some income brackets in the Tax Reform Act of 2007 (HB2). She voted in favor of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants in 2007 (HB6). She served on the Environmental Matters Committee, and was noted for distinguishing herself as an advocate for protection of the natural environment. During the

2008 Democratic presidential primaries From January 3 to June 3, 2008, voters of the Democratic Party chose their nominee for president in the 2008 United States presidential election. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois was selected as the nominee, becoming the first African Amer ...

, Bobo supported the candidacy of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

. She served as one of the state's ten electors pledged to Obama in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, and cast her vote for him along with the other nine on December 15. In 2012, Bobo announced her decision not to seek reelection in 2014.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bobo, Elizabeth Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates 1943 births Living people University of Maryland, Baltimore alumni Women state legislators in Maryland University of Maryland Global Campus alumni People from Columbia, Maryland 2008 United States presidential electors 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Howard County Executives Seton Keough High School alumni