James N. Robey Jr. (born January 18, 1941), an American Democratic politician, was a Maryland State Senator from January 10, 2007, to January 14, 2015. He was the Senate Majority Leader from 2013 until he retired in January 2015.

Background

Born January 18, 1941, in

Baltimore, Maryland 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 ...

, Robey was raised in

Daniels, Maryland Daniels is a ghost town straddling the Patapsco River east of Woodstock and north of Old Ellicott City in Baltimore and Howard counties, Maryland, United States. It is the location of the Daniels Mill, a site listed on the National Register of ...

, a small mill town in Howard County that was once located on the banks of the Patapsco River. Robey graduated from

Howard High School Howard High School may refer to: * David T. Howard High School, a former high school in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. * Howard High School of Technology Howard High School of Technology is a vocational-technical high school in Wilmington, Delaware and is ...

in Ellicott City, Maryland, in 1959. His high school principal, Omar J. Jones, was Howard County's first

county executive A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county. The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a ...

. Robey earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice 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 ...

(UMUC) in 1979. He also has master's degree in administrative management from

Hood College , motto_lang = la , mottoeng = With Heart and Mind and Hand , established = , type = Private college , religious_affiliation = United Church of Christ , endowment = $104.5 million (2020) , president = Andrea E. Chapd ...

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

, and has completed several training programs at the

FBI National Academy The FBI National Academy is a program of the FBI Academy for active U.S. law enforcement personnel and also for international law enforcement personnel who seek to enhance their credentials in their field and to raise law enforcement standards, kno ...

Quantico, Virginia Quantico ( or ; formerly Potomac) is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 480 at the 2010 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, DC, bordered by the Potomac River to the east ...

. His son, Wayne Robey, became the clerk of the Howard County Circuit Court when Margaret Rappaport retired in 2012.

Career

Robey joined the

Howard County Police Department The Howard County Police Department (HCPD) is the primary law enforcement agency servicing 330,558 (20202) persons within the of Howard County, Maryland. History From the founding of Howard County until 1894, the county's law enforcement responsi ...

in 1966 and was promoted to major by 1981. He was appointed by Charles I. Ecker to

Chief of Police Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the b ...

in 1991, replacing Frederick Chaney. He retired from the police force in 1998 to run for office and was elected as Howard County Executive in 1998 and 2002. In 2006, Robey campaigned as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to represent the 13th district in the Maryland State Senate and won with 56% of the vote against

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent Sandra Schrader. In September 2013, he was chosen to replace State Senator Robert Garagiola as Senate

Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

. Robey retired from the Maryland State Senate on January 14, 2015.

Recognition

Robey was recognized by his alma mater,

(UMUC), as the 2002 "Distinguished Alumnus". In 2007, the James N. Robey Public Safety Training Facility, a training facility used by the Howard County police and fire departments, was dedicated in his honor. According to

Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in s ...

, an independent, nonprofit research organization, in 2011, Robey received a performance evaluation rating of 92% from

Progressive Maryland Progressive Maryland (PM) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit grassroots advocacy organization. Its mission is to build the movement to improve the lives of working families in Maryland through outreach, public education, lobbying, direct political action, ...

, a nonprofit, liberal advocacy group that rates legislators based on their positions on social, liberal, and family-related issues. In 2008, he received a score of 97%.

Election history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robey, James N. 1941 births Democratic Party Maryland state senators Living people Hood College alumni University of Maryland Global Campus alumni American police chiefs Politicians from Baltimore People from Elkridge, Maryland 21st-century American politicians Howard County Executives