Richard K. Impallaria (born November 1, 1962) is an American politician who served as a member of 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, ...
, representing
District 7 District 7 could refer to:
* District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
* District 7 (Zürich), Switzerland
*District 7, Düsseldorf, Germany
*VII District, Turku, Finland
*District 7 School (Groton, Massachusetts), United States
*District 7 School (Han ...
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 ...
and
Harford counties, from 2003 to 2023.
Early life and career
Impallaria 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 ...
,
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 ...
. He attended
Joppatowne High School in
Joppa, Maryland
Joppa is a former colonial town and current planning region of Harford County, Maryland, United States. Joppa was founded as a British settlement on the Gunpowder River in 1707 and designated as the third county seat of Baltimore County in 1712. T ...
. Prior to entering politics, Impallaria owned his own auto body shop in
Middle River, Maryland
Middle River is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 33,203 at the 2020 census. A Middle River Train Station first appeared on the 1877 G.M. Hopkins & Co Baltimore ...
. He was also a chair of Citizens for Property Rights, Essex-Middle River Community in Action, is the former president of the Joppatowne Chapter of the Jay Cees Men's Club.
Impallaria first got involved with politics in 2000, when he helped garner support for a referendum to repeal Senate Bill 509, which gave Baltimore County the power to condemn land in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
and
Randallstown for redevelopment. The referendum succeeded in repealing the legislation, passing in the November general election with 70 percent of voters voting to repeal it. Following the bill's defeat, Impallaria unsuccessfully tried to sell land in Essex for $1 million to the county for redevelopment.
In 2002, Impallaria ran for the Maryland House of Delegates, seeking to succeed state delegate
Nancy Hubers. He won the Republican primary with 13.7 percent of the vote, coming in third place behind
Pat McDonough
Patrick L. McDonough is an American politician. He was previously a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates and a candidate for County Executive of Baltimore County, Maryland, in the 2018 and 2022 elections. He represented Distric ...
and
J. B. Jennings.
In October 2002, state senator
Andy Harris, state delegates
Alfred W. Redmer Jr. and
James F. Ports Jr., and
Bob Ehrlich
Robert Leroy Ehrlich Jr. (born November 25, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 60th Governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. A Republican, Ehrlich represented Maryland's 2nd Congressional district in the U.S. House o ...
's campaign manager R. Karl Aumann asked Impallaria to withdraw from the House of Delegates election, expressing concerns over his criminal record.
Impallaria won the general election on November 5, 2002, coming in third place with 17.0 percent of the vote.
In the legislature
Impallaria was elected to the House of Delegates in 2002. He was sworn in on January 8, 2003, and was subsequently re-elected in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018.
In 2022, Impallaria was redrawn into District 7B, where he ran for re-election but was defeated in the Republican primary in District 7B by state delegate
Lauren Arikan
Lauren Arikan (born December 14, 1984) is a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates. She represents District 7, which covers parts of Baltimore County and Harford County.
Early life and career
Arikan was born in Ellicott City, M ...
in July 2022.
Committee assignments
* Member, Economic Matters Committee, 2003–present
** Property and casualty insurance subcommittee, 2003–2015
** Public utilities subcommittee, 2003–2010, 2015–present
** Unemployment insurance subcommittee, 2003–2006, 2017–present
** Alcoholic beverages subcommittee, 2007–2017
** Workers' compensation subcommittee, 2011–present
** Consumer protection and commercial law subcommittee, 2012–2015
* Joint Committee on Unemployment Insurance Oversight, 2015–present
* Deputy Minority Whip, 2015–2016
Robocall controversy
In June 2018, state delegate
Kathy Szeliga accused Impallaria of sending out campaign mailers attacking Szeliga by calling her a closet
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 ...
. Impallaria initially declined responsibility for this, but after Szeliga emailed him to say she would inform their GOP colleagues about the fliers targeting her, he forwarded the email to every member of the House Republican caucus in which he referred to himself as the "evil genius" responsible for the attacks on Szeliga.
In January 2019, the Office of the State Prosecutor charged Impallaria's chief of staff, Tyler Walch, for violating state election law for making robocalls to Szeliga's constituents without disclosing who paid for and who authorized the message. The calls misleadingly claimed that Szeliga was a supporter of the
transgender community and had voted in favor of a bill that would make it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of
gender identity
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...
. The
National Center for Transgender Equality
The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) is a nonprofit social equality organization founded in 2003 by transgender activist Mara Keisling in Washington, D.C. The organization works primarily in the areas of policy advocacy and medi ...
, the non-profit social equity organization mentioned on the robocalls, said that no one with the organization was contacted by Impallaria or his campaign in connection with the call. Impallaria denied any knowledge about the call, saying that he never approved or paid for it. In April 2019, his chief of staff was convicted and sentenced to 100 hours of community service and a $1,000 fine for violating the authority line requirements of Maryland election law.
In May 2019, the
Maryland Republican Party
The Maryland Republican Party is the Maryland state branch of the Republican Party (GOP), headquartered in Annapolis.
Current elected officials
Members of Congress
U.S. Senate
*None
Both of Maryland's U.S. Senate seats have been held by Dem ...
asked Impallaria to resign from 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, ...
, saying he was "unworthy of the title Delegate" following a controversy over a campaign robocall, a history of traffic violations, and a lawsuit against party officials. Impallaria refused to resign, saying that it was up to his constituents to decide whether he stays in the
Maryland General Assembly
The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber ...
.
U.S. House of Representatives campaigns
2012
In January 2012, Impallaria declared his candidacy for the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
in
Maryland's 2nd congressional district
Maryland's 2nd congressional district elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives every two years. The district comprises parts of Howard, Harford, Baltimore, and Anne Arundel Counties, as well as small portions of th ...
, challenging incumbent U.S. Representative
Dutch Ruppersberger
Charles Albert "Dutch" Ruppersberger III ( ; born January 31, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2003. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as an assistant state attorney ...
. Impallaria, a resident of the town of Joppa, lived nine-tenths a mile outside of the 2nd district. During the primary election, he was endorsed by delegate
Pat McDonough
Patrick L. McDonough is an American politician. He was previously a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates and a candidate for County Executive of Baltimore County, Maryland, in the 2018 and 2022 elections. He represented Distric ...
and ran on a platform of opposing
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
and in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. Impallaria was defeated in the Republican primary by state senator
Nancy Jacobs, receiving 23.8 percent of the vote and coming in second place.
2020
In January 2020, Impallaria again ran for the United States House of Representatives in Maryland's 2nd congressional district, challenging incumbent U.S. Representative Dutch Ruppersberger.
He was defeated by state senator
Johnny Ray Salling in the Republican primary election, placing fourth with 16.2 percent of the vote.
Legal affairs and alleged law violations
In 1982, Impallaria was charged with four counts of assault with intent to murder as a result of allegations that, "He tried to run down four people, including his mother and brother," and subsequently served three years probation for battery charge as a result of that incident.
In August 2003, the
Maryland Department of the Environment
The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) is a government agency in the state of Maryland that implements and enforces environmental protection laws and programs. The agency's stated vision is "Healthy, vibrant and sustainable communities a ...
issued a citation to Impallaria after concrete, dirt, and other debris was dumped into a stream that leads into the
Middle River from his property. In November, he was again issued a 30-day citation over pollution to the stream, and gave him 30 days to clean up the rubble.
In July 2011, Impallaria filed a lawsuit as a
mandamus action against Harford County sheriff Jesse Bane, alleging that Bane failed to prevent the withholding of personal property and license tags by T & S Towing, a local towing service company. In December 2011, Baltimore County Circuit Judge Barbara K. Howe dismissed Impallaria's claim with
prejudice
Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...
.
In August 2016, Impallaria was arrested in
Ocean City, Maryland
Ocean City, officially the Town of Ocean City, is an Atlantic resort town in Worcester County, Maryland along the East Coast of the United States. The population was 6,844 at the 2020 U.S. census, although during summer weekends the city hosts b ...
, and charged with
driving under the Influence. In April 2017, he was convicted and sentenced to two days in jail. He was originally sentenced to 60 days due to his previous traffic record, which includes over 50 various citations.
On July 27, 2022, Impallaria was charged with multiple counts of theft and misconduct in office, alleging that he misused state funds involving a personal cottage and a district office in Essex, which is located outside of his district. On September 2, he was charged with illegal ammunition and gun possession by a prohibited individual. On January 13, 2023, Impallaria agreed to plead guilty to the misconduct charges and pay $44,100 in restitution to the state in a plea deal with prosecutors.
Political positions
Capital punishment
In March 2013, Impallaria voted against a bill that would repeal
capital punishment
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
in Maryland. In October 2015, Impallaria, whose cousin died of an
opioid overdose
An opioid overdose is toxicity due to excessive consumption of opioids, such as morphine, codeine, heroin, fentanyl, tramadol, and methadone. This preventable pathology can be fatal if it leads to respiratory depression, a lethal condition that ca ...
, said he would support sentencing drug dealers to death.
Environment
In March 2011, Impallaria said he opposed Governor
Martin O'Malley's $1.5 billion proposal to spur offshore wind development in the state, calling the plan "a boondoggle that every single resident in the state is going to be shaken down to finance". The proposed plan would have raised the electric bill of every state resident over the next 20 years to pay for offshore wind farms in the state.
Immigration
In 2004, Impallaria confronted four lobbyists for immigrants' issues during a hearing on a bill to study the fiscal impact of
illegal immigration, who he says referred to him as "
racists
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
" during testimony on the measure. Following the testimony, Impallaria followed the lobbyists into the hallway to ask the advocates if they were illegal immigrants, which they refused to answer.
In 2007, Impallaria said he opposed a bill introduced by state delegate
Victor R. Ramirez that would allow
illegal immigrants
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwa ...
to attend public colleges and universities while paying in-state tuition.
Gambling
During his time in the Maryland House of Delegates, Impallaria repeatedly introduced bills that would allow
American Legions and
Veterans of Foreign Wars to operate electronic gambling machines in their clubs. During the 2011 special legislative session, he introduced an amendment allowing veterans organizations to operate gambling machines in their clubs, which passed.
In 2005, Impallaria voted to pass a bill that would legalize slot machines at four locations in the state, which passed by a vote of 71-66.
Gun control
In April 2013, Impallaria voted against the Firearm Safety Act of 2013, a bill that placed restrictions on firearm purchases and magazine capacity in
semi-automatic rifle
A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt-a ...
s.
Minimum wage
In March 2014, Impallaria voted against a bill to raise the state minimum wage to $10.10 an hour by 2017.
National politics
In January 2020, Impallaria said he supported
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
's
2020 re-election bid.
Paid family leave
In 2022, Impallaria voted against a bill that would provide 12 weeks of partially paid leave to recover from childbirth or serious illnesses, or to care for a loved one.
Right to repair
In 2022, Impallaria said he supported a
right to repair
The right to repair refers to proposed government legislation to forbid manufacturers to impose barriers that deny consumers the ability to repair and modify their own consumer products (e.g. electronic, automotive devices or farm vehicles such ...
bill that would have allowed farmers to repair their own farm equipment. The bill was rejected by the House Economic Matters Committee on March 7, 2022.
Social issues
In 2010, Impallaria said he opposed allowing
Harford County Public Schools
Harford County Public Schools is an American public school system serving the residents of Harford County, Maryland.
Schools Elementary schools
There are thirty-three elementary schools in Harford County. Homestead-Wakefield, William Paca/Old Po ...
students to access LGBT-related political, advocacy, and community support websites, using the term "homo promo" in a mass e-mail.
In 2011, Impallaria said he opposed a bill that would allow
transgender people
This list consists of many notable people who are transgender. The individual listings note the subject's nationality and main occupation.
In some non-Western, ancient or medieval societies, transgender people may be seen as a different gend ...
to use
restrooms that match their gender identities. He also said he did not believe that employers should be required to accept a worker's decision to change their gender expression, and expressed concerns that anti-LGBT discrimination laws would lead to situations where "halfway through the school year, you have a schoolteacher that used to be Mr. Bob that's now Miss Sally".
In 2012, Impallaria voted against the
Civil Marriage Protection Act, which legalized same-sex marriage in Maryland.
In 2019, Impallaria voted not to censure state delegate
Mary Ann Lisanti
Mary Ann Lisanti (born October 27, 1967) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party, who represents District 34A in the Maryland House of Delegates. Previously she represented district F on the Harford County Council, represe ...
after she used a
racial slur
The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or oth ...
to refer to a legislative district in
Prince George's County
)
, demonym = Prince Georgian
, ZIP codes = 20607–20774
, area codes = 240, 301
, founded date = April 23
, founded year = 1696
, named for = Prince George of Denmark
, leader_title = Executive
, leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrook ...
, saying it would be inappropriate of him to judge Lisanti when he didn't have firsthand knowledge of what happened. He was the sole vote against the censure.
In March 2022, Impallaria introduced an amendment to an abortion rights bill that would require all aborted fetuses to be given religious burials and prohibit the sale of aborted fetal remains or tissue. The amendment failed on a vote of 38-88.
Taxes
In 2011, Impallaria said he opposed a $1,500 fine proposed by Govenor Martin O'Malley for bad driving, calling it a "money grab" that the governor was "trying to slip in".
In March 2013, Impallaria voted against a bill to raise the state gas tax and index future increases to inflation to replenish the state's transportation fund, which passed by a 76-63 vote.
On April 13, 2015, the Maryland House of Delegates voted to repeal the unpopular mandate colloquially known as the
"rain tax", by a vote of 138-1. He was the sole vote against the repeal.
In March 2016, Impallaria was one of two state delegates to vote against a bill that cuts the cost of a death certificate or a birth certificate from $24 to $10.
Electoral history
References and notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Impallaria, Richard K
1962 births
21st-century American politicians
Living people
Maryland politicians convicted of crimes
Republican Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates
People from Joppatowne, Maryland