James Edward Malone Jr. (July 8, 1957 – December 16, 2024) was an American politician from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and a member of the Democratic Party. He served in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

, representing Maryland's District 12A in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

and

Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...

Counties from 1995 to 2014. Malone also served as director of the

Harford County Harford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Stati ...

Department of Parks and Recreation from 2014 to 2016.

Early life and education

Malone was born in

, Maryland on July 8, 1957, to Margaret Ann Daniels (1933–2021) and James E. Malone (1927–2002), a 34-year railroad worker for the

Western Maryland Railroad The Western Maryland Railway was a small American Class I railroad (1852–1983) that operated in 3 Southern US States, Maryland ( Western Region), West Virginia ( Eastern Region), and Pennsylvania (Southern Region) in the Allegheny Regions of ...

who served in the

for 12 years and later became the sheriff of Baltimore County. He is of Irish descent. Malone was raised in

Arbutus, Maryland Arbutus is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 20,483 at the 2010 census. The census area also contains the communities of Halethorpe and Relay, in which all ...

. He graduated from Cardinal Gibbons High School, afterwards attending Catonsville Community College, where he earned an

Associate of Arts An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

degree in 1986. After graduating, Malone worked as a firefighter for the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department, becoming the department's youngest ever president in 1979, and the Baltimore County Fire Department, retiring in March 2007. Malone later joined the Susquehanna House Company Division 5 after moving to

Maryland House of Delegates

Malone was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, where he represented

and

counties in

Maryland Legislative District 12 Maryland's Legislative District 12 is one of 47 districts in the state for the Maryland General Assembly. It covers parts of Anne Arundel County and Howard County. Demographic characteristics As of the 2020 United States census, the district ...

A. He was a member of the Commerce and Government Matters Committee until 2003, afterwards serving as the vice chair of the House Environmental Matters Committee until his resignation. In the legislature, Malone was known for his work on highway and road safety issues, as well as firefighter safety regulations targeting

per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (also PFAS, PFASs, and informally referred to as "forever chemicals") are a group of synthetic organofluorine chemical compounds that have multiple fluorine atoms attached to an alkyl chain; there are 7 milli ...

in protective gear. He was also known for prank calling other delegates during floor debates and for "throwing votes" on bills in committee, to the irritation of committee chair John F. Wood Jr. At the time of his election, Malone was a lieutenant in the Baltimore County fire marshal's office and an assistant state fire marshal. In December 1994, Maryland Assistant Attorney General

Robert A. Zarnoch Robert A. Zarnoch (born September 19, 1945) is an American lawyer and judge who served as a judge of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals (now the Appellate Court of Maryland) from 2008 to 2015. Biography Zarnoch was born September 19, 1945 ...

wrote to Malone informing him that he could not be a firefighter and a member of the House of Delegates at the same time, saying that a county firefighter was an "office of profit" under the

Constitution of Maryland The current Constitution of the State of Maryland, which was ratified by the people of the state on September 18, 1867, forms the basic law for the U.S. state of Maryland. It replaced the short-lived Maryland Constitution of 1864 and is the fou ...

. Malone was allowed to continue working as a firefighter after Baltimore County stripped Malone of his ability to write citations by moving him to a supervisory position. Malone resigned from the House of Delegates on November 30, 2014, after Republican

Executive

Barry Glassman Barry Glassman (born March 24, 1962) is an American politician who served as the 7th county executive of Harford County, Maryland, from 2014 to 2022. He was previously a member of the Maryland State Senate, representing District 35 in Harford Cou ...

appointed him as the director of the Harford County Department of Parks and Recreation. He resigned from this position in April 2016.

Personal life and death

Malone was married to his wife, Darlene. Together, they had two children, James Malone III and Danica Crum. Malone was a

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

survivor. He moved in 2014 to live in

Havre de Grace, Maryland Havre de Grace (), abbreviated HdG, is a city in Harford County, Maryland, Harford County, Maryland, United States. It is situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay. It is named after the port city of Le Havre ...

, where he died from brain cancer on December 16, 2024, at the age of 67.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malone, James E. Jr. 1957 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American firefighters 21st-century American firefighters 20th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly 21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly American people of Irish descent Community College of Baltimore County alumni Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates People from Arbutus, Maryland Deaths from brain cancer in Maryland