Now that 41st District Delegate Dalya Attar has been recommended by party leaders to fill a vacancy in the Maryland Senate, leaving her House of Delegates seat up for grabs, a battle is shaping up between at least two insiders who appear to be vying for it:

Chezia T. Cager, age 40, and former Delegate Angela C. Gibson, 75.

Both are battle-tested players with City Hall connections.

Cager, the daughter of developer Lawrence “Chris” Cager Jr., answered constituent mail for Mayor Sheila Dixon back in 2010 and very briefly served as Mayor Brandon Scott’s chief of staff in 2022-23.

After threatening legal action following her dismissal in May 2023, she was retained as a “special advisor” to the mayor for the next 16 months, collecting over $200,000 in salary, according to city records, until last August.

In recent weeks, she’s been appearing at political fundraisers, billing herself as a standard-bearer for the progressive policies of Jill P. Carter, whose resignation as the 41st’s senator set in motion the current cycle of musical chairs.

Cager’s insider bona fides are further burnished by her close relationship with Delegate Caylin Young (D, 45th), who hails from Mayor Scott’s BEST Democratic Club base and whose twin brother, Calvin A. Young III, replaced Cager as Scott’s latest special advisor.

Gibson’s political pedigree, meanwhile, stretches back decades. It shows her occupying various City Hall roles, most recently as  former Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s liaison to the City Council.

She made her way to Annapolis in 2017 when Delegate Nathaniel T. Oaks was appointed to the Maryland Senate (not long before Oaks was indicted and pleaded guilty to federal wiretap charges).

Gibson filled out Oaks’ term, but has since been unable to return to Annapolis despite two attempts.

In 2018, she lost the Democratic primary to Attar. Then in 2023, a deadlocked Central Committee recommended Gibson and trial attorney Malcolm P. Ruff to fill a fresh vacancy. Governor Wes Moore picked Ruff.

A Path Forward?

On Tuesday night, Gibson may have found a way back to Annapolis.

As a member of the eight-member Central Committee tasked with filling the Senate seat created by Carter’s resignation, she had a key role.

Attar had three near-certain votes on the committee: fellow Orthodox Jewish district residents Ronnie Rosenbluth, Alex Friedman and City Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer.

Delegate Ruff, Carter’s choice to replace her, was widely regarded as the frontrunner.

But when the votes were cast, Gibson and another member, Lakesha Brown Wright-El, swung over to Attar, giving the former assistant state’s attorney a 5-3 victory.

Some insiders expected Gibson’s vote for Attar, which would have resulted in yet another 4-4 tie to be decided by the governor. Wright-El’s caught them by surprise.

Coming Chess Match

In the near future, the Central Committee will be calling for applicants to fill Attar’s position, scheduling an interview and voting session similar to last night’s to decide who it will nominate as delegate to Wes Moore.

Will the various factions be scrambling until then for advantage?

Of course, said one 41st District observer, cautioning that wielding power in Baltimore takes more than lining up influential people of one’s own demographic.

“You can’t just rely on their vote because they look like me. Or that you called them once or twice. You’ve got to really reach out, spend time with the members, find out what they need,” the insider told The Brew.

Those who need to be courted by a successful candidate have their own connections and clout in the local political universe.

In addition to Schleifer’s power as a thrice-elected city councilman, another member, Harvard Law School student Friedman, is the son of two of the district’s most prominent residents.

His father is Howard E. Friedman, a former chairman of the board of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). A robust campaign contributor for favored political candidates, Friedman also sits on the board of the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns or operates 185 television stations nationwide.

His mother is former Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Karen C. “Chaya” Friedman, the first female Orthodox Jewish judge in Maryland, who most recently ran a program for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Also serving on the committee is Tammy K. Stinnett.

Stinnett not only chairs the Baltimore City Democratic State Central Committee, but is the office manager for lobbying powerhouse Harris Jones & Malone, whose principal, Lisa Harris Jones, earned $2.6 million last year representing big utilities and corporations before the Maryland General Assembly.

Another committee member, Dayvon Love, is the director of public policy at Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, a grassroots think tank that has advocated for juvenile justice reform, reparations and other issues.

The conservative leanings of some on the Central Committee, such as Schleifer, may favor Gibson, if she decides to apply for the delegate position. Cager has made it clear that she’s an active candidate, backed by Carter, Ruff  and the Young twins.

The Brew reached out yesterday to Cager and Gibson, asking if they plan to apply for the seat. Neither has responded.

UPDATE: Delegate Young tells The Brew he is taking a neutral stance and “will collaborate with whoever is chosen.”

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