TOMMIE BROADWATER, II (MD State Archives)
Democrat, District 24.
Born in Washington D.C., June 9, 1942. Attended Prince George’s County public schools; Southeastern University in Washington, D.C. Married to the former Lillian Prince; four children; 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
General Assembly:
Member of Senate, 1974-83. Member, Budget and Taxation Committee, 1974-83; Chair, Subcommittee on Corrections and Transportation, 1974-83; Vice-Chair, Rules Committee, 1974-83; Member, Commission on Intergovernmental Cooperation, 1974-83; Joint Oversight Committee on Corrections, 1974-83; Joint Oversight Committee on Transportation, 1974-83; Governor’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, 1974-83; Governor’s Housing Task Force, 1974-83; Governor’s Task Force on Youth Employment, 1980-82.
Private Career and Other Public Service:
Bondsman, businessman, entrepreneur, restauranteur. Co-Founder, The Prince George’s Community Bank. Town Councilman, Glenarden, 1968-72. Member, Democratic Central Committee, 1970-74. Delegate, Democratic National Convention, 1980 and 1988. Member, Governor’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee; Governor’s Housing Task Force. Former Member, Governor’s Task Force on Youth Employment, 1980-82. Democratic Precinct Coordinator; State Board of Election Supervisor; District Court Judge, Prince George’s County; Liquor Inspector; Park and Planning Commissioner; Washington-Suburban Sanitary Commissioner (later Chair); Prince George’s County Councilman, 2 years (later Chair); Maryland State Human Relations Commissioner (later Chair); Co-Chair, Democratic Platform Committee; Female Public Defender, Prince George’s County; Precinct Chair (24 appointments); Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority. Charter Member, Ploughman and Fisherman Democratic Club. Lifetime Member, NAACP; SCLC. Member, YMCA; Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce; D.C. Chamber of Commerce; 18th District Democratic Club; Boys and Girls Club of Glenarden; Bondsmen’s Association; Board of Directors, Par-Lot Enterprises. Listed in Who’s Who in the East. Civil Rights and Humanitarian Award, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Most Outstanding Graduate Award in the first 25-year History of Fairmont Heights High School. Benjamin Banneker Public Affairs Award, United Supreme Council 33rd Ancient and Accepted. SBA Outstanding Service Award, Howard University School of Law. Outstanding Service Award, Central Child Development Center. Outstanding Service Award, United Communities Against Poverty (UCAP). Outstanding Citizen Award, Mayor of Baltimore. Outstanding Service Award, Prince George’s County. Outstanding Service Award, Mayor and Council, Town of Glenarden. Community Affairs, Public Policy and Higher Education Award, Morgan State University.
Personal Comments and Observations:
“The most successful political leaders never forget their roots and the people who have helped them along the road to success and accomplishment. I have never felt as though I had to limit my sense of community spirit and service to causes and concerns associated only with the 24th Legislative District.
“People want clear direction and leadership. They want solutions and answers to their problems and needs. During the Broadwater Administration, people got those things. They enjoyed delivery on a promise.
“People want their fair share of the American Dream. They want their communities upwardly mobile. I have always tried to be a servant of the people.
“The Washington Post newspaper once said that Tommie Broadwater is the ‘longtime voice for working class blacks in the county.’ I’d like to think that while I served in the Maryland Senate, I was the type of senator who delivered on a promise.
“As the first black senator elected outside of Baltimore, Maryland, in the state of Maryland, I served as a trailblazer and pioneer, and in doing so, carved a path of opportunity for other black hopefuls to enter the political arena as candidates in the process; and I led the fight to galvanize the black and white communities toward working together in order to reach common goals and objectives for their respective communities and in politics as well.”