Catherine E. Pugh is an American politician from Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 and a member of the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

. She is currently serving in her 2nd term in the Maryland State Senate

Maryland State Senate

The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland...

, representing Maryland's District 40 in Baltimore City.

Background

Catherine Pugh was born in Norristown

Norristown, Pennsylvania

Norristown is a municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, northwest of the city limits of Philadelphia, on the Schuylkill River. The population was 34,324 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Montgomery County...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. One of seven children, raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pugh was the first in her family to attend college. She attended Morgan State University

Morgan State University

Morgan State University, formerly Centenary Biblical Institute , Morgan College and Morgan State College , is a historically black college in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Morgan is Maryland's designated public urban university and the largest HBCU in the state of Maryland...

 in Baltimore, from which she earned B.S. and M.B.A. degrees. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority

Delta Sigma Theta

Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...

.

Pugh is the President and CEO of C.E. Pugh & Company, a public relations consulting firm. In the mid 1970’s, Pugh founded Baltimore’s first African American business newspaper, the African American News. For the next seven years, she served as the paper’s Managing Editor. Pugh also served as an independent editor for the Baltimore Sun from 1986 to 1992 and as the dean and director for Strayer Business College (now Strayer University) in Baltimore.

Pugh returned to Philadelphia in 1994 to work in television at WTGW-TV 48. She was the host of “Another View,” a weekly public affairs program that focused on policy issues within the African American community and featured interviews with community leaders and public officials. Pugh also authored Mind Garden: Where Thoughts Grow and Healthy Holly, a children’s book series advocating exercise and healthy eating. She is the founder of such programs as the Baltimore Marathon; the Fish Out of Water Project, designed to promote Baltimore tourism and to raise money for local youth arts programs; and the Need to Read Campaign, a program designed to help illiterate Baltimore residents improve their reading skills.

Currently, Pugh is serving her second term in the Maryland State Senate.

Political career

Pugh was first elected to the Baltimore City Council

Baltimore City Council

The Baltimore City Council is the legislative branch that governs the City of Baltimore and its nearly 700,000 citizens. Baltimore has fourteen single-member City Council districts and representatives are elected for a four-year term. To qualify for a position on the Council, a person must be...

, where she served from 1999 to 2004. Pugh ran for President of the Baltimore City Council in 2003, but lost to Sheila Dixon

Sheila Dixon

Sheila Ann Dixon served as the forty-eighth Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland. When former Mayor Martin O'Malley was sworn in as Governor on January 17, 2007, Dixon, a Democrat, became mayor and served out the remaining year of O'Malley's term. In November 2007, she was elected mayor...

 in the September 9 primary. The Governor of Maryland

Governor of Maryland

The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of Maryland, and he is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state, and he has a broad range of appointive powers in both the State and local governments,...

 appointed Pugh to an open seat in the Maryland House of Delegates

Maryland House of Delegates

The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland, and is composed of 141 Delegates elected from 47 districts. The House chamber is located in the state capitol building on State Circle in Annapolis...

 in 2005, where she served for two years before winning a seat in the State Senate. Pugh currently sits on the Finance Committee and serves as Assistant Deputy Majority Whip. Senator Pugh is currently Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland

Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland

The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland is an American political organization composed of African Americans elected to the Maryland General Assembly...

.

Mayoral bid

In 2011, Pugh ran for mayor of Baltimore in that city's Democratic primary. In the September Democratic primary, she and four other candidates were beaten by incumbent Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

Primary election results

These are the unofficial results for the 2011 Democratic primary, as reported on the city of Baltimore's election board Web site.

Candidate	Votes	%
Stephanie Rawling-Blake	38,102	52%
Catherine E. Pugh	18,271
Otis Rolley	9,210
Jody Landers	5,026
Frank Conaway	2007
Lloyd Wilson	233