Tiffany T. Alston

Tiffany T. Alston (born April 22, 1977) is an American politician who represented Prince George's County District 24 in the Maryland House of Delegates from January 2011 to January 2013. She was suspended from office in 2012 after being found guilty of stealing General Assembly funds to pay an employee at her law firm.[2]

Tiffany T. Alston
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 24th district
In office
January 2011 – January 2013
Preceded byJoanne C. Benson
Personal details
Born
Tiffany T. Alston[1]

(1977-04-22) April 22, 1977
Washington, D.C.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Kendal Gray
Children1
ResidenceMitchellville, Maryland
EducationUniversity of Maryland, College Park (B.A.)
University of the District of Columbia (J.D.)
OccupationLawyer

Background

Alston was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Prince George's County. She attended Seat Pleasant Elementary School.[3] She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor of Arts in criminology & criminal justice and from David A. Clarke School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 2002.[4]

From 1999 to 2001, she was a volunteer teacher with the AmeriCorps National Service Corporation.[4]

From 2004 to 2005, she served as a Chief of Staff within the Division of Correction at the Maryland Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services.[4]

From 2004 to 2012, she practiced law with her own law firm which was located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.[4][5]

She is a former mentor of the I Have a Dream Foundation and a former employee of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.[4]

In the legislature

Alston was a member of the House of Delegates from 2011 to 2013 and served on the Judiciary committee. She was a member of the Prince George's County Delegation, the Women's Caucus, and the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland.[3]

Marriage equality

During the 2011 legislative session, Alston was a co-sponsor of HB 175-Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act.[6] A similar bill was filed in the Maryland Senate (SB 116-Civil Marriage Protection Act)[7] and was assigned to the House Judiciary committee, the committee on which Alston served. During the committee voting session on SB 116, Alston revoked her co-sponsorship and instead offered an amendment to change the bill from same-sex marriage to civil unions. The amendment failed and Alston then voted against the bill.[8][9] espite Alston's vote, SB 116 was approved by the committee 12-10 and was forwarded to the full House of Delegates for final approval, but the bill was eventually sent back to committee, effectively terminating the bill for the session.

Criminal charges

Alston was indicted in an Anne Arundel County courtroom with embezzlement on September 24, 2011 on one count each of felony and misdemeanor theft, misappropriation by a fiduciary and two election law offenses for allegedly using Maryland General Assembly funds and her election campaign funds to cover her wedding expenses and to pay an employee of her law firm.[10]

Alston was found guilty of misdemeanor theft of General Assembly funds and misconduct in office on June 12, 2012. The judge postponed sentencing until after a separate trial, scheduled for October 2012, on the charges regarding Alston's use of her 2010 campaign funds to pay her wedding-related expenses.[11] On October 9, 2012, the judge struck the jury verdict and entered probation before judgement after Alston entered a plea deal agreed to pay $800 in restitution to the General Assembly and complete 300 hours of community service.[12][2] On October 10, 2012, General Assembly Counsel Daniel A. Friedman announced that Alston was suspended from her office without pay or benefits due to a Maryland constitutional provision.[12]

References
  1. https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/06hse/former/html/msa15348.html
  2. Marimow, Ann E. (October 10, 2012). "Pr. George's Del. Tiffany Alston strikes deal just before trial was to begin". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  3. "House of Delegates". Maryland Manual. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  4. Maryland Bio
  5. Tiffany's Facebook
  6. "House Bill 175". Maryland General Assembly. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  7. "SENATE BILL 116". Maryland General Assembly. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  8. Wagner, John (4 March 2011). "House panel passes same-sex marriage bill". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  9. Hill, David (4 March 2011). "Maryland House panel passes gay marriage bill". Washington Times. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  10. "Md. state lawmaker accused of using campaign funds to cover wedding expenses". Associated Press via Washington Post. September 23, 2011.
  11. Siegel, Andrea (June 12, 2012). "Alston convicted of theft, misconduct in office". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  12. Marimow, Ann E. (October 10, 2012). "Del. Tiffany Alston suspended from office, General Assembly lawyer says". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.