Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman on Monday was sworn into office.

Lierman, who previously represented portions of Baltimore City in the Maryland House of Delegates, last November defeated then-Harford County Executive Barry Glassman in the race to succeed Peter Franchot. Lierman is Maryland’s first female state comptroller.

Lierman told the Washington Blade before her election that ensuring LGBTQ Marylanders and other underrepresented groups in the state have access to economic opportunities is one of her top priorities once she enters office.

“It means making sure that, if you’re an LGBTQ Black woman from Cheverly, from Prince George’s County who’s a great architect, we want you to be able to compete and win on contracts because we want to build a space where we have more competition, where more people are competing,” she said. “And we want to make sure we’re meeting and exceeding our minority business enterprise goals because it means that we’re building an economy that is growing the entire state and we’re using our contract dollars to build a larger state economy overall.”

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown took office on Jan. 3. Democratic Gov.-elect Wes Moore’s inauguration will take place on Wednesday.

A federal judge ruled Friday that the University of Maryland Medical System discriminated against a transgender man who was denied a hysterectomy at the St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner website.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown on Tuesday in his inaugural speech said he will seek the authority to enforce civil rights laws.

“To ensure that no entity or individual in Maryland deprive any person of their rights, regardless of faith or race, ethnicity or geography, identification, or orientation, and that all residents enjoy the privileges of living in Maryland, I’ll ask the governor and General Assembly for the statutory authority and the necessary resources to enforce federal and state civil rights laws,” he said.

Brown in his speech noted Maryland is the country’s fourth “most diverse state.”

“We speak 117 languages, and the percentage of foreign-born residents is higher than the national average and our neighboring states,” said Brown. “Maryland reflects where America is going.”

“So, what deeply troubles me is the racial and ethnic disparities and inequities that still exist in Maryland, motivated by bias and even overt discrimination, in housing, in the marketplace and workplace, and in opportunities,” he added. “Elijah Cummings would often admonish us by saying, “We’re better than that!” While I commend the work of the Maryland Commission for Civil Rights, that for 53 years has protected the civil rights of Marylanders, I firmly believe that we can do more.”

Brown, who previously represented Maryland’s 4th Congressional District, was the state’s lieutenant governor from 2007-2015. Brown last November defeated former Republican Anne Arundel County Councilman Michael Peroutka.

Democratic Congressman-elect Glenn Ivey will succeed Brown.

Gov.-elect Wes Moore and Comptroller-elect Brooke Lierman — both Democrats — will take office on Jan. 16.