Ashanti Martínez is set to become the first man of Latino descent to represent District 22 and the first openly gay member of the Maryland House of Delegates to represent Prince George’s County.

Following his unanimous selection from the Prince George’s County Democratic Central Committee to fill a vacant House seat on Feb. 9, his nomination now goes Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, who has 15 days to make the appointment official.

Martínez, 26, is a Howard University alum. He would succeed now-state Sen. Alonzo Washington (D-Prince George’s County), who the committee nominated to finish Maryland Energy Administration Director Paul Pinsky’s term in the House after he joined Moore’s administration.

Martínez, 26, felt honored by the nomination. 

“For me, titles and positions are important, but they’re not all it is — it’s about doing the work,” Martínez told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview. “And so being able to be in a position where I have a larger platform to continue the work that I’ve been doing … it’s an honor of a lifetime.” 

Likewise, he believes his selection shows how Prince George’s County is “embracing diverse voices of leadership.” 

Martínez, who ran for the House seat twice before and didn’t win, finds the opportunity to serve a “little bit of a delay, but not a denial,” he said. 

“Also, I think I give a different lived experience than a lot of the other members,” he added. “I think there’s a lot of great aspects of our county that oftentimes don’t get highlighted because folks don’t live through those experiences. So, encompassing all of the things that I bring to the table, is going make people feel more seen and involved in government.”

Recognizing the period to introduce a bill has passed, Martínez said he will look for other ways to create legislative work on the House floor and co-sponsoring other lawmakers’ measures. Martínez added he will let the public know that his office is open to them. 

“I will serve for as long as my community wants to have me,” he said. “I don’t necessarily have a goal about, ‘I want to be in this position, or in this place,’ I just want do the most that I can, for as many people as I can, for as long as I can.”