Tiffany Alston

Tiffany Alston
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 24th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2011
Preceded by	Joanne C. Benson
Personal details
Born	April 22, 1977 (1977-04-22) (age 34) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Kendal Gray
Children	one child
Residence	Mitchellville, Maryland
Occupation	attorney
Religion	Christian

Tiffany Alston is an American politician who represents district 24 in the Maryland House of Delegates.

Background

Alston was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Prince George's County. She attended Seat Pleasant Elementary School, and graduated from Central High School in Capitol Heights, Maryland. Alston then attended the University of Maryland, College Park, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts. Alston attended the David A. Clarke School of Law, and earned a Juris Doctorate. Alston was later employed at the Maryland Division of Corrections as the Chief of Staff. She is currently founder and principal of Alston Law Office in Prince George’s County. Alston is member of the Maryland State Bar, President of the Maryland Black Women’s Bar Association, Chairperson of the Correctional Reform Section of the Maryland State Bar and Treasurer of the J. Franklin Bourne Bar Association. She also volunteers as a mentor for the “I Have a Dream” Foundation and is a member of Willow Grove Civic Association and the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.^[1]

In the legislature

Alston has been a member of House of Delegates since January 12, 2011 and serves on the Judiciary committee. She is a member of the Prince George's County Delegation and the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland.^[1]

Marriage equality

During the 2011 legislative session, Alston was a co-sponsor of HB 175-Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act.^[2] A similar bill was filed in the Maryland Senate (SB 116-Civil Marriage Protection Act)^[3] and was assigned to the House Judiciary committee, the committee on which Alston serves. During the committee voting session on SB 116, Alston reneged on her co-sponsorship and offered an amendment to change the bill from same-sex marriage to civil unions. The amendment failed and Alston then voted against the bill.^[4][5] Despite 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 killing the bill for the session.

Criminal charges

Alston was formally indicted in an Anne Arundel County courtroom with embezzlement on September 24, 2011; her charges, laid by the state prosecutor, include one count each of felony and misdemeanor theft, misappropriation by a fiduciary and two election law offenses. She was charged by state prosecutors with having used her election campaign funds to cover her wedding expenses (namely two campaign account checks totaling $3,560 in 2010, ultimately returned to the bank for insufficient funds), for the salary of an employee at her law firm (totaling $660), and for personal use totaling $1,250.^[6] Alston denied wrongdoing in the case.^[7]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "House of Delegates". Maryland Manual. http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/06hse/html/msa15348.html. Retrieved 17 January 2011. 
2. ^ "House Bill 175". Maryland General Assembly. http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/billfile/hb0175.htm. Retrieved 5 March 2011. 
3. ^ "SENATE BILL 116". Maryland General Assembly. http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/billfile/SB0116.htm. Retrieved 5 March 2011. 
4. ^ Wagner, John (4 March 2011). "House panel passes same-sex marriage bill". Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2011/03/house_panel_passes_same-sex_ma.html. Retrieved 5 March 2011. 
5. ^ Hill, David (4 March 2011). "Maryland House panel passes gay marriage bill". Washington Times. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/4/maryland-house-panel-passes-gay-marriage-bill/. Retrieved 5 March 2011. 
6. ^ "Md. state lawmaker accused of using campaign funds to cover wedding expenses". Associated Press via Washington Post. September 23, 2011. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-state-lawmaker-accused-of-using-campaign-funds-to-cover-wedding-expenses/2011/09/23/gIQAZ7c8qK_story.html. 
7. ^ Aaron C. Davis (Posted at 01:09 AM ET, 09/24/2011). "Alston denies wrongdoing". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/maryland-politics/post/alston-denies-wrongdoing/2011/09/24/gIQAjB1MsK_blog.html. 

Persondata
Name	Alston, Tiffany
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1977-04-22
Place of birth	Washington, D.C.
Date of death
Place of death