Annapolis, Anne Arundel Leaders React To Rep. Cummings Death

ANNAPOLIS, MD — U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, died early Thursday, Oct. 17, in Baltimore at the age of 68. Marylanders across the state expressed their condolences after Patch announced his death, and Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley released a statement.

Buckley proclaimed that "we've lost another champion of the people."

"Our state and nation have lost a great leader. He was a spokesman for right, wrong and equality in the Halls of Congress. He stood up to the powerful for every citizen. He served a dozen years in the Maryland General Assembly as a delegate before his 23 years in Washington. He remained a friend to Annapolis as a member of the board of visitors at the United States Naval Academy. He may have been a player on the national stage, but he was a friend to our city in his public votes and private actions. He will be missed," Buckley stated.

Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman tweeted how "deeply saddened, filled with love, and forever strengthened" he and millions of others are after learning about Cummings' death.

"We are saddened because we must continue the struggle without him. We are filled with love because that’s what Elijah spread in response to hate, from his childhood as a victim of a white mob who opposed integration of a swimming pool, to his final year as the target of hate bias by the President of the United States. We are strengthened because Elijah’s example and Elijah’s spirit are forever embedded within us," Pittman tweeted.

According to Cummings' spokeswoman, Trudy Perkins, Cummings passed away from "complications concerning longstanding health challenges." He underwent heart surgery in May 2017 at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Patch previously reported.

Cummings served in the Maryland House of Delegates before he was elected to Congress in 1996. He was the first African-American in the state's history to be named speaker pro-tem.

I will always treasure this photo.

I was shocked to learn this morning that Congressman Elijah Cummings passed away last night. I know that I am one of millions this morning who is deeply saddened, filled with love, and forever strengthened. pic.twitter.com/UntIndVzAA
— County Executive Steuart Pittman (@AACoExec) October 17, 2019

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• Catonsville Residents Rally to Support Congressman Cummings