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Tekesha Martinez

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Tekesha Martinez
17th Mayor of Hagerstown
In office
February 7, 2023 – November 25, 2024
Preceded byEmily Keller
Succeeded byBill McIntire
Member of the Hagerstown City Council
In office
November 23, 2020 – February 7, 2023
Succeeded byMatthew J. Schindler
Personal details
Born1978 (age 45–46)
Hagerstown, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Children5
WebsiteOfficial website (archived)

Tekesha A. Martinez (born 1978)[1] is an American politician who was the mayor of Hagerstown, Maryland, from 2023 to 2024. She was appointed to be Hagerstown's first Black mayor in 2023.[2]

Prior to her mayoral appointment in Hagerstown, Martinez was elected to a seat on the City Council, becoming one of the first Black women Councilmembers elected in the City's history.[3] Martinez has also worked at the Washington County Boys and Girls Club and served as a community mediator for the Washington County Community Mediation Center.[1]

Early life

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Martinez was born and raised in Hagerstown, Maryland, where she attended local schools and grew up in the Washington County Foster Care system. While still at high school, she became pregnant and gave birth to her first of five children at the age of 17. Martinez experienced difficulty with raising her child and sought help from social service agencies, who ignored her, prompting her to move to Baltimore, where she became interested in poetry. She moved back to Hagerstown and took multiple jobs in hospitality, retail, and construction.[1][4] She then became involved with the Washington County Boys and Girls Club.[5]

Community mediation and political career

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Martinez then worked as a program director at the Robert W. Johnson Community Center, getting connected with an opportunity for employment at the Washington County Community Mediation Center (WCCMC). The WCCMC provides assistance in resolving disagreements, including landlord-tenant disputes and conflicts among neighbors. Martinez became a community mediator at WCCMC and went on to co-lead the program in 2019 even after the Hagerstown Community Action Council canceled the program due to funding.[5] Martinez first became interested in politics after working at the WCMC and the Robert W. Johnson Community Center.[1]

Hagerstown City Council

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Martinez ran for Hagerstown City Council in 2020. In the primary election, she placed 9th out of 13 candidates, with the 10 candidates earning the most votes advancing to the general election.[6] She then placed third in the general election in November and was elected to the City Council.[7]

While serving out her Council term from 2020 to 2023, Martinez focused on helping the Jonathan Street community and addressing public safety.[8]

Mayor of Hagerstown

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In January 2023, following Maryland Governor-elect Wes Moore's appointment of Hagerstown mayor Emily Keller as Special Secretary of Opioid Response, Martinez applied to serve out the remainder of Keller's term as mayor. The Hagerstown City Council unanimously voted to appoint Martinez as mayor on February 7, 2023.[9] She was succeeded on the Hagerstown City Council by Matthew J. Schindler.[10]

As Mayor of Hagerstown, Martinez focused on implementing the existing strategic plan from Mayor Keller's administration.[2] One project of focus was a proposed indoor sports complex aiming to draw in visitors for competitive regional athletic tournaments and promote recreation.[11]

Martinez left office on November 25, 2024,[12] afterwards moving to a house just outside of Hagerstown's city limits. In December 2024, Martinez told The Baltimore Banner that she would never seek office in Hagerstown again after experiencing threats and attacks during her tenure as mayor. Toward the end of her term, Republican officials in the county—inculding state senator Paul D. Corderman and county commissioner Derek Harvey—accused Martinez and the city council of "remaining silent" on public safety issues and underfunding local police departments following a fatal shooting in downtown Hagerstown in July 2024, which led to racist comments toward Martinez on her Facebook page.[13]

2024 congressional campaign

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Main article: 2024 Maryland's 6th congressional district election

In July 2023, Martinez filed to run for Congress in Maryland's 6th congressional district.[14] She announced her campaign on July 12, 2023, in Hagerstown.[15] Martinez was seen as a strong fundraiser and leading candidate during the Democratic primary, but behind frontrunners Joe Vogel and April McClain-Delaney,[16] and ran on a platform including public safety, local economic development, homelessness, mental illness recovery programs, and public education.[17] Martinez was defeated by former National Telecommunications and Information Administration deputy administrator April McClain-Delaney in the Democratic primary election on May 14, 2024, placing fourth with 7.0 percent of the vote.[18]

Electoral history

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Hagerstown City Council primary election, 2020[19]
Candidate Votes %
Kristin B. Aleshire 3,762 13.2
Shelley McIntire 3,052 10.7
Bob Bruchey 2,517 8.8
Tiara Burnett 2,513 8.8
Penny May Nigh 2,451 8.6
Brenda J. Thiam 2,420 8.5
Peter E. Perini, Sr 2,021 7.1
Austin Heffernan 1,990 7.0
Tekesha A. Martinez 1,972 6.9
Brooke Grossman 1,907 6.7
Chip Snyder 1,825 6.4
Matthew J. Schindler 1,586 5.5
Travis Aaron Sites 585 2.0
Hagerstown City Council general election, 2020[20]
Candidate Votes %
Tiara Burnett 6,840 13.6
Kristin B. Aleshire 6,178 12.5
Tekesha A. Martinez 5,601 11.3
Shelley McIntire 5,380 10.8
Bob Bruchey 4,770 9.6
Peter E. Perini, Sr. 4,717 9.5
Brooke Grossman 4,293 8.7
Penny May Nigh 4,024 8.1
Austin Heffernan 3,817 7.7
Brenda J. Thiam (withdrawn) 3,772 7.6
Write-in 202 0.4
Maryland's 6th congressional district Democratic primary results, 2024[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic April McClain-Delaney 22,985 40.4
Democratic Joe Vogel 14,940 26.3
Democratic Ashwani Jain 4,750 8.3
Democratic Tekesha Martinez 3,992 7.0
Democratic Lesley Lopez 2,600 4.6
Democratic Laurie-Anne Sayles 1,845 3.2
Democratic Destiny Drake West 1,086 1.9
Democratic Mohammad Mozumder 1,005 1.7
Democratic Joel Martin Rubin (withdrawn) 820 1.4
Democratic Peter Choharis (withdrawn) 818 1.4
Democratic Geoffrey Grammer (withdrawn) 651 1.1
Democratic George Gluck 437 0.8
Democratic Kiambo White 401 0.7
Democratic Stephen McDow (withdrawn) 246 0.4
Democratic Altimont Wilks 179 0.3
Democratic Adrian Petrus 166 0.3

References

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  1. ^ a b c d McMillion, Dave (June 12, 2023). "She once hated Hagerstown. Why? An in-depth interview with Mayor Tekesha Martinez". The Herald-Mail. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Hagerstown appoints first Black mayor". Fox 5 DC. February 8, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  3. ^ Davis, Roshan (February 1, 2022). "Highlighting Hagerstown's history-making city councilwomen". DC News Now. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  4. ^ "Hagerstown Mayor Martinez says her superpower is listening". Tri-State Alert. WEEO-FM. March 13, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Bell, Valerie (July 26, 2019). "Mediation First program taken over, aims to resolve conflict in community". DC News Now. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  6. ^ Fitzpatrick, Alexis (November 13, 2020). "Washington County youths help organize successful local political campaign". The Herald-Mail. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  7. ^ Fitzpatrick, Alexis (November 3, 2020). "Keller leads mayoral race, Burnett leads for Hagerstown City Council". The Herald-Mail. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  8. ^ Bansil, Sapna; Hamelin, Braden (July 17, 2023). "For Black community, ties to Maryland city's baseball traditions are complicated". The Daily Record. Capital News Service. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  9. ^ McMillion, Dave (February 7, 2023). "'It's surreal': Hagerstown celebrates Tekesha Martinez as its first black mayor". The Herald-Mail. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  10. ^ McMillion, Dave (March 15, 2023). "Matthew J. Schindler picked for open Hagerstown council seat; formal vote set for Tuesday". The Herald-Mail. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  11. ^ Cohen, Steven (February 16, 2023). "Hagerstown's new mayor setting priorities in second week on the job". DC News Now. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  12. ^ "Hagerstown officials take oath of office". LocalNews1.org. December 5, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  13. ^ Bansil, Sapna (December 18, 2024). "Becoming Hagerstown's first Black mayor made her a role model — and a target". The Baltimore Banner. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  14. ^ "FEC Form 2: Statement of Candidacy". Federal Election Commission. July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  15. ^ Ford, William; Kurtz, Josh. "Political notes: Hagerstown mayor to run for 6th District seat, O's advocacy in D.C." Maryland Matters.
  16. ^ Kurtz, Josh (April 25, 2024). "Political notes: Reunion on the airwaves, Johnny 'O,' Parrott snags CPAC nod, Martinez's theory of the case". Maryland Matters. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  17. ^ Bixby, Ginny (July 17, 2023). "Hagerstown Mayor Tekesha Martinez enters 6th Congressional District race". MoCo360. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  18. ^ Gans, Jared (May 14, 2024). "April McClain Delaney wins Democratic primary for David Trone's seat in Maryland". The Hill. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  19. ^ "Official 2020 Presidential Primary Election results for Washington County". Maryland State Board of Elections. July 2, 2020.
  20. ^ "Official 2020 Presidential General Election results for Washington County". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 4, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  21. ^ "Official 2024 Presidential Primary Election Results for Representative in Congress". Maryland State Board of Elections. June 13, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
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