Dana Lee Dembrow (born September 29, 1953) is an American lawyer, legislator, and jurist who served four terms in the Maryland General Assembly.[2]

Dana Lee Dembrow
Image of Dana Lee Dembrow
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 20th district
In office
January 14, 1987 – January 8, 2003
Succeeded byGareth E. Murray
Personal details
Born (1953-09-29) September 29, 1953 (age 71)
Washington, DC
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Suzette Dembrow 
(m. 1987; died 2006)
[1]
ChildrenTwo daughters
EducationSpringbrook High School, Silver Spring, Maryland, 1971
Alma materDuke University, B.A., cum laude, 1975; George Washington University Law School, J.D., 1980
ProfessionAttorney

Early life and education

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Dembrow was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland. He attended public school in Montgomery County and graduated from Springbrook High School in 1971. He received his B.A. in 1975 from Duke University, where he graduated cum laude with a double major in political science and psychology and also obtained a varsity letter. Dembrow earned his J.D. in 1980 from George Washington University Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Advocate and in 1979 was named the recipient of the George Washington Award. Dembrow also completed the Washington Semester Political Science Honors Program of the American University, and spent a portion of his law school years at Georgetown University Law School, Notre Dame Law School, and the London School of Economics and Political Science.[2]

Career

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Dembrow was admitted to the bars of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and West Virginia, licensed to practice in both state and federal courts. Dembrow clerked for the Honorable Peter Wolf in DC Superior Court before opening a law office in Washington, D.C., handling general litigation cases, first in D.C. and later in Maryland District and Circuit Courts.

In 1992, Dembrow, a Democrat,[3] was elected to the State of Maryland legislature, one of three delegates representing the eastern portion of Montgomery County.[4][5] He was re-elected delegate for Legislative District 20 in 1990.[6][7]

In 1992 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for Maryland's 4th Congressional District.[8]

Dembrow was re-elected to the state legislature in 1994,[9][10] and 1998.[11][12] He served sixteen years in the General Assembly, and was appointed first to the standing committee on Constitutional and Administrative Law and later to the House Judiciary Committee, for which he chaired the Subcommittee on Civil Law and Procedure. He also held posts as Deputy Majority Whip, Chairman of the County Affairs Committee of the Montgomery Delegation, and Chairman of the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee of the Southern Legislative Conference.

Dembrow sponsored three adopted amendments to the Maryland Constitution which were ratified by statewide voter referendum, including the requirement of proportionate geographic representation on both of Maryland's Courts of Appeals.[13] He also initiated and sponsored a number of proposals, now Maryland statutory law, for improvement to the mechanics of state governance[14] and a bill to regulate health insurance executive salaries.[15]

Dembrow moved to Carroll County, Maryland in 2002, and filed a pro bono legal challenge that deferred the election of county commissioners at large rather than by district,[16] and another to prohibit Christian-only prayer to open public meetings of the Carroll County Commissioners.[17]

In April 2002 Dembrow and his wife Suzette were involved in a domestic incident as a result of which Dana was arrested under the state's newly enacted mandatory arrest law,[18][19] which Dembrow had supported as a member of the House Judiciary Committee. The couple reconciled and Dembrow was acquitted of all charges, but the incident received significant negative press coverage. Dembrow was defeated in the next election.[20]

In 2003 Denbrow obtained a position in the policy department of the Department of Juvenile Services.[21]

In 2006 he was appointed as one of three administrative law judges which sit en banc as the Maryland State Board of Contract Appeals.[22][23] He was re-appointed in 2009. He presided over cases and authored the opinions in a number of contract disputes and bid protests.,[24][25][26][27] In 2014 Dembrow was elected President of the Maryland Association of Administrative Law Judiciary (MAALJ).

In May 2016 Dembrow joined the government procurement division of the Maryland law firm Rifkin, Weiner, Livingston, Levitan, and Silver, LLC[28]

In November 2020 Dembrow retired as head of procurement for the Maryland Department of Health. In December 2020 he said he had been forced to resign without explanation by then-Secretary Robert R. Neall a week before Neall retired.[29]

References

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  1. ^ "Suzette Dembrow Obituary (2006)". The Washington Post. June 28, 2006. Retrieved December 7, 2020 – via Legacy.com.
  2. ^ a b "Dana Lee Dembrow, Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  3. ^ Smith, C. Fraser (September 16, 1996). "Mall backers to ask $300 million from Md. Silver Spring project 3 times more costly than state expected". The Baltimore Sun.
  4. ^ "1986 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. August 17, 2001. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  5. ^ "1986 Gubernatorial General Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. August 17, 2001. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  6. ^ "1990 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. June 14, 2001. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  7. ^ "1990 Gubernatorial General Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  8. ^ "1992 Presidential Primary Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. February 16, 2001. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  9. ^ "1994 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. February 6, 2001. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  10. ^ "1994 Gubernatorial General Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. February 6, 2001. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  11. ^ "1998 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. October 24, 2000. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  12. ^ "1998 Gubernatorial General Election Results". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. October 24, 2000. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  13. ^ 1994 Session, HB 635 and 662; 1998 session HB 229.
  14. ^ Feature cover story articles in Montgomery Journal, April 3, 1989 and Feb. 12, 1999; feature article in Washington Post, Feb. 14, 1995; Center Maryland, Dec. 5, 2013.
  15. ^ Kim, Thomas (February 21, 2002). "Opposition Mounts Against CareFirst Conversion". CNS Maryland. Capital News Service. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  16. ^ Dembrow v. Carroll Co. Board of Elections, Ct. App. No. 139, Sept Term 2006.
  17. ^ "Hake v. Carroll County | Civil Case No. WDQ-13-1312. | 20140818c75". Leagle.com. August 13, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  18. ^ Kurtz, Josh; Subramanya, Manju (April 3, 2002). "State delegate charged with hitting his wife". The Gazette. Archived from the original on December 19, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  19. ^ "In Montgomery County, Del. Dembrow charged with assaulting wife". The Baltimore Sun. April 2, 2002. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  20. ^ "2002 Gubernatorial Primary Election Official Results: Legislative District 20". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. March 19, 2003. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  21. ^ Dennis, Steven T. (June 6, 2003). "Did you really think you could get rid of Dana Lee Dembrow?". The Gazette. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  22. ^ Calhoun, Caleb (September 14, 2012). "Seen and heard at the re-enactment site". The Herald-Mail. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2020. Dembrow, who works as a state judge and is a board member of the Maryland State Board of Contract Appeals
  23. ^ McCandlish, Laura (July 23, 2006). "Dembrow named to panel". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  24. ^ Appeal of Milliman, Inc. , MSBCA No. 2609 (Jan. 2009)
  25. ^ Appeal of Baltimore City Entertainment Group, MSBCA 2690 (Dec. 2010)
  26. ^ Appeal of L-1 Secure Credentialing, Inc., MSBCA 2793 (May 2012)
  27. ^ Appeal of The Active Network, Inc., MSBCA 2781 (April 2012)
  28. ^ "Rifkin, Weiner, Livingston, LLC". Rifkin, Weiner, Livingston, LLC. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  29. ^ DePuyt, Bruce (December 7, 2020). "Health Dept. Procurement Chief Fired in Midst of Korean Test Kit Controversy". Maryland Matters. Retrieved December 7, 2020.