Bill Ferguson

William Claiborne Ferguson IV (born April 15, 1983) is an American politician, attorney, and former schoolteacher. He is a Democratic member of the Maryland Senate, representing the 46th legislative district since 2011, and serving as the President of the Maryland Senate since January 8, 2020. The district is composed of parts of Baltimore City. Education and early career Ferguson was born in Silver Spring, Maryland and graduated from Georgetown Preparatory School and Davidson College with a double major in political science and economics in 2005. He then joined Teach For America, teaching history and government to ninth and tenth graders at Southwestern High School in Baltimore for two years. In 2007, he earned a Master of Arts degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Education. Since 2012, Ferguson has served as the director of reform initiatives at the Johns Hopkins School of Education. Ferguson served as a community liaison on educational issues for Sheila Dixon, the president of the Baltimore City Council, from 2005 to 2006. From 2009 to 2010, he was a special assistant to Andres Alonso, the chief executive officer of Baltimore City Public Schools. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 2010. In the legislature In 2010, Ferguson challenged six-term incumbent George W. Della, Jr. for the Democratic nomination for the 46th district in the Maryland Senate. He won the primary election by a margin of 59-41%. Running in a heavily Democratic district, he won the general election with no formal opposition, receiving 98% of the vote. He is the youngest state senator ever elected in Maryland. His youth earned him the nickname of "Baby Senator".