In May 2017, Ivey was elected to the Cheverly town council.[8][9] During his first year on the town council, he introduced and passed legislation to designate the town a sanctuary city.[10]
During the 2018 gubernatorial primary, Ivey campaigned for former NAACP president Ben Jealous.[10][12] In May 2018, Ivey accused Jealous of trying to keep him off the Democratic primary ballot to improve his own chances and those of Tarlau, who endorsed Jealous' gubernatorial campaign. Valerie Ervin, then-candidate for lieutenant governor, similarly claimed Jealous tried to keep her off that ticket by contacting her employer, the national Working Families Party. Jealous denied Ivey's claims, sharing text messages between him and Ivey where he told Ivey “hang in there. . . We are political family.”[13]
Ivey defeated Tarlau in the Democratic primary in June, placing second behind incumbent state delegate Diana M. Fennell with 32.5 percent of the vote to Tarlau's 29.6 percent.[14] He was unopposed in the general election.[15]
Ivey was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 9, 2019.[22] He was assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee and serves on its Financial Resources and Local Revenues subcommittees. Ivey is a member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland.[18] Media outlets have described Ivey as a progressive.[14][23][24]
Political positions
Criminal justice
In June 2020, Ivey started a petition calling on leaders of the Maryland General Assembly and governor Larry Hogan to reconvene for a special legislative session on the COVID-19 pandemic, evictions, and police brutality.[25][26][27] For each day following the petition, Ivey posted tweets highlighting victims of police brutality.[28][29] The legislative leaders rejected calls to form a special session,[30] but convened workgroups on creating legislation on issues including police reform.[31] In September, Ivey wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post that again called for a special legislative session.[32] House Majority Leader Eric Luedtke rebuked the op-ed in an internal memo, calling it "tremendously disrespectful to the Speaker of the House" to push for a special session in the press without first checking in with Jones and other colleagues.[33]
Also in June 2020, Ivey co-signed a letter penned by Speaker Jones that called on Hogan to enact reforms surrounding police use of force policies in the state.[28]
During the 2021 legislative session, Ivey introduced legislation that would require all Maryland law enforcement agencies to issue body-worn cameras to all on-duty officers by 2022.[34]
Education
During the 2021 legislative session, Ivey introduced legislation to abolish the appointed members of the Prince George's County Board of Education.[35] The bill died without a vote.[36]
Elections
During the 2021 legislative session, Ivey introduced legislation that would automatically send out mail-in ballots to all registered voters.[37]
Taxes
During the 2022 legislative session, Ivey introduced legislation that would exempt diabetic care products from the sales and use tax.[38] The bill passed and became law on April 1, 2022.[39]
Electoral history
Male Delegates to the Democratic National Convention, District 4, 2016[40]