Prince George’s Political Duo, Jolene and Glenn Ivey Focus on Family

Posted in Articles, Media Archive, Politics/Public Policy, United States on 2013-12-08 02:17Z by Steven

Prince George’s Political Duo, Jolene and Glenn Ivey Focus on Family

AFRO
Prince George’s County News
2013-10-16

Zenitha Prince, Special to the AFRO

He’s a former two-term state’s attorney for Prince George’s County who is now a partner in the prestigious K Street law firm of Leftwich & Ludaway. She’s the chairman of the Prince George’s delegation in the Maryland House of Delegates and a candidate for lieutenant governor of Maryland.

At the characterization that they are a “power couple,” however, Glenn Ivey, 52, laughs heartily. Jolene Ivey, also 52, has a similar reaction.

“We find that pretty amusing,” she said with a soft chuckle. “We’re always buried in laundry and trying to get our children to soccer practice.”…

Jolene Ivey said her father and stepmother, Gigi Stephenson, nurtured in her a love of community service and advocacy in their Northeast Washington home.

“They were always a good example of how to be good citizens in the world,” she said.

But running for public office was never her plan, said Jolene Ivey, who earned a bachelor’s in communication at Towson and a master’s in journalism from Maryland.

“I decided to run for public office because it is a great vehicle to make things happen for people,” she said.

In Annapolis, she has often focused on issues related to women, children and families. If she is elected, her agenda will include working with Gansler to increase the minimum wage, close the achievement gap and improve diversity in government.

“It is exciting to be in a position where I’m going to be able to have a real impact on the direction the state is heading,” she told the AFRO.

Jolene Ivey’s racial identification has become something of a subhead in the coverage of the campaign. Though light-skinned enough to be mistaken for White—her birth mother was Caucasian—Jolene Ivey identifies herself as African American.

“It doesn’t affect me inside because I know who I am—I’m Black,” she said. “My family is Black…and I’m the mother of five Black sons. The only issue arises when other people make assumptions about me based on my outward appearance, but I can’t do anything about that.”…

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