ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Joseline Peña-Melnyk is now Maryland's Speaker of the House following overwhelming approval from her colleagues during a special session Tuesday making her the first Afro-Latina to hold the role.
Peña-Melnyk received the nomination Tuesday morning in a closed-door meeting of the House Democratic Caucus. Cheers could be heard from the hallway several times though it was tough to make out what was said.
When the doors opened, Peña-Melnyk was receiving hugs from democratic colleagues.
Peña-Melnyk makes history as Maryland's first Afro-Latina House Speaker
"I really, don't have words to express how I feel about my colleagues trusting me with the enormous responsibility to lead," she said. "I am an inclusive leader and I am going to lead with my colleagues, this house belongs to all of us."
On the House floor she received a standing ovation as she walked from the House lounge to her seat along the aisle - stopping to hug several members of the House including Minority Leader Jason Buckel, a Republican from Allegany County.
Republican Delegate Kathy Szeliga, who served on the committee Peña-Melnyk chaired said, "She has always treated everyone with respect, everyone's opinion gets heard."
She immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic with her family when she was 8-years-old.
"Those memories are not shared for sympathy but for truth, they are reminders of where I come from and the resilience a hardship can forge," said Peña-Melnyk in her first address to the house.
Former speaker Adrienne Jones was not in attendance.
Peña-Melnyk has less than a month before the legislative session begins to dig in to her new job.
