42 Facts About Boyd Rutherford

Boyd Kevin Rutherford was born on April 1,1957 and is an American politician, businessman and attorney who served as the ninth lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2015 to 2023.

Boyd Rutherford then joined the administration of Governor Bob Ehrlich, serving as the Secretary of General Services from 2003 to 2006.

Boyd Rutherford was born in Washington, DC to a Democratic family.

Boyd Rutherford grew up in the Michigan Park neighborhood of DC, where he attended public schools until the 8th grade, afterwards graduating from Archbishop Carroll High School.

Boyd Rutherford earned a bachelor's degree in economics and political science from Howard University in 1979.

In 1990, Boyd Rutherford earned both a Juris Doctor degree and a master's degree in communications management from the University of Southern California.

Boyd Rutherford then worked as a marketing representative for Control Data Corporation until 1986, afterwards working as a senior account executive at Telenet for one year.

Boyd Rutherford worked as the director of business development at the Kelly Law Registry from 2000 to 2001.

Boyd Rutherford is a member of the State Bars of California and Maryland, as well as the District of Columbia Bar.

Boyd Rutherford considered himself a political independent as a young adult.

Boyd Rutherford was a member of the Howard County Republican Central Committee from 1996 to 2002, during which he served as the co-director of Ellen Sauerbrey's 1998 gubernatorial campaign and campaigned for Howard County councilmember Dennis Schrader's reelection campaign, and served as a delegate to the 2000 Republican National Convention.

Boyd Rutherford was a member of the Baltimore City Brownfields Redevelopment Council from 1998 to 2000, and the Corridor Transportation Corporation from 1999 to 2000.

In September 2001, a week after the September 11 attacks, President George W Bush appointed Rutherford to serve as the associate administrator of the US General Services Administration's Office of Small Business Utilization.

Boyd Rutherford became the associate administrator of the Office of Performance Improvement in 2002.

Kirby challenged the board's decision to reject his offer to build the crime lab, but later dropped his lawsuit after Boyd Rutherford agreed to absolve Kirby of any wrongdoing in connection with the bidding process.

Boyd Rutherford testified to legislators that Governor Ehrlich personally endorsed the land deal after Boyd Rutherford informed him of the details, and that the Maryland Department of Natural Resources showed Hackerman "a number of different properties" and allowed him to select the one he would be interested in purchasing.

Boyd Rutherford said that the state would not have purchased the land if Hackerman did not propose the transaction and that he promised to donate development rights in the future and return some of the preserved land to the county for school construction.

In November 2004, Hackerman withdrew from the transaction in a letter to Boyd Rutherford and offered to donate $1 million to St Mary's County so it could purchase part of the protected tract for school construction.

Hogan and Boyd Rutherford ran for a second term in 2018, during which the two defeated Democratic nominees Ben Jealous and Susan Turnbull with 55.4 percent of the vote.

Boyd Rutherford was seen as the likely Republican frontrunner in the 2022 Maryland gubernatorial election, but he announced in April 2021 that he would not seek to succeed Governor Larry Hogan.

In November 2022, Governor Hogan tasked Boyd Rutherford with handling the transition from the current administration to the newly-elected Moore-Miller administration.

Boyd Rutherford was sworn in as lieutenant governor on January 21,2015.

Boyd Rutherford was the third consecutive African American elected as lieutenant governor in Maryland.

Boyd Rutherford coordinated with city officials on the state's response to the Freddie Gray protests, promoted efforts to expand home ownership and combat lead poisoning in Baltimore, and supported bills to reform to Maryland's procurement process and to strengthen penalties for violent crime.

In June 2015, Boyd Rutherford attended the Paris Air Show to promote Maryland's aerospace and defense industries.

In January 2020, Boyd Rutherford traveled to Dubai and Tel Aviv to attend conferences to promote economic development in Maryland.

In December 2016, Boyd Rutherford came under criticism after giving a speech to the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington in which he condemned a recent increase in hate speech, but added that he didn't know what was causing it.

Boyd Rutherford clarified his tweet about a day after posting it, saying that he believed that the United States could benefit from a candid discussion about racially motivated hate and pointing out that he grew up during the Civil Rights movement.

Boyd Rutherford defended the Hogan administration's COVID-19 vaccine rollout and the Board of Public Works's use of emergency procurement powers during the pandemic, and criticized the legislature for overriding Governor Hogan's vetoes on the Blueprint for Maryland's Future and a digital advertising tax to pay for the education reform package, citing the economic impact of the pandemic.

Boyd Rutherford has described himself as a fiscal conservative and social moderate, distancing himself from the religious right on issues including abortion and same-sex marriage, and believing in business development as a way to empowerment.

In 2012, Boyd Rutherford criticized Vice President Joe Biden for suggesting that Republicans sought to enslave African Americans.

Boyd Rutherford rebuked the Internal Revenue Service for investigating conservative organizations.

Boyd Rutherford opposed the Purple Line, suggesting that its projected $2.45 billion construction cost would be better spent on highway expansion.

In July 2015, Boyd Rutherford attended and spoke at an anti-gerrymandering rally in Annapolis, during which he criticized Maryland's congressional districts, especially the 3rd district, as a terrible situation.

Boyd Rutherford supported bills introduced by Governor Larry Hogan that would require the state to use an independent redistricting commission to draw its congressional districts.

Boyd Rutherford declined to support Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election.

In January 2021, following the January 6 United States Capitol attack, Boyd Rutherford called Trump's incitement of violence at the US Capitol an "impeachable offense" and called for Trump's resignation.

Boyd Rutherford said that Trump "took advantage of the Republican Party" and suggested that he did not care about the party.

In October 2019, Boyd Rutherford voted to remove the Confederate battle flag from a Maryland State House plaque that honored both Union and Confederate soldiers who fought in the American Civil War, calling the flag a "divisive symbol that has no place in this or any statehouse".

In June 2020, Boyd Rutherford described the murder of George Floyd as a "turning point in our nation" and a signal for the county to examine the racism "that exists just under the surface of many institutions".

Boyd Rutherford said he stood with those participating in George Floyd protests.

In December 2020, Boyd Rutherford voted to approve a wetlands license for the proposed Eastern Shore Pipeline.