Curt Anderson

Curtis Stovall Anderson (born October 12, 1949) is an American politician, lawyer and former broadcast journalist.

Anderson was born on October 12, 1949, to Leonard and Jean Anderson in Chicago, Illinois.

His father, a graduate of Morgan State University, moved the family to Baltimore in 1952 to take a job as Dean at Morgan State University and assistant rector at the St. James' Episcopal Church.

Anderson's parents divorced in 1957, and he and his two sisters were raised by his mother.

Anderson attended primary schools in Baltimore and Glencoe, Illinois.

In 1964, he entered the Baltimore City College.

He was the captain of the football and track teams and won a scholarship to Rutgers University.

Anderson majored in political science and made the freshman and varsity football and freshman track teams.

But in the fall of 1969, Anderson left Rutgers at the end of the semester.

In 1973, he entered Morgan State College where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science.

He also played on the legendary "Ten Bears" lacrosse team, the only black college lacrosse team in America.

Anderson was first hired by WBAL in 1976 as a reporter where he regularly covered the state legislature, Baltimore City Hall, produced features and even boxed a round with Muhammad Ali as a feature story in 1978.

In 1980, Anderson was hired by WMAR-TV to be the station's weekend anchor and reporter.

He covered events such as the Wayne Williams trial in Atlanta and the Cuban refugee influx in Pennsylvania.

In 1982, after his television career, he entered the University of Baltimore Law School from which earned a Juris Doctor degree.

Prior to running for the House of Delegates, Anderson anchored the news at channel 2, WMAR-TV, and channel 11, WBAL-TV, in Baltimore, Maryland.

In April 1982, Anderson was let go by WMAR-TV following a 90-day labor strike.

Though he interviewed for jobs at WSB-TV in Atlanta and WBZ-TV in Boston, Anderson chose not to move his family and remained in Baltimore.

He ran for the Maryland House of Delegates while entering law school.

In 1982, Anderson won a seat in the House of Delegates, finishing first in a crowded field of candidates which included four incumbents.

Unlike his first race in 1982 where he beat all the incumbents and finished first, this time Anderson finished third with a razor-thin 100-vote margin of victory over 4th-place finisher incumbent Ken Montague.

He was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1983, was the chairman of the Baltimore City Delegation, and past chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland.

He was sworn in January 1983 and assigned to the House Ways and Means committee.

After serving five years in the Maryland General Assembly, Anderson was elected chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland.

As chairman he sponsored and saw the passage of Maryland's Minority Business Enterprise Act.

One of the benefits of this act for minority business was increased participation in major state projects like the building of Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Nearly 20% of the contracts let for the construction of the new ballpark went to minority-owned businesses.

Anderson graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1987 and passed the Maryland Bar Exam in 1988.

He joined the law firm of Murphy and Associates as a criminal defense attorney that same year.

He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1992 (Clinton) and 2008 (Obama).

In 1993, Anderson was appointed to the Baltimore Orioles All-Star Game host committee; the entity that planned the activities around MLB's 1993 All-Star game to be played in Baltimore.

Anderson, the only African-American on the 12 member committed persuaded the group to invite James Earl Jones to speak the pre-game National Anthem, backed up by the HBCU Morgan State University Choir.

The committee had planned to invite Garth Brooks to sing the Anthem.

Anderson also worked with BET to sponsor a step show competition for local black fraternities at the stadium during the week of the All Star game festivities.

After 12 years in the House, Anderson ran for the Senate in 1994 but was defeated in the Democratic primary.

He practiced law for the next 8 years.

He opened his own practice in 1996 and has represented thousands of individuals in the Circuit and District courts in Baltimore City and 16 of Maryland's 23 counties.

After serving 12 years, he was elected again in 2002, and served until his retirement in 2023.

In 2002, he made a run for the House of Delegates.

As before he was a non-incumbent running against four incumbents for three seats.