Arthur Ellis

Arthur Carr Ellis (born July 26, 1961) is an American politician and accountant who has served as a member of the Maryland Senate from the 28th district since 2019. Background Carr was born in Portland Parish, Jamaica, on July 26, 1961. He graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and agriculture in 1983, and the City University of New York (CUNY) with a Master of Science in accountancy in 1990. Carr served in the United States Air Force from 1983 to 1989, and in the U.S. Air Force Reserves until 2001, attaining the rank of second lieutenant. He returned to the United States and moved to Maryland after being discharged from military after being injured while serving. After graduating from CUNY, Carr became an associate at Mitchell & Titus, afterwards working as an instructor for the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants, the University of the District of Columbia, and the University of Maryland Global Campus until 1993. From 2008 to 2017, he worked as a volunteer leader at the University of Maryland Extension. Ellis became involved in politics as a member of the Charles County NAACP chapter, becoming its communications director in 2016. In March 2017, he criticized the state's $900,000 purchase and preservation of land where Josiah Henson was enslaved before escaping to freedom, arguing that the money would be better spent on youth programs. He ran for the Maryland Senate in 2018, challenging six-term incumbent Thomas M. Middleton. Ellis defeated Middleton in an upset in the Democratic primary on June 26, 2018, receiving 52.0 percent of the vote and edging out Middleton by 651 votes. Following Middleton's defeat, the Maryland Republican Party targeted the district, backing businessman and Charles County Republican Party chairman Bill Dotson, who Ellis defeated in the general election on November 6, 2018, with 66.2 percent of the vote.