UPDATE 3/15/2022: Leonardtown, Md. – Today, Jaymi Sterling (Republican), a 14-year veteran prosecutor, officially filed for State’s Attorney for St. Mary’s County. Sterling, a life-long Republican, will be running in the Republican primary election for St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney.
“As we see big-city crime creep into our county, we need new leadership to stand up and protect our community,” Sterling said. “I’m running to put my experience – and my integrity – to work for you. We need stiffer penalties for sex offenders, violent criminals, and repeat drunk drivers. We need a strong prosecutor to crack down on drug dealers.”
In addition to a real plan to protect St. Mary’s County, Sterling will use her experience to restore integrity to the office and protect taxpayers from wasteful spending.
To learn more about Sterling, visit her website at jaymisterling.com or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofJaymiSterling.
By Authority: Friends of Jaymi Sterling, Alison Weaver, Treasurer
Leonardtown, MD- Former St. Mary’s County Deputy States Attorney and current Anne Arundel County Assistant States Attorney Jaymi Sterling has announced her bid for St. Mary’s County States Attorney, taking on her old boss, Richard Fritz.
“As a prosecutor, I never shied away from taking on tough cases. Throughout my career, I prosecuted some of the worst criminals in St. Mary’s, Anne Arundel, and Frederick counties,” Sterling said. She pledges to protect our families, neighborhoods, and communities from career criminals. Sterling has a proven track record of successfully advocating for harsher penalties for repeat drunk drivers and convicted sex offenders.
“As State’s Attorney, I will prioritize efforts to fight violent crime, corruption, drug dealing, drunk driving, domestic violence, sex offenders, and repeat offenders,” Sterling said. “We cannot jail our way out of the opioid epidemic. Enough is enough. I am dedicated to cracking down on drug dealers who peddle this poison.”
In September 2020, Sterling claimed she uncovered that the St. Mary’s County States Attorney’s Office was involved in questionable financial and personnel practices.
“In my most recent role as the Deputy State’s Attorney, I uncovered questionable financial and personnel practices. I took action to make sure these practices were reported to the appropriate authorities. In response, the State’s Attorney immediately demoted me for reporting these irregularities,” Sterling said in the September 2020 press release regarding her resignation.
The Chronicle then reached out to States Attorney Richard Fritz regarding her claims and resignation at the time and he responded, “My attorneys serve at my pleasure, quite simply she no longer serves at my pleasure as deputy state attorney. A series of bad decisions on her part caused me to take the action I did. What financial practices she is talking about I have no idea. As to the personnel matters, I cannot comment, however, her action on these matters, and staff supervision was the main reason for my actions. I would also state that when I told her I was going to run for reelection, all of this started, so I think she is probably driven by the desire for my job, rather than her concern for serving the people of this county.”
“I believe community trust is a cornerstone of an effective State’s Attorney’s Office. As a first step to regaining the community’s confidence in an independent, non-partial State’s Attorney’s Office, I will not be accepting any campaign donations from criminal defense lawyers, criminal defense law firms, or their family members,” Sterling said.
There have been rumblings Sterling was going to run for many months now. Then in early 2022, Sterling announced the formation of “Friends for Jaymi Sterling” and launched a website and Facebook page.
Financial affidavits required by the Maryland State Board of Elections show that on January 19, 2022(the most current filing), Sterling had received $30,000 in loans and $51,842.00 in contributions from over 240 donators. Fritz, meanwhile had collected just $5,500 from three contributors( two attorneys and a former State Delegate).
The Daily Record named Jaymi Sterling to its 2021 listing of Maryland’s Top 100 Women. Sterling was also named to the Daily Records 2016 Leading Women list in 2016. In May 2016, Sterling was named Office(Prosecutor) of the Year by the St. Mary’s County Department of Aging & Human Services, along with Triad/SALT (Seniors And Law Enforcement Together).
Sterling is also a leader outside the courtroom. She is a wife, a mother of two young children, and a longtime volunteer in our community, coaching high school softball, raising money for the Special Olympics, and serving on the boards of several nonprofit and charity groups.
The Maryland Primary election is on June 28, 2022, and the General Election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Residents of Maryland can do multiple things regarding their voter registration on the Maryland State Board of Elections Website:
- Voter Registration and Mail-in Ballot Request
- Mail-in Ballot Request
- Voter Lookup
- Election Judges and Election Page Program