Delegate Linda Foley

Linda K. Foley was born on March 10, 1955, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is a Democratic member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 15 in Montgomery County. Foley was initially appointed to the House of Delegates by Governor Larry Hogan in December 2021 to fill a vacancy left by former Delegate Kathleen Dumais, who was appointed to the Circuit Court bench. She was subsequently elected to a full four-year term in November 2022.

Before entering electoral politics, Foley had a distinguished career in journalism and labor organizing. She worked as a journalist and later became a prominent labor leader, serving as the first woman elected President of the Newspaper Guild from 1995 to 2008, leading an organization with 34,000 members. She also served as Vice-President of the Communications Workers of America during the same period. Following her union work, she became President of the Berger-Marks Foundation from 1996 to 2017, an organization dedicated to promoting women in the labor movement and supporting young women pursuing social justice initiatives.

Education

Foley earned a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in 1977. She attended Fox Chapel Area High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Political Experience

Foley's political involvement began at the local level. She was elected as the District 15 representative to the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee and later served as Chair of the Montgomery County Democratic Party. In the Maryland House of Delegates, she serves on the Environment and Transportation Committee and has held membership in various subcommittees including the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Open Space Subcommittee and the Environment Subcommittee.

Within the General Assembly, she was elected Caucus Chair of the Montgomery County Delegation in 2023 and subsequently joined the Executive Board of the Women Legislators of Maryland, the oldest legislative women's caucus in the United States, serving as Treasurer beginning in 2024. She is also a member of the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus. During the 2025 legislative session, she co-sponsored a bill revising funding mandates for housing cooperatives, condominiums, and homeowners associations.