{{Short description|American politician (born 1941)}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = File:1senatorrobey.jpg | alt = James Robey headshot | name = James N. Robey | state_senate = Maryland | district = 13th | term_start = January 10, 2007 | term_end = January 14, 2015 | preceded = Sandra Schrader | office2 = Majority Leader of the Maryland Senate | term_start2 = September 1, 2013 | term_end2 = January 14, 2015 | preceded2 = Robert Garagiola | succeeded2 = Catherine Pugh | office3 = 7th County Executive of Howard County | term_start3 = December 1998 | term_end3 = December 4, 2006 | predecessor3 = Charles Ecker | successor3 = Ken Ulman | birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | party = Democratic | alma_mater = University of Maryland, University College (BA),<br>Hood College (MA) | successor1 = Guy Guzzone | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1941|01|18}} }}

'''James N. Robey Jr.''' (born January 18, 1941), an American Democratic politician, was a Maryland State Senator from January 10, 2007, to January 14, 2015. He was the Senate Majority Leader from 2013 until he retired in January 2015.<ref name="MarySenate">{{cite web|title=James N. Robey, Maryland State Senator|url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/05sen/former/html/msa13849.html|work=Maryland Manual On-Line|publisher=Maryland State Archives|accessdate=March 17, 2017|date=November 10, 2015}}</ref>

==Background== Born January 18, 1941, in Baltimore, Maryland, Robey was raised in Daniels, Maryland,<ref name="MarySenate"/> a small mill town in Howard County that was once located on the banks of the Patapsco River.<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Pickard|first=Nancy Quinn|title=Mending a Fractured Landscape: Balancing Culture and Nature in the Vanishing Mill Town of Daniels, Maryland|type=Thesis for Master of Historic Preservation|via=Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM)|date=May 2012|url=http://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/handle/1903/12505/Pickard%20Final%20Drum%20Version.pdf;jsessionid=E756B08CE19EFCD969A19CBE21E00E00?sequence=1|accessdate=March 17, 2017|publisher=University of Maryland Libraries}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Howard County|author=The Howard County Historical Society|page=6}}{{full citation needed|date=May 2017}}</ref>

Robey graduated from Howard High School in Ellicott City, Maryland, in 1959. His high school principal, Omar J. Jones, was Howard County's first county executive.<ref name="MarySenate" /> Robey earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) in 1979. He also has master's degree in administrative management from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, and has completed several training programs at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.<ref name="MarySenate" /><ref name=EveningSun/>

His son, Wayne Robey, became the clerk of the Howard County Circuit Court when Margaret Rappaport retired in 2012.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Business Monthly|title=Competitive Primary Races for Some Offices: But Low Turnout Expected|author=Lazarick, Len|date=June 3, 2014|url=http://www.bizmonthly.com/competitive-primary-races-for-some-offices-but-low-turnout-expected/|accessdate=March 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318172557/http://www.bizmonthly.com/competitive-primary-races-for-some-offices-but-low-turnout-expected/|archive-date=March 18, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|title=Howard County Circuit Court Clerk Retires for Health Reasons|author=Lavoie, Luke|date=November 8, 2002|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/ph-circuit-court-clerk-retires-20121107-story.html|accessdate=March 17, 2017}}</ref>

==Career== Robey joined the Howard County Police Department in 1966 and was promoted to major by 1981.<ref name=EveningSun/> He was appointed by Charles I. Ecker to Chief of Police in 1991, replacing Frederick Chaney.<ref name=EveningSun>{{cite news|last1=West |first1=Norris P. |title=Ecker Appoints Howard County Police Chief: Robey Moves Up to Head Police Force |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1991/02/26/ecker-appoints-howard-county-police-chief-robey-moves-up-to-head-police-force/ |access-date=March 17, 2017 |work=The Evening Sun |publisher=Tribune Digital |date=February 26, 1991 |location=Baltimore, MD }}</ref> He retired from the police force in 1998 to run for office<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=May 20, 2006|title=Howard Co. Chief of Police to Retire: Livesay is Running for County Council|author=Carson, Larry|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2006/05/20/howard-co-chief-of-police-to-retire/|access-date=March 17, 2017}}</ref> and was elected as Howard County Executive in 1998 and 2002.<ref name="MarySenate" />

In 2006, Robey campaigned as a Democrat to represent the 13th district in the Maryland State Senate and won with 56% of the vote against Republican incumbent Sandra Schrader. In September 2013, he was chosen to replace State Senator Robert Garagiola as Senate Majority Leader. Robey retired from the Maryland State Senate on January 14, 2015.

==Recognition== Robey was recognized by his alma mater, University of Maryland University College (UMUC), as the 2002 "Distinguished Alumnus". In 2007, the James N. Robey Public Safety Training Facility, a training facility used by the Howard County police and fire departments, was dedicated in his honor.<ref name="MarySenate" />

According to Vote Smart, an independent, nonprofit research organization, in 2011, Robey received a performance evaluation rating of 92% from Progressive Maryland, a nonprofit, liberal advocacy group that rates legislators based on their positions on social, liberal, and family-related issues.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rating Group: Progressive Maryland − 2011 Positions on Progressive Policy|url=https://votesmart.org/interest-group/396/rating/6240|website=Vote Smart|accessdate=March 17, 2017}}</ref> In 2008, he received a score of 97%.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rating Group: Progressive Maryland − 2008 Positions on Progressive Policy|url=https://votesmart.org/interest-group/396/rating/4174?of=rating|website=Vote Smart|accessdate=March 17, 2017}}</ref>

==Election history== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Office ! Election ! ! Subject ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % |- | 1998 | Howard County Executive | General | | {{party shading/Democratic}} |James N. Robey | {{party shading/Democratic}} |Democratic | {{party shading/Democratic}} |43,322 | {{party shading/Democratic}} |55% | | {{party shading/Republican}}|Dennis Schrader | {{party shading/Republican}}|Republican | {{party shading/Republican}}|35,081 | {{party shading/Republican}}|44% | | colspan=4|&nbsp; |- | 2006 | Maryland Senate District 13 | General | | {{party shading/Democratic}} |James N. Robey | {{party shading/Democratic}} |Democratic | {{party shading/Democratic}} |24,354 | {{party shading/Democratic}} |56.1% | | {{party shading/Republican}}|Sandra Schrader | {{party shading/Republican}}|Republican | {{party shading/Republican}}|19,021 | {{party shading/Republican}}|43.8% | | colspan=4|&nbsp;

|}

==References== {{reflist}}

{{County Executives of Howard County, Maryland}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robey, James N.}} Category:1941 births Category:Democratic Party Maryland state senators Category:FBI National Academy graduates Category:Law enforcement officials from Maryland Category:Living people Category:Hood College alumni Category:University of Maryland Global Campus alumni Category:American police chiefs Category:Politicians from Baltimore Category:People from Elkridge, Maryland Category:Howard County executives Category:20th-century Maryland politicians Category:21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly