Ulysses Currie

Ulysses Currie is an American politician from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. He is currently serving in his 4th term in the Maryland State Senate, representing Maryland's District 25 in Prince George's County. Currie was the Chair of the Budget and Taxation Committee before having to resign because of an ethics violation.

Currie, the son of a sharecropper, grew up in Whiteville, North Carolina. He was the first of his family to go to college and earned his undergraduate degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. After serving in the United States Army, he moved to the Washington, DC area to attend American University. Currie worked for 25 years as an educator in the Prince George's County Public Schools.

Currie was originally elected to the House of Delegates in 1986, representing District 25 in Prince George's County. During his time in the house, he became Majority Whip, the 3rd-ranking position in the House after the Speaker and the Majority Leader. Currie was elected to his seat in the State Senate in 1994. He is a member of the Budget and Taxation Committee.

On May 29, 2008, it was reported that the FBI had searched Currie's District Heights home and taken documents related to his work as a consultant to Shoppers Food & Pharmacy. On September 1, 2010, federal grand jury indicted Currie and Shoppers Food Warehouse Corporation executives William J. White and R. Kevin Small in connection with a scheme from 2002 to 2008 in which the supermarket chain allegedly paid Senator Currie in exchange for using his official position and influence in matters benefitting White, Small, and the supermarket chain. Currie was acquitted on November 8, 2011. However in 2012 he was censured by the state senate for ethics violations from facts discovered during the investigation.