Two former Republican delegates took their seats in the Maryland Senate Monday after being appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan to succeed GOP senators who took positions in his administration.
Justin D. Ready took former Sen. Joseph M. Getty's Carroll County seat, while Andrew A. Serafini of Washington County filled the seat vacated by former Sen. Christopher B. Shank. Getty accepted a position as Hogan's legislative director, while Shank became director of the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention.
Both were recommended to Hogan by their local central committees, but only after some controversy in Ready's case. The Carroll County Republican Central Committee originally chose former Commissioner Robin Bartlett Frazier, a tea party favorite, but Hogan balked and put pressure on the panel to send him at least three choices.
When the committee complied, Hogan chose Ready -- a longtime ally.
Ready was assigned to Shank's former place on the Judicial Proceedings Committee while Serafini took Getty's seat on the Budget & Taxation Committee.
Three Frazier supporters on the central committee went to court earlier Monday seeking a temporary restraining order against Ready's swearing-in. A Carroll County Circuit Court judge refused to grant the order.