Trent Kittleman

Trent M. Kittleman (; born May 7, 1945) is an American politician who was a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2015 to 2023. She was the wife of State Senator Robert H. Kittleman until his death in 2004, and unsuccessfully ran alongside him for County Council in 1978. She is the stepmother of Allan H. Kittleman, former state senator and Howard County executive.

After losing re-election to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2022, Kittleman aligned herself with the Howard County chapter of Moms for Liberty and ran for the Howard County Board of Education, losing to Andrea Chamblee in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Kittleman is the author of Why Must There Be Dragons? Empowering Women to Master Their Careers Without Changing Men.

Career Attorney After she was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1991 – and later being admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in 1993 – she began working as an attorney for Arent Fox until 1996. In 1992, she became a member of the University of Maryland School of Law Alumni Association and served as its president from 2002 until her departure in 2003. After working for Arent Fox, she worked as a senior counsel for Marriott International until 1999, when she became the vice president of legislative affairs for Marriott. In 2007, Kittleman, Marie Royce, and Joan Athen formed a company called GenderStrategy.

Author In 2008, Kittleman's book, with contributing edits from Joan Athen and Marie Royce, Why Must There Be Dragons? Empowering Women to Master Their Careers Without Changing Men was published. The story takes place at Feline Foods and highlights a conflict between the dogs that run the company and the cats that work there, who are threatening a lawsuit for not getting promoted, a practice they call "discatination". Feline Foods CEO Bernie Rottweiler then hires Kathryn Woo, a training specialist, to identify the problem and fix it for the cats by working with Ryan "Wolfe" Wolfhound, the executive vice president of Special Projects and Bernie's right-hand man. The book is divided into three sections, each representing the early, middle, and peak years of one's career. During her service, the authority experienced a 450 percent increase in its capital program, including new lanes planned for Interstate 95, financing the Inter-county Connector in Montgomery County, and planning for toll-road bridge renovations.

Following the death of her husband in September 2004, Kittleman declined to serve the rest of his term in the Maryland Senate, saying that she was not able to focus on politics.

In October 2009, Kittleman said that she was "exploring" a run for Howard County Executive. She announced her candidacy for executive in February 2010. She ran unchallenged in the Republican primary, She won the Republican primary with 22.4 percent of the vote, coming in second place in a field of five candidates.

Committee assignments Deputy Minority Whip, 2022–2023 Member, Appropriations Committee, 2019–2023 (education & economic development subcommittee, 2019; oversight committee on pensions, 2019; transportation & the environment subcommittee, 2020–2023; oversight committee on personnel, 2020–2023) Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee, 2021–2023 Member, Judiciary Committee, 2015–2018 (civil law & procedure subcommittee, 2015–2018)

Other memberships Member, Maryland Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus, 2015–2023 Maryland Veterans Caucus, 2016–2023 Maryland Legislative Transit Caucus, 2019–2023 President, Women Legislators of Maryland, 2019–2020 (member, 2015–2023; treasurer, 2016–2017; 1st vice-president, 2017–2018; president-elect, 2018–2019)

Post-legislative career Following her defeat in the 2022 elections, Kittleman filed to run in 2024 for the Howard County Board of Education in District 5. Prior to her campaign announcement Kittleman was associated with the Howard County chapter of Moms for Liberty, but had taken herself off of the group's member rolls when she decided to run. Despite this distancing, Kittleman still promoted several of the group's positions in her school board campaign, including book banning, and included an advertisement for the group on her personal website. Kittleman was defeated by Andrea Chamblee in the general election on November 5, 2024 by more than 5%, 52.5% to 47%.

Political positions Crime Kittleman introduced "Laura and Reid's Law" during the 2019 legislative session, which would allow prosecutors to seek convictions for the murders of the mother and fetus. The bill was named for Laura Wallen, who was four months pregnant when she was killed by her boyfriend in September 2017. The bill passed and became law on May 13, 2019.

Education In 2015, Kittleman co-sponsored legislation that would shift the burden of proof in due process hearings for children with disabilities to get IEPs from parents to school systems.

Environment In 2019, Kittleman voted against legislation that would allow the Howard County Council to set a fee for plastic bags. The bill passed and became law, and the Howard County Council voted 4-1 to implement the bag fee in December 2019.

In December 2019, the Maryland Public Interest Research Group gave Kittleman a score of zero percent on its annual legislative scorecard.

Guns Since 2013, Kittleman has been a member of the National Rifle Association. The bill passed and became law on May 27, 2017. She also co-sponsored legislation that would allow select employees to carry firearms on school property to prevent the loss of life in a school shooting, and another that would give property owners the right to use any amount of force to protect their residence from an intruder.

National politics Kittleman endorsed Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries, saying that he was "the one person who can put this country back on the right footing."

Social issues Kittleman supported legislation introduced in the 2019 legislative session that would allow doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to terminally ill patients who want to end their lives. The bill passed the House of Delegates by a vote of 74-66. The bill was re-introduced during the 2022 legislative session.

Kittleman opposed legislation introduced in the 2022 legislative session that would allow hate crime victims to bring civil action against the person who committed the act, arguing that the bill would allow people to be sued "for thoughts".

Taxes Kittleman co-sponsored legislation introduced during the 2015 legislative session that would provide tax relief to seniors and individuals that are totally disabled. The bill received an unfavorable report from the Ways and Means Committee.

Awards Maryland Woman of the Year, Women's Transportation Seminar, Inc., 2004 Party Candidate Votes % Republican Trent Kittleman 12,301 100.0%

+Alternate Delegates to the Republican National Convention, District 7, 2012 PartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanAnn Miller (Romney)9,38717.9%RepublicanDave Myers (Romney)9,03817.2%RepublicanLoretta H. Shields (Romney)8,70916.6%RepublicanGloria B. Murphy (Santorum)4,3578.3%RepublicanBryant J. Parker (Santorum)4,1597.9%RepublicanFrank C. Mirabile (Gingrich)3,4656.6%RepublicanTrent Kittleman (Gingrich)3,2506.2%RepublicanM. Justin Kinsey (Paul)2,5214.8%RepublicanAdrian Citroni (Paul)2,4274.6%RepublicanChick Chickanis (Gingrich)2,3104.4%RepublicanLarry Manross, III (Paul)2,2594.3%RepublicanKendall Taylor Murphy (Perry)5461.0%