Paul G. Pinsky, director of the Maryland Energy Administration, served seven terms in the Senate and two in the House of Delegates. File photo by Bryan P. Sears.
Paul G. Pinsky, the longtime state legislator who now heads the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA), told his staff Monday that he is under care for “treatable bladder cancer.”
In a memo to all MEA staff, Pinsky disclosed that he’s been receiving chemotherapy and immunotherapy to treat the cancer “on a regular basis” for the past several months.
In an interview Monday, Pinsky, 74, said he is feeling well generally and has been given a positive long-term prognosis. He said he wanted to disclose his illness now because even though he has been working steadily, with the General Assembly session starting he’ll be making more public appearances than he has been in recent months and has been wearing hats in public, which could spark some speculation about his health.
He said in the interview that he’s “not ready for the Wes Moore bald look yet.”
“As someone who believes in transparency, after extended thought, I decided I should share this information with you,” Pinsky wrote to his colleagues. “While you won’t see a change in my performance, you may see a change in my hairline.”
Gov. Wes Moore (D) tapped Pinsky to lead the MEA and the agency has upped its profile as state government implements the comprehensive Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022 — which Pinsky authored as a state senator representing Prince George’s County.
Pinsky’s wife, Joan Rothgeb, a former top Prince George’s County Public Schools official, died of pancreatic cancer in 2020 at the age of 63.
“Working with you and leading the agency have given me even stronger purpose,” Pinsky wrote his colleagues Monday. “Medical issues, be they physical or emotional, are a fact of life. They are experienced by many. Some might share, others might not. And we should respect whatever approach is chosen.
“Lester Holt of NBC ends his broadcast with the sign-off, ‘Take care of yourself, and each other.’ Good advice all year and particularly as we complete this holiday season,” Pinsky said.