About Tom
Tom Dernoga, a two-time Chairman of the Prince George’s County Council, is a respected County leader that has served for more than two decades as a lawyer protecting the interests of our communities. Tom has represented District 1 on the Prince George’s County Council since January 29, 2002. He took office after a special election to replace Walter H. “Mike” Maloney. Tom is a lifelong resident of Central Maryland and has lived in Prince George’s County since 1980. Tom and Lenora, his wife, have lived in West Laurel for 25 years.
Tom attended the University of Maryland, College Park and earned a BA in Government and Politics in 1981. Tom received a JD with honors from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1984, and was an editor of the Maryland Law Review. Tom earned his Master of Laws in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in 1988. Tom has been a member of the Maryland State Bar since 1985 and is also a member of the Prince George’s County Bar Association.
As a private attorney, Tom regularly took on powerful special interests on behalf of concerned communities. He shut down an improperly designed government facility that made residents of a neighboring community ill from fumes. When a developer with several bulldozers threatened a Prince George’s County’s gem, one of the last old-growth forests on the East Coast, Tom stepped up and saved that forest for future generations. Tom won’t back down from tough cases.
Tom has over twenty-five years of legal experience from the District Court to the Maryland Court of Appeals. Tom is taking his community advocacy to the Office of State’s Attorney where he will be a strong voice for our most vulnerable residents – standing firm against domestic abuse, proliferation of gang violence and cracking down on crime that affects our schools and communities.
Tom always puts our community’s safety first. In his nine years on the County Council, Tom worked to hire hundreds of new police officers and sheriffs. To keep our children safe, he shut down violent nightclubs, and removed pawn shops and strip clubs from our neighborhoods.
As a County leader, Tom has fought to get more police on our streets, improve conditions at the County jail, drive out dangerous nightclubs that promote violence, and promote positive economic development that moves us forward. Tom is well-known for his work with our youth, regularly helping to get high school and college students involved in social causes that affect them.
