Longtime Maryland aide Anthony McCarthy dies after battling kidney disease
Longtime Maryland political aide, strategist, journalist and radio host Anthony McCarthy has died following a battle with kidney disease, WJZ has learned. He was 57 years old.
McCarthy spoke candidly about his kidney disease diagnosis with WJZ in 2023 while waiting for a kidney transplant.
He was a fixture in Baltimore politics as the spokesperson for Mayors Shelia Dixon, Stephanie Rawlings Blake and Catherine Pugh.
McCarthy also served with Congressman Kweisi Mfume and the late Congressman Elijah Cummings.
"I remember running around City Hall," McCarthy told WJZ in 2023. "I remember running all around Baltimore when I had so much energy and now I can't even walk."
McCarthy began his career as a writer with the Afro-American newspaper and was host of "The Anthony McCarthy Show" on WEAA radio.
The station (WEAA) is planning a tribute of remembrance to honor him at 5 p.m. on Monday.
"Anthony was the epitome of loyalty, principles and hope," Congressman Mfume said in a statement. "He never allowed the coarse nature of others to deprive him of his faith in God or his belief in the inherent nature of good in all people. Optimism and determination coexisted in his being. I will miss his trust and wise counsel. He was a friend until the end."
According to The Baltimore Banner, McCarthy had been on dialysis for four years and was hoping for a new kidney.
McCarthy was raised in Virginia and attended Eastern Mennonite University and Howard University before moving to Maryland in the mid-1990s, according to the Banner.
"I want to live"
In 2023, politicians and friends put on a fundraiser for McCarthy called "Love Fest" in Ellicott City.
McCarthy was waiting for a kidney at an assisted living facility in Virginia. At the time, he was optimistic about a recovery.
"I want to live, I want to walk, I want to laugh, I want to dance," McCarthy said. "I want to do all the things I used to do, again."
