Dereck E. Davis, a veteran Maryland lawmaker known for his genial, soft-spoken public persona and ruthless dealmaking behind the scenes, became state treasurer on Thursday, elected in a near-unanimous vote by the legislature to help oversee state spending, school construction and environmental permitting on the powerful, three-member Board of Public Works.

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       Davis, 54, who has served in the General Assembly for 27 years, has presided over the Economic Matters Committee, which has regulated business and the alcohol industry since 2003. According to legislative staffers, he has never had a bill fail on the floor of the House of Delegates.

       “As one of the House’s longest serving committee chairmen, his deep institutional knowledge is only underscored by an impeccable record of success,” House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore) tweeted after the election.

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       Because of coronavirus restrictions, Davis’s election was conducted in a modified joint session of the General Assembly. Typically senators cram into the House chamber to take the vote. On Thursday, the lawmakers cast their ballots in their respective chambers and Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and Senate leaders oversaw the vote count.

       Davis’s election follows the retirement of Nancy Kopp, whose two-decade tenure as treasurer made her the longest-serving woman to hold the post. She tangled with Maryland’s two Republican governors over spending priorities, and she helmed the Kopp Commission in 2003, which led to the state pumping $250 million annually into bringing every school statewide up to standard.

       Kopp, 78, announced her retirement in October, putting an end to her 46-year career in state government. The state legislature elects the treasurer to four-year terms, following the recommendation of a selection committee that solicits applications for the job. The committee nominated Davis last month.

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       In a speech that included playful jabs at his colleagues and lyrics of Boyz II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday,” Davis thanked Kopp and her deputy for their combined 60 years of service to Maryland, saying that “me and many others may fill your space but will never take your place.”

       Maryland’s treasurer plays a role in determining how much the state can afford to spend, as well as deals with rating agencies and a range of banking matters.

       Davis, the second Black person to become treasurer in Maryland, takes over the post as the state prepares to spend billions of dollars in federal aid meant to buttress the economy from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, the state is poised to undertake another broad investment in public schools.

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       After the death of longtime Speaker Michael E. Busch in 2019, Davis was one of three candidates vying to lead the House of Delegates. The race became ugly behind the scenes, filled with intraparty tensions that focused on race, gender and ideology, after Jones, then a delegate, dropped out of the race and the two front-runners — Davis and Appropriations Chairwoman Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore City) — went head-to-head.

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       Davis, a centrist, was vying to become the first Black House Speaker, while McIntosh, a White liberal, would have become the first woman and openly gay person to hold the position.

       Without a unified Democratic caucus, Davis, who had the backing of most of the Legislative Black Caucus, including Jones, sought the backing of the Republican caucus, raising the specter that House Democrats might for the first time elect a speaker on the basis of Republican support.

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       Jones withdrew her name in an attempt to rally the entire Black Caucus to support Davis. Instead, after a tense five-hour closed-door meeting, the Democratic caucus coalesced around a candidate who could win on the strength of Democratic votes alone: Jones, who became the first Black and the first woman to serve as House speaker.

       McIntosh made the nomination for Jones’s election. Davis seconded it.

       “ ‘House of Cards’ has nothing on us. Talk about high drama,” Davis quipped before directly addressing Jones. “You were willing to step aside for me. And I’m honored to step aside for you.”