Sheila Hixson — who served longer than any other woman in the Maryland legislature — has died at the age of 89. Hixson died Sunday. The cause of her death was not announced. Hixson served more than a half-century in politics — 43 of which she served in the Maryland General Assembly. She was also the first woman to chair the House Ways and Means Committee in the Maryland legislature. In a joint statement yesterday, Montgomery County representatives — including Congressman Jamie Raskin and State Senator Will Smith — called her a trailblazer in Maryland politics.