[3] While at GWU, Pinsky attended protests in Washington, D.C. that opposed the Vietnam War and the apartheid in South Africa and supporting women's rights.

From 1983 to 1987, he served as president of the Prince George's County Educators' Association, a labor union that represents over 6,000 professional school employees.

Following his resignation, Democratic Party officials and aides of Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller sought to appoint someone other than Pinsky to fill his vacancy, worrying that he would be "too liberal" and not enough of a team player.

[12] In December 2022, governor-elect Wes Moore named Pinsky to serve as the director of the Maryland Energy Administration.

[14] In May 2020, Pinsky sharply criticized Governor Hogan for his administration's acquisition of incomplete COVID-19 testing kits from South Korea.

[25] During the 2019 legislative session, Pinsky led a three-year effort of getting the Maryland General Assembly to pass the Kirwan Commission's reforms of public schools.

[31] Pinsky previously introduced legislation that would have decreased the number of signatures an independent candidate would need to make it on a ballot.

[4] In 2016, Pinsky proposed turning control over redistricting to a commission made up of legislative appointees provided that Republican states do the same.

[35] During the 2021 special legislative session, Pinsky dismissed criticisms from Republicans that accused Maryland Democrats of passing congressional maps of using gerrymandering to draw a map that heavily favors the Democrats, saying that if Republicans opposed gerrymandering, they should support the federal For the People Act.

[38] He also supported legislation that would require vacancies in the Maryland General Assembly to be filled using special elections instead of gubernatorial appointments.

[39] In 2008, Pinsky introduced the Global Warming Solutions Act, which requires that greenhouse gases be cut by 90 percent from all businesses in the state by 2050.

An amendment introduced by senator Nathaniel Exum and backed by the administration of Governor Martin O'Malley weakened the bill's function by making this an advisory goal.

[56] Pinsky is a skeptic of nuclear energy, saying that living through scares like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island has made him unsure of its safety.

[60] In 1987, Pinsky voted against legislation that would return slot machines to eight counties on the Eastern Shore of Maryland under the pretext that they were only used by nonprofit organizations for charitable purposes.

[61] In 2003, Pinsky opposed a bill that would legalize slot machines in Maryland and earmark almost half of the revenue for public education, arguing that the track owners' share of the profit was far too generous.

[4] In 2012, Pinsky defended legislation that would significantly raise taxes on Marylanders earning half a million dollars or more.

[1] In January 2025, Pinsky revealed Maryland Energy Administration staffers that he had been receiving chemotherapy and immunotherapy to treat bladder cancer for the past several months.

In an interview with Maryland Matters, Pinsky said that he was given a positive long-term prognosis and was feeling well generally, and wanted to disclose his illness before the start of the legislative session on January 8 to avoid speculation about his health since he had begun wearing hats in public.