House of Delegates
After Delegate Jennifer Boysko was elected to the Senate of Virginia,Samirah ran for her vacant seat in the Virginia House of Delegates,winning a special election in February 2019. [10] [11] In a town hall after his election,he was asked by a constituent whether he planned to implement Sharia law,which Samirah stated was an attack on his faith. [12] [13] [14] There were about two dozen protesters,some with anti-abortion and pro-Israel signs,outside Herndon Town Hall ahead of this meeting. [15] [13] In July 2019,he disrupted a speech by Donald Trump in Jamestown commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Virginia General Assembly,yelling "President Trump,you can't send us back,Virginia is our home" with "Deport Hate" written on a sign. [16] [17] [18] He was then escorted away by Capitol Police and Secret Service officers. [19] He ran for reelection unopposed that November. [20]
In December 2019,he introduced legislation to preempt local zoning ordinances to allow for more multi-family residential,high-density developments on properties currently zoned for single-family detached homes only. [21] [22] Samirah supported allowing property owners to convert their properties from single-family units to two-family duplexes,townhouses,or cottages in both established and new neighborhoods without going through the existing local processes for rezoning a residential property. [23] [24] [25] Samirah co-sponsored legislation with the aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,titled the Virginia Green New Deal. [26] He also signed a letter opposing the Transcontinental Pipeline. [27]
In January 2020,Samirah backed a bill to allow for expanded absentee voting and recognize election day as a state holiday. [28] Samirah also co-sponsored legislation directing the Virginia Department of Social Services to participate in the Restaurant Meals Program of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. [29] In February 2020,he co-sponsored legislation to make pawpaws the state fruit of Virginia. [30] He sponsored a bill that would ban public service companies from donating money to the state lawmakers. [31]
On May 31,2020,he attended a George Floyd protest in Lafayette Square,Washington,D.C and was hit with tear gas. [32] [33]
Samirah endorsed Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. [34]
In September 2020,he voted against a bill to end qualified immunity,which he blamed on a miscalculation,drawing criticism from Democrat colleagues. [35] He also called for an amendment to the bill to prevent Virginia's insurance risk pool from covering the cost of lawsuits filed against police. [35]
He drew a challenger in the Democratic primary in 2021 and was defeated by non-profit organizer Irene Shin who went on to win the general election. [36]
