Lily Qi

Lily Qi
Qi in 2024
Member of the MarylandHouseofDelegates from the 15th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 9, 2019 Servingwith Kathleen Dumais, David Fraser-Hidalgo, Linda Foley

Hong Qi (born November 4, 1963) is an American politician who represents the 15th legislative district in the Maryland House of Delegates. ^{[1] [2]} Qi previously worked as a chief administrator for economic development under Isiah Leggett. ^[3]

Early life and career

Qi was born in Shanghai, China on November 4, 1963. ^[1] She grew up during the height of the Cultural Revolution, during which her family was persecuted. She migrated to Indiana on February 22, 1989, where she attended Manchester University on a sponsorship from Manchester professor Al Deeter, for who she worked as a translator when he visited Shanghai. ^{[4] [5]} While at Manchester, she met her future husband, Yu "Phil" Peng. ^[4] She graduated from Manchester University in 1991, earning a M.A. degree in communication studies. ^[5] Afterwards, the couple worked at universities in Athens, Ohio, and Morgantown, West Virginia. In 1997, the couple moved to Montgomery County, Maryland after Qi accepted a position working on multicultural affairs at American University. She became a citizen of the United States in 1999 and earned a M.B.A. degree in marketing and global information technology management in 2001 while working at American University. After graduating, Qi began working on economic development for a couple of nonprofit organizations. ^[4]

Qi campaigning in 2018

Qi began her career in politics with under the administration of Montgomery County executive Ike Leggett, who asked her to serve as a liaison to the Asian American community after his election win in 2006. ^{[3] [4]} In April 2016, Leggett appointed Qi to serve as his Assistant Chief Administrative Officer on economic and workforce matters in Montgomery County, becoming the first Asian American to serve the position. ^[6] Following Hillary Clinton's loss in the 2016 United States presidential election, Qi applied to a training course hosted by Emerge Maryland, an organization created to prepare potential female Democratic candidates for public office, to learn about the process of running for public office. ^[7] Utilizing her experience at Emerge Maryland, she announced her candidacy for the Maryland House of Delegates in November 2017, seeking to succeed Delegate Aruna Miller. ^{[4] [6] [8]} During the Democratic primary, she was endorsed by Leggett and the Maryland Sierra Club. ^[6] Her 2018 campaign and election were noted for mobilizing the local Chinese-American community through WeChat. ^[3] She won the general election with 23.6 percent of the vote, becoming the first Chinese-born state legislator in Maryland. ^{[9] [10]}

In the legislature

Qi in the Economic Matters Committee, 2024

Qi was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 9, 2019. ^[1] She was a delegate to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, pledged to Kamala Harris. ^[11]

Committee assignments

• Deputy Majority Whip, 2022–present
• Member, Economic Matters Committee, 2019–present (workers' compensation subcommittee, 2019–present; vice-chair, business regulation subcommittee, 2022–present, member, 2019–present)
• Study Group on Economic Stability, 2020–present
• Joint Committee on Federal Relations, 2021–present

Other memberships

• Member, Maryland Legislative Asian-American and Pacific-Islander Caucus, 2019–present
• Member, Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus, 2019–present
• Member, Maryland Legislative Transit Caucus, 2019–present
• Member, Women Legislators of Maryland, 2019–present

Political positions

Alcohol

Qi introduced legislation in 2021 legislative session that would allow for the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores. ^[12] She introduced legislation in the 2022 legislative session that would create a ballot referendum on allowing grocery stores to sell wine and beer, but it failed to move out of committee. ^[13]

COVID-19 pandemic

In June 2020, Qi coordinated the donation of 20,000 masks from Xi'an, a sister city of Montgomery County, Maryland, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^{[14] [15]}

In August 2020, Qi joined a half dozen Maryland legislators in sending a letter to Governor Larry Hogan to push for widespread antibody testing and public disclosure of the results. ^[16]

Education

During her 2018 campaign, Qi said that she supports expanding magnet programs in Montgomery County and making universal pre-K a statewide priority. ^[6]

Housing

In January 2021, Qi voted against legislation that would require Montgomery County landlords to provide just cause for evicting a tenant from a residential property, saying that there could be a better solution, such as a third-party "referee" and that some landlords might rely on one or two properties as a main income stream. ^[17]

Qi introduced legislation in the 2021 legislative session that would create a pilot program to provide homeless people with a mobile laundry service. ^[18] The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan on May 18, 2021. ^[19]

Immigration

Qi says that she "does not believe Maryland needs sanctuary community designation", conveying that Maryland already has safe and welcoming communities. She opposes the use of local resources to enforce federal law when it comes to sanctuary policies. ^[3]

Minimum wage

Qi supports a $15 minimum wage. ^[3] She voted in favor of Senate Bill 280, which would gradually raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. ^[20]

National politics

In April 2016, Qi endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries ^{[21] [22]} and Chris Van Hollen in the 2016 United States Senate election in Maryland. ^[23] She also moderated a non-partisan debate between candidates for Maryland's 8th congressional district in 2016. ^[24]

In January 2020, Qi filed to run as a convention delegate for Pete Buttigieg at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. ^[25]

Social issues

Qi supported Question 6, saying that a vote in favor of same-sex marriage would improve the climate for entrepreneurs in Maryland. ^[26]

In March 2018, Qi testified in support of naming an elementary school in Montgomery County after Bayard Rustin, noting that her son came out as gay the summer before he began college. ^[27]

Electoral history

Maryland House of Delegates District 15 Democratic Primary Election, 2018 ^[28]

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Kathleen Dumais	8,207	22.4%
Democratic	Lily Qi	6,568	17.9%
Democratic	David Fraser-Hidalgo	6,206	16.9%
Democratic	Amy Frieder	5,289	14.4%
Democratic	Kevin Mack	4,257	11.6%
Democratic	Anis Ahmed	2,097	5.7%
Democratic	Andy Van Wye	2,032	5.5%
Democratic	Hamza Sarwar Khan	1,262	3.4%
Democratic	Tony Puca	776	2.1%

Maryland House of Delegates District 15 General Election, 2018 ^[29]

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Kathleen Dumais	36,331	24.6%
Democratic	Lily Qi	34,888	23.6%
Democratic	David Fraser-Hidalgo	33,808	22.9%
Republican	Laurie Halverson	15,678	10.6%
Republican	Harvey Jacobs	14,096	9.5%
Republican	Marc A. King	12,993	8.8%
	Other Write-Ins	139	0.1%

Female Delegate to the Democratic National Convention, District 6, 2020 ^[30]

Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Nancy J. King (Biden)	62,804	22.8%
Democratic	Barbara Goldberg Goldman (Biden)	61,938	22.4%
Democratic	Karen Lewis Young (Biden)	61,341	22.2%
Democratic	Aesha Greer (Sanders)	13,512	4.9%
Democratic	Angela R. Lowry (Sanders)	13,057	4.7%
Democratic	Linda Wagner (Sanders)	12,418	4.5%
Democratic	Jessica Fitzwater (Warren)	6,252	2.3%
Democratic	Sophie Ehrlich (Warren)	5,826	2.1%
Democratic	Elise F. Goldstein (Warren)	5,022	1.8%
Democratic	Lily Qi (Buttigieg)	4,726	1.7%
Democratic	Suzanne Sable Beall (Yang)	3,111	1.1%
Democratic	Maria Lane (Buttigieg)	3,070	1.1%
Democratic	Ismatu F. Daramy (Yang)	2,622	1%
Democratic	Mary Ellen Mitchell (Buttigieg)	2,573	0.9%
Democratic	Maureen D. Grayzeck (Klobuchar)	2,468	0.9%
Democratic	Martha L. Kahn (Yang)	2,445	0.9%
Democratic	Mary Bierman (Bloomberg)	2,297	0.8%
Democratic	Venattia W. Vann (Uncommitted)	1,919	0.7%
Democratic	Myrna Whitworth (Klobuchar)	1,697	0.6%
Democratic	Elizabeth S. Stiefvater (Klobuchar)	1,630	0.6%
Democratic	Arlene Proebsting (Bloomberg)	1,021	0.4%
Democratic	Adrienne Oleck (Gabbard)	881	0.3%

References

1. "Lily Qi, Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
2. Chunying, Cai (August 8, 2014). "Lily Qi: Leading like a true American". China Daily . Retrieved October 3, 2020.
3. Hernández, Arelis R. (November 28, 2018). "How a Chinese immigrant used WeChat to win a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved October 3, 2020.
4. Goldstein, Steve (August 4, 2020). "Lily Qi is making her voice—and the voices of other immigrants across Montgomery County—heard". Montgomery Magazine. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
5. "Maryland Delegate Lily Qi receives Manchester University Alumni Honor Award". Manchester University . October 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
6. Chen, Lily (April 6, 2018). "Lily Qi Eyes Open Seat For Maryland Delegate". Asian Fortune News. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
7. Wiggins, Ovetta (December 10, 2016). "Clinton's loss sparks surge of interest in women running for office". The Washington Post . Retrieved March 28, 2022.
8. Metcalf, Andrew; Peck, Louis (November 3, 2017). "Political Roundup: Leggett, Delaney Aides to Run for Open District 15 Seat; Van Hollen Endorses Baker". Bethesda Magazine . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
9. Chen, Lily (November 11, 2018). "Lily Qi in Historic Win as Maryland Delegate". Asian Fortune . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
10. Gaines, Danielle E. (November 9, 2018). "Highest Number of Women Headed to General Assembly". Maryland Matters . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
11. Kurtz, Josh (July 22, 2024). "Meet the Maryland delegates to the Democratic National Convention". Maryland Matters . Retrieved July 22, 2024.
12. "Maryland Considering Bill To Allow Beer, Wine In Grocery Stores". WJZ-TV . March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
13. Dance, Scott; Stole, Bryn (March 22, 2022). "Grocery store booze, gun penalties and vanishing texts among issues unlikely to pass Maryland legislature after crossover day". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved March 28, 2022.
14. Pollak, Suzanne (June 23, 2020). "County's Sister City in China Donates 20,000 Masks". Montgomery Community Media. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
15. "Montgomery County Receives 20,000 Masks from its Sister City in Xi'an, China". montgomerycountymd.gov (Press release). Montgomery County, Maryland. June 23, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
16. Fleischer, Jodie; Jones, Steve; Piper, Jeff; Yarborough, Rick (August 13, 2020). "Maryland Legislators Urge More Aggressive Use of Antibody Tests as Local Company Aims to Advance Research". NBC Washington . Retrieved March 28, 2022.
17. Adhikusuma, Briana (January 7, 2021). "Majority of county delegation backs bill limiting eviction powers". Bethesda Magazine . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
18. Collins, David (March 16, 2021). "Bill would provide mobile laundry service for the homeless". WBAL-TV . Retrieved March 28, 2022.
19. "Legislation - HB0189". mgaleg.maryland.gov. Maryland General Assembly . Retrieved March 28, 2022.
20. "Voting Report - SB 280" (PDF). mgaleg.maryland.gov. Maryland General Assembly . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
21. Fritze, John (April 9, 2016). "Hillary Clinton announces endorsements from Maryland women". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved March 28, 2022.
22. "More than 200 Maryland women leaders endorse Hillary Clinton for president". WBAL-TV . April 9, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
23. "Letter from 1,011 Democratic women: Here's why we support Van Hollen". The Baltimore Sun . April 20, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
24. Robinson, Mark (April 6, 2016). "Chinese-American group sponsors District 8 debate". Montgomery County Sentinel . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
25. Kurtz, Josh (January 27, 2020). "No Surprise: Biden Is Dem Establishment Choice, Convention Filings Show". Maryland Matters . Retrieved March 28, 2022.
26. Sears, Bryan P. (August 16, 2012). "Same-Sex Marriage an 'Economic Imperative'". Patch . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
27. Rodgers, Bethany (March 26, 2018). "School Notes: Emotions Flow During Testimony about Naming New School for Bayard Rustin". Bethesda Magazine . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
28. "Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
29. "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections . Retrieved March 29, 2022.
30. "Official 2020 Presidential Primary Election results for Female Delegates to the Democratic National Convention - District 6". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections . Retrieved March 29, 2022.

External links

• Official website
• "Members - Delegate Lily Qi". mgaleg.maryland.gov. Maryland General Assembly. February 7, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.