Lorig Charkoudian | |
---|---|
Member of the MarylandHouseofDelegates from the 20th district | |
Assumed office January 9, 2019 Servingwith David Moon, Jheanelle Wilkins | |
Preceded by | Sheila E. Hixson |
Personal details | |
Born | Boston,Massachusetts,U.S. | February 14,1973
Political party | Democratic |
Children | 2 |
Education | Pomona College (BA) Johns Hopkins University (PhD) |
Lorig Charkoudian (born February 14,1973) is an American politician who has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 20 since 2019.
Charkoudian was born in Boston [1] on February 14,1973, [2] to mother Bethel Charkoduian and father Levon Charkoudian,both Armenian civil rights activists. Two of her grandparents were survivors of the Armenian genocide. [3] She graduated from public schools in Newton,Massachusetts,and attended Pomona College,where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematical economics in 1995,afterwards moving to Baltimore [4] to attend Johns Hopkins University,where she earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in economics in 2002. [1]
Charkoudian has served as the executive director of Community Mediation Maryland since 2004. She has also served on the boards of directors of multiple local organizations,including the Takoma Park Silver Spring Food Co-op and the Crossroads Community Food Network. [1]
Charkoudian is a member of the Montgomery County Women's Democratic Club. [1] In August 2004,she became involved in efforts to lobby Starbucks to allow mothers to breastfeed openly. [5] Charkoudian also participated in protests outside of the U.S. Supreme Court against the death penalty,nuclear weapons,and the Iraq War. [6] [7]
In 2011,Charkoudian unsuccessfully ran for the Takoma Park City Council,losing to Tim Male by a margin of 17 votes out of 685 cast. [8]
In December 2016,after state Delegate William C. Smith Jr. was appointed to the Maryland Senate following the election of Jamie Raskin to the U.S. House of Representatives,Charkoudian applied to serve the remainder of Smith's term in the Maryland House of Delegates. [9] The Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee voted 19-9 to nominate committee member Jheanelle Wilkins to the seat in January 2017. [10] [11] Later that year,Charkoudian graduated from a training course hosted by Emerge Maryland,an organization created to prepare potential female Democratic candidates for public office, [1] and filed to run for District 20 in the 2018 Maryland House of Delegates election. [12] She ran on a slate with Smith,Wilkins,and state Delegate David Moon, [13] and placed third in the Democratic primary with 18.7 percent of the vote. [14] Charkoudian ran unopposed in the general election. [15]
Charkoudian was sworn in on January 9,2019. [1] She is the first Armenian American member of the Maryland House of Delegates. [3] Charkoudian has served as a member of the Economic Matters Committee since 2019. [1]
During the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries,Charkoudian unsuccessfully ran to serve as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention,pledged to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren. [16] In the general election,she canvassed in York,Pennsylvania,for Democratic nominee Joe Biden. [17] She again applied to run as a delegate to the 2024 Democratic National Convention,pledged to Biden,but was denied by the Maryland Democratic Party. [18]
Charkoudian has two children and lives in Takoma Park,Maryland. She is vegan. [4]
Since 2013,Charkoudian has annually run 67 miles from Hagerstown to Baltimore to fundraise for mediation programs between families and prisoners. [15] [19] [20]
In November 2019,Charkoudian penned a letter to state Treasurer Nancy Kopp,who chairs the state's 529 college savings plan board,urging the board to offer the option to invest in ESG investment funds. [21]
During the 2020 legislative session,Charkoudian supported a bill to impose a carbon tax to fund clean energy and education projects in Maryland, [22] and introduced legislation that would allow counties to negotiate energy purchasing. [23]
In 2021,Charkoudian introduced a bill that would require the Maryland Public Service Commission to consider the effect of climate change when reviewing applications for new energy facilities. [24] She also introduced bills requiring one percent of the state's energy portfolio to come from geothermal energy produced within the state,and another requiring that food waste be diverted from landfills to organic recycling facilities or be donated to farms to be used as animal feed,both of which passed and became law. [25] [26] Charkoudian also joined the Leaders for Climate Accountability,a national work of public officials who support holding corporate polluters accountable for their contributions to the climate crisis. [27]
During the 2022 legislative session,Charkoudian introduced a bill to expedite the electrification process in rental units,which passed but was vetoed by Governor Larry Hogan. [28] The bill was reintroduced in 2023,during which it passed and was signed into law by Governor Wes Moore. [29]
In 2023,Charkoudian introduced the POWER Act,a bill that would increase the state's wind power generation goal to 8.5 gigawatts and ease the construction of shared transmission infrastructure. [30] The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Moore. [31]
During the 2020 legislative session,Charkoudian introduced a bill to restrict hospitals' ability to collect unpaid medical debts. [32] In 2021,she introduced a bill that would require hospitals to demonstrate a "good faith" effort to have patients with unpaid medical debts agree to a payment plan before filing a lawsuit or engaging a debt collector, [33] which passed and became law. [34]
In 2021,Charkoudian introduced legislation to add a checkbox to unemployment insurance applications that would enroll applicants through the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange,which passed and became law. She later supported efforts by U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen to implement a similar policy nationwide. [35]
During the 2023 legislative session and following an apartment fire in Silver Spring,Maryland,that left one dead,Charkoudian introduced a bill to increase regulations on fire safety measures in apartment buildings. [36] The bill died in committee. [37]
During her 2011 Takoma Park City Council campaign,Charkoudian said she supported the city's "sanctuary city" policy. [38]
During her 2018 House of Delegates campaign,Charkoudian said that she supported raising the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour. During debate on a bill to do so,she unsuccessfully challenged amendments to delay the state's wage increase and to exempt certain workers from a $15 wage. [39] [40]
During the 2021 legislative session,Charkoudian introduced legislation to reduce bureaucratic hurdles to receive unemployment insurance,which passed and became law. [41] In June 2021,she criticized Governor Larry Hogan's decision to end the $300 supplemental weekly unemployment insurance provided by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,disagreeing with his notion that it would lead to state job gains. [42] [43]
During debate on a bill to establish a statewide paid family leave program,Charkoudian introduced an amendment to protect an employee's employment while on leave,which was adopted. [44]
In July 2023,Charkoudian worked as a server at the Sala Thai restaurant in Bethesda to advocate for a Montgomery County Council bill to abolish the tipped minimum wage. [45]
During the 2020 legislative session,Charkoudian supported legislation that would research providing reparations to the descendants of enslaved Africans in Maryland. [46]
During the 2022 legislative session,Charkoudian introduced a bill to ban cat declawing. The bill passed and became law. [47]
During the 2019 legislative session,Charkoudian voted for a bill to impose fees on country club properties in Montgomery County. [48]
In March 2020,Charkoudian proposed a six percent tax on "luxury services",such as fur cleaning and boat repair,to fund the Blueprint for Maryland's Future education reforms. [49] [50]
Charkoudian supports the Purple Line,but opposes the Maryland Department of Transportation's decision to use a public-private partnership to build the transit line,saying that it led to an "absolute disaster" of decisions. [51] During the 2022 legislative session,she supported efforts to provide financial support to businesses impacted by Purple Line construction. [52]
In November 2019,Charkoudian criticized Governor Larry Hogan's proposal to add express toll lanes to Interstate 270,saying that it would worsen existing equity issues by allowing wealthier drivers to pass lower-income motorists. [53]
During the 2021 legislative session,Charkoudian introduced legislation to establish an "urban tree program" to plant trees in communities where transportation projects require deforestation. [54] The bill passed and became law. [55]
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Tim Male | 351 | 51.2 | |
Lorig Charkoudian | 334 | 48.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | David Moon (incumbent) | 13,974 | 28.2 | |
Democratic | Jheanelle Wilkins (incumbent) | 11,960 | 24.1 | |
Democratic | Lorig Charkoudian | 9,256 | 18.7 | |
Democratic | Darian Unger | 7,126 | 14.4 | |
Democratic | Fatmata Barrie | 4,316 | 8.7 | |
Democratic | George Zokle | 1,751 | 3.5 | |
Democratic | Malik Lendzondzo | 1,196 | 2.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | David Moon (incumbent) | 38,892 | 35.0 | |
Democratic | Jheanelle Wilkins (incumbent) | 36,750 | 33.1 | |
Democratic | Lorig Charkoudian | 34,749 | 31.3 | |
Write-in | 718 | 0.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | David Moon (incumbent) | 31,489 | 33.8 | |
Democratic | Jheanelle Wilkins (incumbent) | 30,862 | 33.1 | |
Democratic | Lorig Charkoudian | 30,130 | 32.3 | |
Write-in | 735 | 0.8 |
Anne R. Kaiser is an American politician who has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 14 since 2003.
Brian Jeffrey Feldman is an American politician and a member of the Maryland Senate representing District 15. He previously served in the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 15.
Benjamin F. Kramer is an American politician who has served as a member of the Maryland Senate representing District 19 since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party,Kramer previously represented the district in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2007 to 2019.
Cheryl C. Kagan is an American politician who has served as a member of the Maryland Senate representing District 17 since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party,she previously represented the district in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1995 to 2003.
Ariana Brannigan Kelly is an American politician who is the executive director of the Maryland Commission for Women. She was a member of the Maryland Senate from District 16,which is located in Montgomery County,from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party,she previously represented the same district in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2011 to 2023.
Bonita Lynne Cullison is an American teacher,labor official,and politician who has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates in District 19 since 2011.
Craig Jason Zucker is an American politician who has represented District 14 in the Maryland Senate since 2016. A member of the Democratic Party,he previously represented the district in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2011 to 2016.
David V. Fraser-Hidalgo is an Ecuadorian-born American politician and a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 15 in Montgomery County,Maryland. He was appointed to complete the term of Delegate Brian J. Feldman following Feldman's appointment to a Senate seat and has since been elected to his own full term.
Brooke Elizabeth Lierman is an American civil rights attorney and politician who is the 34th Comptroller of Maryland. She was first elected in 2022,becoming the first female Comptroller of the state and the first woman elected to an independent state government office in Maryland. A member of the Democratic Party,Lierman was previously a member of the Maryland House of Delegates,representing District 46 in Baltimore.
William Colonel Smith Jr. is an American politician who is a member of the Maryland Senate representing District 20 since 2016. He previously represented the district in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2015 to 2016.
David Hyon Moon is an American activist,lawyer,and politician. He is currently a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 20 in Montgomery County,Maryland. Since 2023,he has served as the Majority Leader of the Maryland House of Delegates.
Jheanelle K. Wilkins is an American politician who has represented District 20 in the Maryland House of Delegates since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party,she has served as the Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland since 2022.
Pamela E. Queen is an American politician who serves as a Delegate to the Maryland House of Delegates representing Maryland's 14th Legislative District in northern Montgomery County.
Vaughn Morton Stewart III is an American attorney and politician. He is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates,representing District 19 in Montgomery County since 2019.
Lesley Jeanne Lopez is an American politician who is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from District 39. A member of the Democratic Party,she unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Maryland's 6th congressional district in 2024,losing to April McClain-Delaney in the Democratic primary election.
Sara N. Love is an American politician who currently serves as a member of the Maryland Senate representing the 16th district since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party,she previously represented the district in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2019 to 2024.
Charlotte Crutchfield is an American politician from Maryland. She is a Democratic member of the Maryland House of Delegates who currently represents Maryland House of Delegates District 19 in Montgomery County.
Emily Khoury Shetty is an American politician and attorney who has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 18 since 2019.
Jared Scott Solomon is an American politician from the Democratic Party and is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 18.
William Opeyemi Jawando is an American politician and author who has served as an at-large member of the Montgomery County Council since 2018.