Meagan C. Simonaire (born August 8, 1990) is a former American politician from Maryland and was the youngest member of the Maryland General Assembly. She represented House District 31B (which includes Pasadena and portions of Glen Burnie, Millersville and Severna Park) in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2014 to 2018. She is the daughter of Maryland State Senator Bryan Simonaire.
Meagan Simonaire | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Simonaire in 2015 | |
| Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 31B district | |
| In office January 14, 2015 – January 9, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Don H. Dwyer Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Brian Chisholm |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 18, 1990 Pasadena, Maryland |
| Political party | Democratic (since 2018) |
| Other political affiliations | Republican (before 2018) |
| Parent |
|
| Education | Bob Jones University |
Early life
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Simonaire is the third of seven brothers and sisters, and spent most of her childhood in the Middle East where her father worked as an engineer for Northrop Grumman.[1]
After she moved to the U.S., she attended Bob Jones University in South Carolina to study cosmetology.[1]
Political career
editMaryland House of Delegates
editSimonaire was elected to the House of Delegates in 2014 to one of the two seats in House District 31B. After a competitive primary, Simonaire beat out several other candidates to win a seat alongside then House Minority Leader Nic Kipke, replacing incumbent Don Dwyer who was defeated after a string of legal issues.[2]
Views on conversion therapy
editSimonaire publicly came out as bisexual in April 2018 while supporting a bill banning conversion therapy for LGBT teens. In a speech on the House floor, she claimed her parents suggested conversion therapy after she came out to them in January 2015.[3][4] Her father, Senator Bryan Simonaire, disputed her story[5] and continued to oppose the bill. The bill was ultimately passed by both the House of Delegates and Senate.
Elected as a Republican, Simonaire joined the Democratic Party on October 15, 2018.[6][7]
Personal life
editSimonaire chose not to run for reelection in 2018 and retired from elected office due to her changing views. She is working as a cosmetic tattoo artist, specializing in eyebrow tattooing. She provides free services to burn patients, cancer patients, domestic violence survivors, and human trafficking survivors.[8][9][10]
Electoral history
edit- 2014 Republican Primary Election for Maryland House of Delegates – District 31B[11]
- Voters to choose two:
Name Votes Percent Outcome Nic Kipke, Rep. 3,920 31.00% Won Meagan Simonaire, Rep. 3,075 24.30% Won Gus Kurtz, Rep. 1,779 14.10% Lost Brian A. Chisholm, Rep. 1,607 12.70% Lost Faith M. Loudon, Rep. 1,017 8.10% Lost Don Dwyer, Jr., Rep. 890 7.00% Lost Paul William Drgos, Jr., Rep. 230 1.80% Lost David Lee Therrien, Rep. 111 0.90% Lost
- 2014 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – 31B District[12]
- Voters to choose two:
Name Votes Percent Outcome Nic Kipke, Republican 20,858 39.9% Won Meagan C. Simonaire, Republican 19,555 37.4% Won Jeremiah Chiappelli, Democratic 6,332 12.1% Lost Doug Morris, Democratic 5,394 10.3% Lost Other Write-Ins 88 0.2%
References
edit- ^ a b Thompson, Steve (April 20, 2018). "Why a bisexual Republican lawmaker took aim at her father's views". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
- ^ Wood, Pamela (May 3, 2014). "In Pasadena, fellow Republicans line up to challenge Don Dwyer". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
- ^ Cook, Chase (April 4, 2018). "Pasadena delegate says her father, a state senator, sought conversion therapy for her". The Capital. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
- ^ Lavers, Michael K. (April 21, 2018). "Bisexual Md. lawmaker talks coming out, conversion therapy speech". Washington Blade.
- ^ Simonaire, Bryan (April 5, 2018). "Bryan Simonaire: My family's story and my vote on conversion ban were distorted". The Capital.
- ^ Chason, Rachel (October 15, 2018). "Md. lawmaker who came out as bisexual changes party affiliation". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
- ^ "Simonaire joins Democratic Party". Facebook. October 15, 2018.
- ^ Marbella, Jean (January 19, 2019). "Federal lawsuit seeks to overturn Maryland's ban on conversion therapy". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
... she decided not to seek another term because her views had changed so much. While she doesn't rule out running for office again in the future, for now she is working as a cosmetic tattoo artist in Northern Virginia.
- ^ Cook, Chase (October 9, 2017). "Meagan Simonaire reverses decision, won't seek second term as delegate from Pasadena". The Capital. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
... She works as a specialized cosmetologist, working with burn patients, cancer patients and others to create the appearance of hair.
- ^ Simonaire, Meagan (2022). "Meet Meagan Simonaire". Soma to Soul. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
Saving the best for last, Meagan is honored by the opportunity to give back to her community by providing complimentary paramedical procedures to those in need including but not limited to, Scar Revision for Domestic Violence Survivors, 3D Areola Restoration for Cancer Survivors, Scar Camouflage for Human Trafficking Survivors, Restorative Lip Procedure for Cleft Condition, and Microblading for Facial Burn Survivors.
- ^ "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. July 16, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- ^ "2014 House of Delegates Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
External links
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Media related to Meagan Simonaire at Wikimedia Commons
