Kathy Afzali

Kathryn L. Afzali (born May 27, 1957) is an American politician who represented district 4 in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2011 to 2019.[1]

Kathryn L. Afzali
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 4th district
In office
January 12, 2011 – January 9, 2019
Preceded byJoseph R. Bartlett, Paul S. Stull
Succeeded byDaniel L. Cox, Jesse Pippy
ConstituencyDistrict 4A (2011–2015)
District 4 (2015–2019)
Personal details
Born (1957-05-27) May 27, 1957
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseDavid
Children2
ResidenceMiddletown, Maryland
Alma materMount St. Mary's University (BS)
OccupationBusiness Woman
WebsiteKathryn L. Afzali, Maryland State Delegate

Background

Afzali was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area.[2] She is a graduate of Mount St. Mary's University. She was a columnist for the Frederick News-Post from 2003 to 2006.[3]

Career

Afzali was sworn in as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates on January 12, 2011. She was assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee and to its Election Law and Education subcommittees. She served as the Ranking Republican on Ways and Means. She is also a member of the Women Legislators of Maryland.[3]

By the end of Afzali's first legislative session in Annapolis, she sponsored or co-sponsored forty-nine bills.[4]

2012 Congressional election
Main article: 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland § District 6

Governor Martin O'Malley proposed, and Maryland General Assembly adopted, a redistricting plan that reconfigured Republican incumbent U.S. Congressman Roscoe Bartlett's 6th congressional district to one that Barack Obama won in the 2008 United States presidential election. The previous version of the district had President Obama at 40%, while the newly redrawn district had President Obama at 56%.[5]

On January 11, 2012, believing that Bartlett would be retiring, Afzali announced her intention to run for the GOP nomination to represent Maryland's 6th congressional district.[6][7] Bartlett eventually decided to run for reelection. He won the primary election with 44% of the vote in a crowded field but went on to lose the general election.

2018 Frederick County Executive election
Main article: 2018 Maryland county executive elections § Frederick County

Afzali won the Republican primary on June 26, 2018 with 42.7 percent of the vote.[8] She was defeated by incumbent Democratic County Executive Jan Gardner in the general election, receiving 43.1 percent of the vote to Gardner's 52.1 percent.[9][10] After her loss, Afzali stepped down from the Frederick County Republican Central Committee.[11]

Personal life

Afzali is a member of the Grace Community Church of Frederick.[3] She is a Life Member of the National Rifle Association of America.[12]

Political positions

Agriculture

Her first successful piece of legislation was a honey standard which passed unanimously through both chambers and has been used as a model in other states.[13]

She introduced a Farm Estate Tax bill that eliminated state inheritance taxes for family farms.[4]

Crime

Afzali has sponsored legislation to increase sanctions on drunk drivers with multiple offenses,[14] and was responsible for "Anayah's Law", which allows Child Protective Services to be relieved of its obligation to reunite children with their parent if the parent has committed "severe physical abuse" against the child.[15]

In her second year, she pushed for legislation to require a photo ID when voting in the state of Maryland.[4]

In 2013, she co-sponsored legislation that would make cyber-bullying a child a misdemeanor.[16]

During the 2018 legislative session, Afzali introduced legislation to ban telemarketers and others from falsifying the origin of their calls and establish a penalty for providing false location information.[17][18]

National politics

Afzali endorsed Mitt Romney for president on September 8, 2011.[19] Afzali endorsed Ted Cruz for president on April 21, 2016.[20]

In 2018, Afzali voted to sustain Governor Larry Hogan's veto on a bill to required employers with 15 or more employees to provide earned sick leave.[21]

Taxes

In 2018, Afzali testified in support of legislation to extend tax credits to police officers in high-crime neighborhoods to transit police.[22]

During her county executive campaign, Afzali said that she would freeze property taxes in her first 100 days. She also said that she supported "slower growth" with less high-density development to keep the county from having to raise taxes.[23]

Electoral history
Maryland House of Delegates District 4A Republican Primary Election, 2010[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kathy Afzali 3,454 22.5
Republican Kelly M. Schulz 3,399 22.13
Republican Paul S. Stull 3,393 22.09
Republican Dino E. Flores, Jr. 2,759 18.0
Republican John L. "Lennie" Thompson, Jr. 2,354 15.3
Maryland House of Delegates District 4A Election, 2010[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kelly Schulz 16,952 32.2
Republican Kathy Afzali 16,683 31.7
Democratic Ryan P. Trout 9,678 18.4
Democratic Bonita Riffle Currey 6,993 13.3
Unaffiliated Scott L. Guenthner 2,150 4.1
Write-in Other Write-Ins 162 0.3
Maryland House of Delegates District 4 Election, 2014[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kelly Schulz 33,753 31.0
Republican Kathy Afzali 31,128 28.5
Republican David E. Vogt III 27,313 25.1
Democratic Gene Stanton 16,493 15.1
Write-in Other Write-Ins 346 0.3
Frederick County Executive Republican Primary Election, 2018[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Kathy Afzali 6,898 42.7
Republican Kirby Delauter 5,250 32.5
Republican Regina M. Williams 4,000 24.8
Frederick County Executive Election, 2018[28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jan H. Gardner 55,692 52.1
Republican Kathy Afzali 46,063 43.1
Unaffiliated Earl Henry Robbins, Jr. 4,944 4.6
Write-in Other Write-Ins 104 0.1

References
  1. Gibson, Dianah (April 14, 2015). "Local Lawmakers Look Back on 2015 Maryland General Assembly Session". WFMD. Maryland, United States: Aloha Station Trust. Archived from the original on May 22, 2015.
  2. "Kathy Afzali". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  3. "Kathryn L. Afzali, Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. June 26, 2022.
  4. "BILLS SPONSORED BY-AFZALI - 2012 Regular Session". General Assembly of Maryland.
  5. Ford, C. Benjamin (November 18, 2011). "GOP candidates lining up to take on Bartlett -- With primary in April, TV ads already airing". Gazette.net - Maryland Community News Online. Archived from the original on November 22, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  6. John Fritze (March 28, 2012). "Two GOP lawmakers seek to replace Bartlett". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on May 22, 2015.
  7. "Metro Briefs - GOP's Afzali in, Mooney out for Bartlett's seat". Washington Times. January 10, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  8. Etzler, Allen; Lavin, Nancy (June 26, 2018). "Afzali claims Republican nomination for county executive". Frederick News-Post. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  9. Bohnel, Steve (November 6, 2018). "Gardner wins second term as county executive". Frederick News-Post. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  10. Gaines, Danielle (November 7, 2018). "A Blue Wave — Among Top County Leaders". Maryland Matters. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  11. Bohnel, Steve (January 24, 2019). "Political Notes: Afzali steps down from Republican Central Committee". Frederick News-Post. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  12. Rodgers, Bethany (September 20, 2013). "Political Notes: Afzali bears arms". Frederick News-Post. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  13. "Baltimore Sun Election Center". Archived from the original on May 6, 2015.
  14. "Governor to Sign HB 430 on Drunk Driving". Calvert Beacon. Solomons, Maryland. April 28, 2015.
  15. Wiggins, Ovetta (March 5, 2015). "Md. House approves 'Anayah's Law' to keep kids out of dangerous homes". Maryland Politics. The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.
  16. "Lawmakers Working Hard to Prevent Cyber Bullying". LocalDVM. Hagerstown, Maryland: Nexstar Broadcasting. February 27, 2013.
  17. DePuyt, Bruce (February 6, 2018). "Caller ID Spoofing Is Target of Maryland Bill". Maryland Matters. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  18. Loos, Kelsi (April 3, 2018). "Spoof call ban advacnes to Senate committee". Frederick News-Post. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  19. Wagner, John (September 8, 2011). "Romney lists two dozen Md. supporters". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  20. Gaines, Danielle (April 21, 2016). "Political Notes: Cruisin' with Cruz". Frederick News-Post. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  21. Loos, Kelsi (January 11, 2018). "House overrides governor's veto on paid sick leave, criminal history rule for college applications". Frederick News-Post. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  22. Loos, Kelsi (March 28, 2018). "Committee to consider extending tax credit to transit police". Frederick News-Post. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  23. Loos, Kelsi (April 23, 2018). "County's Republican hopefuls debate at Hood College". Frederick News-Post. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  24. "Official 2010 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections.
  25. "Official 2010 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections.
  26. "Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections.
  27. "Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Frederick County". Maryland State Board of Elections.
  28. "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for Frederick County". Maryland State Board of Elections.
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