Angela Angel (born December 26, 1979) is an American politician who represented District 25 in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2015 to 2019.[1] A member of the Democratic Party, she ran for Congress in Maryland's 4th congressional district in 2022.[2]

Angela Angel
Angel at the United State of Women Summit in 2018
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 25th district
In office
January 11, 2015 – January 9, 2019
Preceded byAisha Braveboy
Succeeded byNick Charles
Personal details
Born (1979-12-26) December 26, 1979 (age 44)
South Bend, Indiana, United States
Political partyDemocratic
Children5
OccupationAttorney

Background

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Angel was born in South Bend, Indiana. She received her undergraduate degree at Virginia's Hampton University. Angel then graduated from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, where she received her Juris Doctor in 2004. She graduated with Honors and a specialization in Alternative Dispute Resolution. She served as a judicial fellow to Judge James A. Yates of the New York Supreme Court from 2004 to 2005. She was admitted to New York Bar in 2005.[1]

Angel first got involved with politics in 2000, when she worked as a legislative aide to Virginia State Delegate Mary T. Christian.[1] In 2010, Angel served as the principal coordinator for policy and politics in Prince George's County for Governor Martin O'Malley, and later served as legislator director for the Prince George's County Delegation until 2011. From there, she worked as a Education and Social Services Specialist for the Prince George's County Council until 2014, when she began working as the Legislative Affairs Counsel for the Prince George's Department of Environmental Protection.[3]

In the legislature

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From 2015 to 2019, Angel served on the Health and Government Operations committee in the Maryland House of Delegates. She was also a member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland.[1]

In March 2018, Angel said that she was sexually harassed while working in the Maryland General Assembly, saying that she "felt defenseless when she was accosted in front of other people and no one came to her defense".[4][5]

Angel announced that she would run for the Maryland Senate on November 8, 2017, seeking to succeed retiring state Senator Ulysses Currie.[3] She lost the Democratic primary to former state Delegate Melony G. Griffith, receiving 36.8 percent of the vote to Griffith's 55.0 percent.[6]

Post-legislative career

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In April 2023, Angel applied to fill a vacancy in District 25 of the Maryland House of Delegates left by the resignation of Darryl Barnes.[7] In May 2023, the Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee unanimously voted to nominate its chair, Kent Roberson, to succeed Barnes.[8] In December 2023, Angel again applied to fill a vacancy in District 25 of the House of Delegates left by the appointment of Nick Charles to the Maryland Senate. The Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee voted to nominate Denise Roberts to the seat over Angel.[9]

In July 2024, after Prince George's County councilmember Mel Frankin resigned from his at-large seat on the county council, Angel filed to run in the special election to succeed Franklin.[10] She was defeated by Jolene Ivey in the Democratic primary on August 6, 2024.[11]

2022 U.S. House campaign

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On December 20, 2021, Angel announced her bid for the Democratic nomination in Maryland's 4th congressional district.[2][12] She was defeated in the Democratic primary on July 19, 2022, placing third behind former Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn Ivey and former Congresswoman Donna Edwards.[13]

Personal life

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In June 2012, Angel briefly lived in a homeless shelter after escaping an abusive marriage.[12] She is a single mother of five children.[14] She is Catholic.[15]

Political positions

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Development initiatives

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During her House campaign, Angel said that she would support efforts to bring the FBI headquarters to Prince George's County.[12]

Education

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During her House campaign, Angel said that she supported universal pre-K.[12]

Health care

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In 2018, Angel was a sponsor of the Healthy Maryland Act, a bill that would establish a universal single-payer healthcare system in Maryland.[16]

Immigration

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In November 2015, Angel signed a letter condemning Governor Larry Hogan's decision to block Syrian refugees from resettling to Maryland.[17]

Social issues

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During the 2016 legislative session, Angel introduced legislation to change the definition of abuse to include harassment and malicious destruction of property. The bill died in the House Judicial Proceedings Committee, prompting Angel to attach her legislation as an amendment, which passed the House with a vote of 65-60, to a domestic-violence-related bill introduced by state Senator Victor R. Ramirez.[18] Veteran lawmakers accused Angel of violating constitutional rules by making this move, with House parliamentarian William Frick arguing that reviving a dead bill by grafting it onto a live bill "upends the integrity of the committee system that first put the brakes on Angel's legislation". The House passed Ramirez's bill as amended, but the legislation died in the Senate.[19]

Angel supported a 2018 historically Black colleges and universities lawsuit against the state of Maryland, saying that "institutions with predominantly Black student bodies should be given equitable funding by the state with those with White students in the majority".[20]

Electoral history

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Maryland House of Delegates District 25 Democratic primary election, 2014[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dereck E. Davis 9,088 25.7
Democratic Angela Angel 7,104 20.1
Democratic Darryl Barnes 5,702 16.1
Democratic Juanita D. Miller 3,804 10.8
Democratic Nick Charles 3,032 8.6
Democratic Matthew Fogg 1,713 4.8
Democratic Tony Jones 1,498 4.2
Democratic Geraldine Gerry Eggleston 1,299 3.7
Democratic Larry R. Greenhill 1,094 3.1
Democratic Stanley Onye 1,014 2.9
Maryland House of Delegates District 25 election, 2014[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Angela Angel 26,792 36.2
Democratic Dereck E. Davis 23,593 31.9
Democratic Darryl Barnes 23,372 31.6
Write-in 161 0.2
Maryland Senate District 25 Democratic primary election, 2018[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Melony G. Griffith 10,939 55.0
Democratic Angela M. Angel 7,320 36.8
Democratic Jonathan Edward Rosero 1,641 8.2
Maryland's 4th congressional district Democratic primary election, 2022[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Glenn Ivey 42,791 51.8
Democratic Donna Edwards 29,114 35.2
Democratic Angela Angel 4,678 5.7
Democratic Tammy Allison 1,726 2.1
Democratic Kim A. Shelton 1,354 1.6
Democratic Gregory Holmes 1,024 1.2
Democratic James Curtis Jr. 763 0.9
Democratic Matthew Fogg 663 0.8
Democratic Robert K. McGhee 549 0.7
Prince George's County Council At-Large Democratic special primary election, 2024[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jolene Ivey 29,698 47.54
Democratic Tim Adams 19,061 30.51
Democratic Tamara Davis Brown 5,723 9.16
Democratic Angela Angel 3,371 5.40
Democratic Marvin E. Holmes Jr. 1,473 2.36
Democratic Gabriel Njinimbot 1,176 1.88
Democratic Kiesha D. Lewis (withdrawn) 859 1.38
Democratic Judy Mickens-Murray 688 1.10
Democratic Leo Bachi Eyomobo 416 0.67

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Angela M. Angel, Maryland State Delegate". Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Kurtz, Josh (December 20, 2021). "Former Delegate Angel Makes Congressional Bid Official". Maryland Matters. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Rose, Mark (November 8, 2017). "Del. Angel will challenge ex-Del. Griffith for Currie's Senate seat". MarylandReporter.com. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  4. ^ Cox, Erin (March 6, 2018). "3 Maryland delegates say they were sexually harassed. Now they're pushing for reforms". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  5. ^ "Maryland Lawmakers Discuss Harassment on the Job, Call for Change". Baltimore Afro-American. Associated Press. March 6, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for State Senator". Maryland State Board of Elections.
  7. ^ Beachum, Lateshia (April 24, 2023). "Successor to outgoing Maryland Del. Darryl Barnes to be named this week". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  8. ^ Gaines, Danielle E.; Kurtz, Josh; Sears, Bryan P. (May 5, 2023). "Roundup: Prince George's Dems pick chair for House vacancy, attitudes on sports betting, and new enviro leaders". Maryland Matters. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  9. ^ Ford, William J. (December 28, 2023). "Denise Roberts chosen by Prince George's Democrats to fill vacant delegate seat". Maryland Matters. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  10. ^ Ford, William J. (July 6, 2024). "Crowded field files to replace former Prince George's County Council Member Mel Franklin". Maryland Matters. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  11. ^ Ford, William J. (August 9, 2024). "With majority of votes counted, Jolene Ivey expected to secure Democratic nomination". Maryland Matters. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d Flynn, Meagan (December 20, 2021). "Former Prince George's delegate Angela Angel enters 4th District congressional race". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  13. ^ Flynn, Meagan (July 19, 2022). "Ivey defeats Edwards in bitter, high-profile Md. primary for House". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  14. ^ Dresser, Michael (March 1, 2015). "Maryland's part-time lawmakers seek balance between family life, public service". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  15. ^ Angel, Angela. "Tweet". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  16. ^ "Prince Georgians Embrace State Single-Payer System". Baltimore Afro-American. March 16, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  17. ^ Hicks, Josh (November 24, 2015). "38 groups call on Hogan to welcome Syrian refugees in Maryland". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  18. ^ Snowden-McCray, Lisa (April 9, 2016). "In surprise move, Maryland lawmaker uses amendment to change domestic violence definition". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore City Paper. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  19. ^ Hernández, Arelis (April 12, 2016). "She thought passing a domestic violence bill would be easy. She was wrong". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  20. ^ "Maryland Senate Hopefuls Appeal to Church Members". Baltimore Afro-American. June 1, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  21. ^ "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections.
  22. ^ "Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections.
  23. ^ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results for Representative in Congress". Maryland State Board of Elections.
  24. ^ "Official 2024 Special Primary Election Results for Prince George's County". elections.maryland.gov. August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.