Dawn Gile
{{Short description|American politician (born 1980)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Dawn Gile
| image = Dawn Gile Mar23.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| state_senate = Maryland
| district = 33rd
| term_start = January 11, 2023
| term_end =
| alongside =
| predecessor = Edward R. Reilly
| succeeding =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1980|1|1}}
| birth_place = Dubuque, Iowa, U.S.
| party = Democratic
| spouse = D.J. Gile
| children = 3
| residence = Severna Park, Maryland
| education = Rockford University (BA), Loyola University Chicago School of Law (JD)
| alma_mater =
| profession = Attorney
| website = [https://dawngile.com/ Campaign website]
}}
Dawn Danielle Gile{{cite web |title=MSBA Member Directory |url=https://www.msba.org/about/member-directory/ |publisher=Maryland State Bar Association |access-date=December 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226005403/https://www.msba.org/about/member-directory/?fwp_member_directory_search_first_name=Dawn&fwp_member_directory_search_last_name=Gile |archive-date=December 26, 2022}}{{cite web |title=Dawn Danielle Gile Profile on Martindale.com |url=https://www.martindale.com/attorney/dawn-danielle-gile-26993748/ |website=www.martindale.com |access-date=December 25, 2022}} (born January 1, 1980) is an American politician and attorney. She is a member of the Maryland Senate for District 33 in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.{{cite web |title=Members – Senator Dawn Gile |url=https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/Details/gile01 |website=mgaleg.maryland.gov |publisher=Maryland General Assembly |access-date=January 11, 2023 |date=January 11, 2023}}
Background
Gile graduated from Rockford University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and a minor in French before getting her Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2006. She worked in the Chicago area before moving to Maryland in 2007. Before becoming a state senator, she served as the president of the Military Spouse JD Network.{{cite web |title=Dawn Gile, J.D., '02 Uses Liberal Arts Degree to Advocate for Military Families |url=https://www.rockford.edu/dawn-gile-j-d-02-uses-liberal-arts-degree-to-advocate-for-military-families/ |website=rockford.edu |publisher=Rockford University |access-date=November 21, 2022 |date=June 29, 2021}}
In July 2021, Gile filed to run for the Maryland Senate in District 33, seeking to defeat state senator Edward R. Reilly,{{cite news |last1=Kurtz |first1=Josh |title=In Changing Anne Arundel District, GOP Leaders Embrace Lawyer to Replace Del. Malone |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/09/14/in-changing-anne-arundel-district-gop-leaders-embrace-lawyer-to-replace-del-malone/ |access-date=November 21, 2022 |work=Maryland Matters |date=September 14, 2021}} who later announced his retirement. She won the Democratic primary unopposed,{{cite news |last1=Kurtz |first1=Josh |title=Maryland After Roe Is Extinguished: 'It's Going to Be a Different World' |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2022/06/24/maryland-after-roe-is-extinguished-its-going-to-be-a-different-world/ |access-date=November 21, 2022 |work=Maryland Matters |date=June 24, 2022}} and faced Republican state delegate Sid Saab in the general election.{{cite news |last1=Munro |first1=Dana |title=Del. Sid Saab to run for District 33 Senate seat held by Sen. Ed Reilly, who withdraws from race |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/ac-cn-sid-saab-runs-for-district-33-senate-seat-20220419-jgdle7ln2fdvdghm67dlshf2k4-story.html |access-date=November 21, 2022 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=April 18, 2022}} During her campaign, she received endorsements from President of the Maryland Senate Bill Ferguson,{{cite news |last1=Kurtz |first1=Josh |title=With an eye toward the next four years, Ferguson raises money aggressively for himself and his colleagues |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2022/08/18/with-an-eye-toward-the-next-four-years-ferguson-raises-money-aggressively-for-himself-and-his-colleagues/ |access-date=November 21, 2022 |work=Maryland Matters |date=August 18, 2022}} former U.S. Senate candidate Amy McGrath,{{cite news |last1=DePuyt |first1=Bruce |last2=Ford |first2=William J. |last3=Kurtz |first3=Josh |title=Political notes: New ads, a new designation for Dan Cox, new gigs for Dereck Davis and Sheila McDonald, and more |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2022/10/04/political-notes-new-ads-a-new-designation-for-dan-cox-new-gigs-for-dereck-davis-and-sheila-mcdonald-and-more/ |access-date=November 21, 2022 |work=Maryland Matters |date=October 4, 2022}} and former Deputy Secretary of the Maryland Department of Housing Ardath Cade.{{cite news |last1=McCord |first1=Joel |date=November 1, 2022 |title=Defamation suit colors State Senate Race in Anne Arundel |work=WYPR |url=https://www.wypr.org/wypr-news/2022-11-01/defamation-suit-colors-state-senate-race-in-anne-arundel |access-date=November 21, 2022}}
In October 2022, Saab filed a $2 million defamation lawsuit against Gile, alleging that some of her campaign literature contained false information about him and his business, including the suggestion that he is under federal indictment. Gile, in a statement to Maryland Matters, called Saab's lawsuit a "distraction and a misuse of the legal system" and implied that his allegations were an act of desperation.{{cite news |last1=Kurtz |first1=Josh |title=Locked in tight Senate race, Del. Saab sues foe for defamation |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2022/10/17/locked-in-tight-senate-race-del-saab-sues-foe-for-defamation/ |access-date=November 21, 2022 |work=Maryland Matters |date=October 17, 2022}} Saab dropped the lawsuits once the election was over.
Gile defeated Saab in the general election on November 8, 2022, receiving 55.41 percent of the vote to Saab's 44.48 percent.{{cite news |last1=Kurtz |first1=Josh |title=Dems take two more Senate seats, win Frederick County exec race |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2022/11/18/dems-take-two-more-senate-seats-win-frederick-county-exec-race/ |access-date=November 21, 2022 |work=Maryland Matters |date=November 18, 2022}} She is the first Democrat to win the state Senate seat in 50 years and the first Democrat to hold the office since Robert R. Neall.{{cite news |last1=Hutzell |first1=Rick |title=Democrat who won Maryland's toughest Senate race gears up for first session |url=https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/opinion/column/dawn-gile-severna-park-maryland-senate-KZFGI3AJMRFPDGJUYKWLVDASEM/ |access-date=January 10, 2023 |work=Baltimore Banner |date=January 10, 2023}}
In the legislature
Gile was sworn into the Maryland Senate on January 11, 2023.{{cite web |title=Dawn D. Gile, Maryland State Senator |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/05sen/html/msa18497.html |website=Maryland Manual On-Line |publisher=Maryland State Archives |access-date=August 7, 2023 |date=July 7, 2023}} She is a member of the Finance Committee.{{cite news |last1=Kurtz |first1=Josh |title=Ferguson picks Griffith and Feldman to head two newly-reconstituted Senate panels; reshuffles committee rosters |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2022/12/21/ferguson-picks-griffith-and-feldman-to-head-two-newly-reconstituted-senate-panels-reshuffles-committee-rosters/ |access-date=January 4, 2023 |work=Maryland Matters |date=December 21, 2022}}
Political positions
Gile has been described as a moderate.
=Education=
Gile supports the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, a sweeping education reform bill passed by the legislature during the 2020 legislative session that would provide schools with $3.8 billion a year for 10 years. In January 2022, she called the Blueprint bill a "wonderful piece of legislation" but said that it did not address all the issues facing students and staff in public schools.
=Environment=
Gile supports efforts to clean up pollution and runoff in the Chesapeake Bay and the Severn River. In January 2022, she said she supports smart development and sustainable agricultural practices to protect local ecosystems, specifically adding that she supports providing farmers with support to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from chicken farms.
=Social issues=
During her state senate campaign, Gile sought to capitalize on the issue of abortion rights following the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.{{cite news |last1=Kurtz |first1=Josh |title=A look at the latest fundraising in a dozen competitive legislative districts |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2022/09/01/a-look-at-the-latest-fundraising-in-a-dozen-competitive-legislative-districts/ |access-date=November 21, 2022 |work=Maryland Matters |date=September 1, 2022}} During the 2023 legislative session, Gile defended a bill in the Maryland Senate that would create a 2024 referendum on codifying the right to abortion access into the Constitution of Maryland.{{cite news |last1=Gaskill |first1=Hannah |title=Abortion referendum bill advances, would give voters choice in 2024 of enshrining access in state constitution |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-abortion-amendment-house-senate-floor-20230310-tfmipemxjngdlarwdlkfabwmxu-story.html |access-date=April 29, 2023 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=March 10, 2023}}
=Taxes=
Gile supports closing loopholes in Maryland's tax code. She also supports making military retiree pay exempt from state taxes.
In March 2023, Gile was one of five Democrats to vote for an amendment that would have decoupled the state's fuel taxes from inflation.{{cite news |last1=Sears |first1=Bryan P. |title=Republicans seek gas tax consistency, Democrats warn of a reckoning |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2023/03/20/republicans-seek-gas-tax-consistency-democrats-warn-of-a-reckoning/ |access-date=April 29, 2023 |work=Maryland Matters |date=March 20, 2023}}
Personal life
Gile is a military spouse, with her husband, SGM (ret.) D.J. Gile, serving in the military for 24 years.{{cite news |title=Meet The Candidates: State Senate, District 33 |url=https://www.severnaparkvoice.com/stories/meet-the-candidates-state-senate-district-33,39036 |access-date=November 21, 2022 |work=Severna Park Voice |date=May 27, 2022}} Together, they have three daughters and live in Severna Park, Maryland.{{cite news |last1=Cox |first1=Erin |title=In suburban Md., Dems bet abortion outrage can flip a state Senate seat |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/11/05/maryland-election-abortion-midterm-saab/ |access-date=November 21, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 5, 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Munro |first1=Dana |title=Dawn Gile runs for District 33 state Senate seat as a Democrat, hoping to oust Ed Reilly |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/ac-cn-dawn-gile-senate-race-district-33-20220113-32wbd6leizegtdjehgutyeuqle-story.html |access-date=November 21, 2022 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=January 13, 2022}}
Electoral history
{{Election box begin no change
| title = Maryland Senate District 33 Democratic primary election, 2022{{cite web
| title = Official 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for State Senator
| work = Maryland State Board of Elections
| date = August 24, 2022
| url = https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2022/primary_results/gen_results_2022_6_33.html}}
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|party = Maryland Democratic Party
|candidate = Dawn D. Gile
|votes = 10,881
|percentage = 100.00
}}{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin no change
| title = Maryland Senate District 33 election, 2022{{cite web
| title = Official 2022 Gubernatorial General Election results for State Senator
| work = Maryland State Board of Elections
| date = December 7, 2022
| url = https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2022/general_results/gen_results_2022_6_33.html}}
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|party = Maryland Democratic Party
|candidate = Dawn D. Gile
|votes = 30,807
|percentage = 55.41
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|party = Maryland Republican Party
|candidate = Sid Saab
|votes = 24,730
|percentage = 44.48
}}
{{Election box write-in with party link no change
|votes = 60
|percentage = 0.11
}}{{Election box end}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{cite web |title=Members – Senator Dawn Gile |url=https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/Details/gile01 |website=mgaleg.maryland.gov |publisher=Maryland General Assembly |access-date=January 11, 2023 |date=January 11, 2023}}
- {{commons category-inline}}
{{Maryland State Senators}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gile, Dawn}}
Category:21st-century American women politicians
Category:Democratic Party Maryland state senators
Category:Rockford University alumni
Category:Women state legislators in Maryland
Category:People from Severna Park, Maryland
Category:People from Dubuque, Iowa
Category:21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly