Meagan Simonaire
{{short description|American politician from Maryland}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Meagan Simonaire
|image = Meagan Simonaire (16262569566).jpg
|caption = Simonaire in 2015
|state_delegate = Maryland
|district = 31B
|term_start = January 14, 2015
|term_end = January 9, 2019
|predecessor = Don H. Dwyer Jr.
|successor = Brian Chisholm
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1990|08|18}}
|birth_place = Pasadena, Maryland
|death_date =
|death_place =
|party = Democratic (since 2018)
|otherparty = Republican (before 2018)
|father = Bryan Simonaire
|spouse =
|education = Bob Jones University
}}
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.
Early life
File:Bryan and Meagan Simonaire (17415694668).jpg
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.{{cite news |last=Thompson |first=Steve |date=April 20, 2018 |title=Why a bisexual Republican lawmaker took aim at her father's views |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/when-a-bisexual-republican-took-aim-at-her-fathers-views-it-caused-more-pain-than-she-expected/2018/04/19/1c2ee35c-4311-11e8-bba2-0976a82b05a2_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=October 10, 2019}}
After she moved to the U.S., she attended Bob Jones University in South Carolina to study cosmetology.
Political career
= Maryland House of Delegates =
Simonaire 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.{{cite news |last=Wood |first=Pamela |date=May 3, 2014 |title=In Pasadena, fellow Republicans line up to challenge Don Dwyer |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-politics-district-31b-20140503-story.html |work=The Baltimore Sun |access-date=October 10, 2019 }}
== Views on conversion therapy ==
Simonaire 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.{{cite news |url=http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/general_assembly/ac-cn-meagan-simonaire-20180404-story.html |title=Pasadena delegate says her father, a state senator, sought conversion therapy for her |last=Cook |first=Chase |date=April 4, 2018 |work=The Capital |access-date=April 5, 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180405011212/http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/general_assembly/ac-cn-meagan-simonaire-20180404-story.html|archive-date = April 5, 2018|url-status = dead}}{{cite news |last1=Lavers |first1=Michael K. |title=Bisexual Md. lawmaker talks coming out, conversion therapy speech |url=https://www.washingtonblade.com/2018/04/21/bisexual-md-lawmaker-talks-coming-conversion-therapy-speech/ |work=Washington Blade |date=April 21, 2018}} Her father, Senator Bryan Simonaire, disputed her story{{cite news |url=https://www.capitalgazette.com/opinion/columns/ac-ce-simonaire-column-20180405-story.html |title=Bryan Simonaire: My family's story and my vote on conversion ban were distorted |first=Bryan |last=Simonaire |newspaper=The Capital |date=April 5, 2018}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Chason |first1=Rachel |title=Md. lawmaker who came out as bisexual changes party affiliation |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/md-state-lawmaker-who-came-out-as-bisexual-switches-party-registration/2018/10/15/b8d9c912-d09a-11e8-b2d2-f397227b43f0_story.html |accessdate=October 25, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 15, 2018 |language=en}}{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/MarylandDemocraticParty/videos/261837204471732/ |website=Facebook |title=Simonaire joins Democratic Party |date=October 15, 2018}}
Personal life
Simonaire 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.{{cite news
|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-conversion-therapy-lawsuit-20190118-story.html
|title=Federal lawsuit seeks to overturn Maryland's ban on conversion therapy
|last=Marbella
|first=Jean
|date=January 19, 2019
|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun
|access-date=January 19, 2019
|quote="... 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."}}{{cite news
|url=https://www.capitalgazette.com/news/government/ac-cn-simonaire-re-election-digest-1010-story.html
|title=Meagan Simonaire reverses decision, won't seek second term as delegate from Pasadena
|last=Cook
|first=Chase
|date=October 9, 2017
|newspaper=The Capital
|access-date=January 19, 2019
|quote="... She works as a specialized cosmetologist, working with burn patients, cancer patients and others to create the appearance of hair."}}{{cite news
|url=https://somatosoul.com/meet-our-founder
|title=Meet Meagan Simonaire
|last=Simonaire
|first=Meagan
|date=2022
|newspaper=Soma to Soul
|access-date=July 31, 2022
|quote="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."}}
Electoral history
- 2014 Republican Primary Election for Maryland House of Delegates – District 31B{{cite web |url=https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2014/results/primary/gen_results_2014_1_01631B.html |title=Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates |publisher=Maryland State Board of Elections |access-date=July 24, 2019 |date=July 16, 2014}}
::Voters to choose two:
:
| class="wikitable" |
| Name
!Votes !Percent !Outcome |
|---|
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
|Nic Kipke, Rep. |3,920 | 31.00% | Won |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
|Meagan Simonaire, Rep. |3,075 | 24.30% | Won |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
|Gus Kurtz, Rep. |1,779 | 14.10% | Lost |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
|Brian A. Chisholm, Rep. |1,607 | 12.70% | Lost |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
|Faith M. Loudon, Rep. |1,017 | 8.10% | Lost |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
|Don Dwyer, Jr., Rep. | 890 | 7.00% | Lost |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
|Paul William Drgos, Jr., Rep. | 230 | 1.80% | Lost |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
|David Lee Therrien, Rep. | 111 | 0.90% | Lost |
- 2014 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – 31B District{{cite web |url=https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2014/results/General/gen_results_2014_2_01631B.html |title=2014 House of Delegates Results |publisher=Maryland State Board of Elections |access-date=June 8, 2019}}
::Voters to choose two:
:
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Name | Votes | Percent | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| Nic Kipke, Republican | 20,858 | 39.9% | Won |
| {{Party shading/Republican}}
| Meagan C. Simonaire, Republican | 19,555 | 37.4% | Won |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| Jeremiah Chiappelli, Democratic | 6,332 | 12.1% | Lost |
| {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| Doug Morris, Democratic | 5,394 | 10.3% | Lost |
| Other Write-Ins | 88 | 0.2% |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{commons category-inline}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonaire, Meagan C.}}
Category:21st-century American women politicians
Category:Bisexual women politicians
Category:Bob Jones University alumni
Category:LGBTQ state legislators in Maryland
Category:Republican Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates
Category:Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates
Category:People from Pasadena, Maryland
Category:Women state legislators in Maryland
Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people
Category:LGBTQ conservatism in the United States
Category:American bisexual women
Category:American bisexual politicians
Category:21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly