Sheree Sample-Hughes
Sheree Sample-Hughes | |
---|---|
Speaker pro tempore of the Maryland House of Delegates | |
In office September 9, 2019 – January 10, 2024 | |
Preceded by | Adrienne A. Jones |
Succeeded by | Dana Stein |
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 37A district | |
Assumed office January 14, 2015 | |
Preceded by | Rudolph C. Cane |
Member of the Wicomico County Council from the 1st district | |
In office December 5, 2006 – December 2, 2014 | |
Preceded by | Ed Taylor |
Succeeded by | Ernest Davis |
Personal details | |
Born | September 13, 1977 |
Political party | Democratic |
Children | 2 |
Education | Delaware State University (BA) Wilmington University (MPA) |
Sheree L. Sample-Hughes is an American politician who since 2015 has served as a member of the
Early and personal life
Sample-Hughes was born on September 13, 1977. She grew up in Salisbury, Maryland,[1] and attended Parkside High School. She went on to earn a bachelor's degree in public relations from Delaware State University in 1999, and a master's degree in public administration from Wilmington University in 2014. Sample-Hughes is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.[2]
Sample-Hughes is married to her husband, Desmond, and has two sons.
Political career
Early career
Sample-Hughes first got involved in public service as an affordable housing coordinator for Pocomoke City, where she worked until 2000 when she became a special events coordinator for the Governor's Office on Service and Volunteerism. From 2002 to 2004, she served as the president of her local American Legion Post.[2]
In 2006, Sample-Hughes was elected to the Wicomico County Council in District 1, which encompasses northern parts of Wicomico County and the city of Salisbury. She was the first African-American woman to serve on the county council.[6] Sample-Hughes was also appointed as a member of the Maryland Commission on Correctional Standards, which she served as the vice chair of from 2010 to 2014.[2]
Maryland House of Delegates
In 2014, Sample-Hughes was encouraged by incumbent state delegate Rudolph C. Cane to run for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 37A, succeeding him as his health declined. She ran unopposed in the primary and general elections after Cane withdrew his candidacy.[7][8] Sample-Hughes was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 14, 2015. She served as a member of the Health and Government Operations Committee until 2022, when she was moved to the Economic Matters Committee.[2] Since 2019, Sample-Hughes has been the only Democrat and the only person of color to represent the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the Maryland General Assembly.[4][9]
From 2018 to 2019, Sample-Hughes served as the president of the Maryland Women's Legislative Caucus, becoming the first African-American to chair the caucus.[4] In this position, she supported legislation to support female veterans and the elderly, and victims of workplace harassment and rape.[10]
In September 2019, House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones named Sample-Hughes as speaker pro tempore, succeeding her following her election as speaker.[11] She was elected to this position by the Maryland House of Delegates in January 2020.[12] In May 2023, following votes against several bills backed by Democratic leaders of the legislature, Jones said she would not renominate Sample-Hughes as speaker pro tempore during the 2024 legislative session, instead nominating delegate Dana Stein.[13] Jones said that the decision to select a different speaker pro tempore was not a personal decision, but instead part of a general post-election restructuring of leadership. She had also offered Sample-Hughes a senior leadership position, which she declined.[14]
In the 2020 presidential election, Sample-Hughes voted as an elector in Maryland's 1st congressional district.[15]
Political positions
Sample-Hughes has described herself as a "traditional Democrat", and has pointed to a divide between herself and progressive members of the legislature.[4] She has cited Barbara Mikulski as her political role model.[16]
Education
Sample-Hughes supports increased funding for school construction projects and increasing personnel pay.[17] She has expressed concerns about Eastern Shore counties' ability to implement the Blueprint for Maryland's Future reforms,[18] which she supports.[19]
In 2015, Sample-Hughes expressed apprehension with proposal to adopt an elected school board in Wicomico County, saying that she worried that the school board would not accurately represent the county's diversity.[20]
During the 2023 legislative session, she voted against a bill that would require teachers to go through
Environment
In 2019, Sample-Hughes voted against a bill banning oyster harvesting in five Chesapeake Bay sanctuaries.[21]
During the 2023 legislative session, Sample-Hughes voted in favor of the Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resources Act, which would quadruple the state's offshore wind capacity by 2031.[22]
Gun control
During the 2018 legislative session, Sample-Hughes voted for
Housing
During the 2018 legislative session, Sample-Hughes introduced legislation that would require landlords to give a 60-day notice before rent increases.[24] The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan.[25]
Marijuana
During the 2015 legislative session, Sample-Hughes voted in favor of legislation to increase participation in the state's medical marijuana industry.[26]
Minimum wage
During the 2023 legislative session, Sample-Hughes said she supported the Fair Wage Act of 2023, which would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024,[27] but opposed a provision that would index increases to the state's minimum wage to inflation, and later supported a committee amendment to remove this provision.[28]
Paid family and sick leave
During the 2015 legislative session, Sample-Hughes supported a bill to require private employers to provide employees with accrued sick leave.[29] In 2022, she supported legislation requiring businesses and workers to contribute to a state-run medical leave program.[30]
Policing
In 2020, Speaker Adrienne A. Jones appointed Sample-Hughes to the Work Group to Address Police Reform and Accountability in Maryland.[31] The work group released its recommendations in October, which included repealing the state's Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights and regulating the types of force that police could use during arrests.[32] These recommendations were incorporated into the Police Reform and Accountability Act, which Sample-Hughes voted in favor of during the 2021 legislative session.[33]
In October 2020, Sample-Hughes expressed concern with proposed budget cuts by Governor Larry Hogan that would've required the Maryland State Police to close one of its helicopter bases, which she feared would affect public health and safety on the Eastern Shore. Hogan later announced that state officials would no longer consider closing one of the state police's helicopter bases.[5]
Social issues
In 2019, Sample-Hughes said she supported legislation to establish the Maryland Truth and Reconciliation Commission to document racially motivated lynchings in the state's history.
During the 2022 legislative session, Sample-Hughes voted against the Trans Health Equity Act, which requires the state's
Taxes
In April 2024, Sample-Hughes was the only Democratic member of the Maryland House of Delegates to vote against a bill that raised Maryland's tobacco tax and vehicle registration fees to pay for state transportation projects.[39]
Electoral history
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Sheree Sample-Hughes | 1,011 | 70.8 | |
Democratic | Mac Hayward | 417 | 29.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Sheree Sample-Hughes | 3,525 | 99.4 | |
Write-in | 23 | 0.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Sheree Sample-Hughes | 2,881 | 58.2 | |
Republican | David Goslee Jr. | 2,065 | 41.7 | |
Write-in | 1 | 0.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Sheree Sample-Hughes | 1,938 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Sheree Sample-Hughes | 6,204 | 98.5 | |
Write-in | 94 | 1.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Sheree Sample-Hughes (incumbent) | 7,462 | 68.5 | |
Republican | Frank E. Cooke | 3,413 | 31.3 | |
Write-in | 15 | 0.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Sheree Sample-Hughes (incumbent) | 5,841 | 61.9 | |
Republican | Donna Bradshaw | 3,573 | 37.9 | |
Write-in | 18 | 0.2 |
References
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Sheree Sample-Hughes, Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. May 24, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Murphy, Erica (February 19, 2019). "Black Leaders on Delmarva: Sheree Sample-Hughes". WMDT. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Dresser, Michael (February 27, 2014). "Eastern Shore's Cane drops bid for re-election". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Richman, Talia (October 20, 2020). "Maryland is building its bench of female legislators — but representation at the top levels lags". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Miller, Hallie (December 31, 2018). "Women, blacks, veterans: Maryland caucus leaders set goals for Maryland's 2019 General Assembly session". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Speaker Jones names lone Eastern Shore Democrat as second-in-command for her first year leading Maryland House". The Baltimore Sun. September 6, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Broadwater, Luke; Wood, Pamela (January 8, 2020). "'Sense of obligation': Ferguson, Jones seek to set new paths as Maryland General Assembly leaders". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Maryland Matters. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Maryland Matters. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. October 25, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Landon, Hunter (April 21, 2022). "Eastern Shore Lawmakers Weigh In On Paid Family Leave Bill Passed This Session". WBOC-TV. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Wood, Pamela (October 15, 2020). "Maryland House work group recommends ditching state's Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Delmarvanow. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Maryland Matters. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- Maryland Matters. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "Wicomico County, Maryland Election Returns Primary Election". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. September 12, 2006. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Official 2006 Gubernatorial General Election results for Wicomico County". Maryland State Board of Elections.
- ^ "Official 2010 Gubernatorial General Election results for Wicomico County". Maryland State Board of Elections.
- ^ "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. July 16, 2014.
- ^ "Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 2, 2014.
- ^ "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 11, 2018.
- ^ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 7, 2022.