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Emily Shetty
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 18th district
Assumed office
January 9, 2019
Preceded byAna Sol Gutierrez
Personal details
Born (1984-01-11) January 11, 1984 (age 40)
Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseAsh Shetty
Children1
Alma materDuke University (BA)
Catholic University of America (JD)

Emily Khoury Shetty (born January 11, 1984) is an American politician and attorney who has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 18 since 2019.

Early life and education[edit]

Shetty was born in Fairfax, Virginia,[1] on January 11, 1984.[2] Her mother immigrated to the United States from Bulgaria[3] and raised Shetty and her sister as a single mother.[4] She was raised in High Point, North Carolina, where she worked at her local library when she was nine years old and later volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.[3] Shetty earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University in 2005, attended the Columbus School of Law, and earned her J.D. degree from the Catholic University of America in 2008. She was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 2009.[1]

Political career[edit]

After graduating from Catholic University, Shetty worked for U.S. Representative Edolphus Towns until 2012, first as an legislative assistant and then as his legislative director. From 2012 to 2014, she worked as the senior director of legislative affairs with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, afterwards working as a consultant for lobbyist groups Stanton Park Group and Horizon Government Affairs. In 2020, she started her own lobbying firm, Step Up Advocacy.[1][5]

From 2013 to 2014, and again from 2015 to 2018, Shetty was a member of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee.[1] In 2014, she unsuccessfully ran for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 18,[3] receiving 11 percent of the vote behind incumbents Ana Sol Gutierrez, Jeff Waldstreicher, and Al Carr.[6] Shetty ran again in 2018 after Waldstreicher announced he would run for the Maryland Senate,[7] winning the Democratic primary with 19.7 percent of the vote[8] and defeating Republican challenger Linda Willard in the general election with 30 percent of the vote.[9]

Maryland House of Delegates[edit]

Shetty in the House Appropriations Committee, 2023

Shetty was sworn into the House of Delegates on January 9, 2019. She was a member of the Judiciary Committee from 2019 to 2022, afterwards serving in the Appropriations Committee. Since 2023, Shetty has served as the chair of the House Democratic Caucus.[1]

During the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Shetty ran as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, not pledged to any candidate.[10]

Personal life[edit]

Shetty is married to her husband, Ash Shetty.[11] Together, they live in Kensington, Maryland,[12] and have one child.[1] She has a chronic autoimmune disorder.[13]

Political positions[edit]

Health care[edit]

During her 2014 House of Delegates campaign, Shetty said she supported increasing state investments in mental health care.[3]

During the 2021 legislative session, Shetty introduced legislation that would allow pharmacists to switch name brands. The bill passed and became law.[14]

In 2022, Shetty introduced a bill that would allow organ donors to decide whether their organs would be donated to research or a surgical transplant. The bill unanimously passed the Maryland General Assembly and became law.[15]

Minimum wage[edit]

Shetty supports indexing the state minimum wage to inflation.[16]

Policing[edit]

During the 2019 legislative session, Shetty introduced the Law Enforcement Trust and Transparency Act, which would establish statewide standards for officer-involved death investigations.[17][18]

In 2021, Shetty introduced a bill to limit how police could use genealogy websites and their databases. The bill passed and became law without Governor Larry Hogan's signature.[19]

Social issues[edit]

During the 2021 legislative session, Shetty introduced legislation that would allow transgender people to change their names without having to advertise it in a newspaper. The bill passed and became law.[20]

In 2022, Shetty supported legislation to raise the state's minimum marriage age to 17 years old.[21] She also supported the Abortion Care Access Act, which provided $3.5 million toward clinical reproductive services training for health care professionals.[22]

Transportation[edit]

Shetty supports the Purple Line.[3]

Electoral history[edit]

Maryland House of Delegates District 18 Democratic primary election, 2014[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jeff Waldstreicher (incumbent) 7,303 21.6
Democratic Ana Sol Gutierrez (incumbent) 7,181 21.3
Democratic Alfred C. Carr Jr. (incumbent) 6,437 19.1
Democratic Emily Shetty 3,859 11.4
Democratic Rick Kessler 3,818 11.3
Democratic Natali Fani-Gonzalez 2,758 8.2
Democratic Elizabeth Matory 2,389 7.1
Maryland House of Delegates District 18 Democratic primary election, 2018[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Al Carr (incumbent) 10,201 22.2
Democratic Emily Shetty 9,024 19.6
Democratic Jared Solomon 8,067 17.5
Democratic Leslie Milano 6,510 14.2
Democratic Joel Martin Rubin 5,150 11.2
Democratic Mila Johns 4,167 9.1
Democratic Ron Franks 1,493 3.2
Democratic Helga Luest 1,387 3.0
Maryland House of Delegates District 18 election, 2018[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Emily Shetty 36,284 30.4
Democratic Al Carr (incumbent) 35,988 30.1
Democratic Jared Solomon 33,476 28.0
Republican Linda Willard 9,836 8.2
Green Jon Cook 3,547 3.0
Write-in 417 0.3
Maryland House of Delegates District 18 election, 2022[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Emily Shetty (incumbent) 32,621 30.98
Democratic Aaron Kaufman 30,860 29.31
Democratic Jared Solomon (incumbent) 30,711 29.17
Republican George M. Cecala 7,390 7.02
Green Jon Foreman 3,422 3.25
Write-in 292 0.28

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Emily K. Shetty, Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Maunal On-Line. Maryland State Archives. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  2. ^ "State Delegate District 18 (three seats)". MoCo360. February 13, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e McEwan, Peggy (February 11, 2014). "First-time candidate Shetty turned volunteer experience into political activism". Maryland Independent. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  4. ^ Bohnel, Steve (July 1, 2021). "$15 minimum wage takes effect in Montgomery County". MoCo360. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  5. ^ "Emily Shetty (she/her/hers)". SIECUS. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  6. ^ Marshall, Ryan (June 25, 2014). "Madaleno, House incumbents win in District 18". Maryland Independent. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  7. ^ Peck, Louis (July 19, 2017). "Del. Waldstreicher To Seek District 18 Senate Seat Being Vacated by Madaleno". MoCo360. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  8. ^ Peck, Louis (June 27, 2018). "Updated: Waldstreicher Bests Beyer To Win Madaleno's Senate Seat in Heated District 18 Race". MoCo360. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  9. ^ Peck, Louis (November 7, 2018). "Montgomery County's Annapolis Delegation To Remain Solely in Democratic Hands". MoCo360. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  10. ^ Peck, Louis (January 26, 2020). "Thirteen state lawmakers from Montgomery seek Democratic convention delegate slots". MoCo360. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  11. ^ Schere, Dan (February 26, 2019). "New County Procurement Director Vows To Foster Business-Friendly Atmosphere". MoCo360. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  12. ^ Schere, Dan (January 4, 2019). "Freshman Delegates Study, Craft Agendas for 2019 Legislature". MoCo360. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  13. ^ "Emily Shetty". Daily Record. December 1, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  14. ^ Wood, Pamela (September 30, 2021). "Policing, prescriptions, voting: Hundreds of new Maryland laws go into effect Friday". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  15. ^ Pichaske, Pete (March 23, 2022). "'More people can be helped': New Md. law likely to expand uses for donated organs". Daily Record. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  16. ^ Rodgers, Bethany (June 14, 2022). "Waldstreicher and opponent Socol face off for first time during District 18 candidate forum". MoCo360. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  17. ^ Kazanjian, Glynis (February 21, 2019). "Lawmakers Push For Transparency in Officer-Involved Death Investigations". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  18. ^ Kazanjian, Glynis (March 22, 2019). "Lawmakers, Advocates Make Last-Ditch Push to Pass 'Anton's Law'". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  19. ^ Prudente, Tim (June 7, 2021). "Maryland among first in U.S. to limit how police use genealogy websites". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  20. ^ Sanchez, Olivia (March 23, 2021). "Maryland bill would let transgender people change names without advertising it". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  21. ^ Lash, Steve (March 15, 2022). "Md. House preliminarily approves bill to raise minimum marriage age to 17". Daily Record. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  22. ^ Gaines, Danielle E.; Gaskill, Hannah; Leckrone, Bennett; Shwe, Elizabeth (April 9, 2022). "With Legislative Overrides, Paid Leave and Abortion Access Bills Become Law in Maryland". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  23. ^ "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. July 16, 2014.
  24. ^ "Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. July 31, 2018.
  25. ^ "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 11, 2018.
  26. ^ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial General Election Results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 7, 2022.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Shetty