Anne Kaiser - Biography

Anne R. Kaiser is an American politician from the state of Maryland and is a lifelong resident of Montgomery County, Maryland. She is currently serving her third term as one of three members of the House of Delegates from Maryland's 14th District, which includes parts of Silver Spring, Calverton, Colesville, Cloverly, Fairland, Burtonsville, Spencerville, Olney, Brookeville, Ashton, Sandy Spring, Brinklow, Laytonsville, Sunshine, Goshen, parts of Montgomery Village and Damascus in Montgomery County.

Background

Kaiser was born in Washington, DC on February 10, 1968 and grew up in Rockville, Maryland. She graduated from Rockville High School and then attended the University of Chicago, graduating with a B.A. in Political Science in 1990. She received two Masters Degrees from the University of Michigan in 1995, a Masters in Public Policy and a Masters in Educational Studies.

Career and community involvement

Between college and graduate school, Kaiser worked for Congressman Neal Smith (D-Iowa) as well as for Maryland Delegate Hank Heller. During that time, Kaiser became active in Montgomery County Democratic politics, was a member of the Giant Food Consumer Advisory Board, and coached youth basketball.

After completing graduate school, Kaiser worked as an Economist at the IRS from December 1995 until April 2002. During that time she was a member of the Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee, the Rockville Branch of the American Association of University Women (serving as Membership VP and Secretary), and continued coaching youth basketball. She served in leadership positions as Chair of the Mid-County Citizens' Advisory Board and Co-Coordinator of the Montgomery County Women's Fair. In 1998, she was elected to a 4-year term on the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee.

She currently works part-time at Bethesda Transportation Solutions, part of the Bethesda Urban Partnership. She is a lifetime member of Tikvat Israel (formerly Beth Tikva) Congregation in Rockville.

House of Delegates

Kaiser was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2002, and was reelected in 2006 and 2010. She is a member of the Ways and Means Committee, serving as the chair of the Education Subcommittee. She was appointed by Speaker Michael Busch to serve as one of two Chief Deputy Majority Whips. She is also a member of the Joint Committee on Federal Relations; a member of the Joint Committee on Welfare Reform and a member of the Joint Advisory Committee on Legislative Data Systems. During eight years in the legislature, Kaiser has been the prime sponsor of at least 32 bills that are now law.

During the 2004 legislative session, Kaiser testified on behalf of H.B. 1284: Medical Decision-Making Act and in her testimony announced that she is a lesbian. In making this announcement, she joined openly gay Maryland legislators Delegate Maggie L. McIntosh and then-Delegate (now Senator) Rich Madaleno. The LGBT caucus in the Maryland General Assembly increased to four in 2006 with the election of Del. Heather Mizeur and to seven in 2010 when Dels. Luke Clippinger, Mary L. Washington and Bonnie Cullison were all elected. In 2011, Del. Peter Murphy came out, taking the LGBT caucus to eight.

While a member of the House of Delegates, Kaiser maintains her activism in community organizations. She currently serves as the House of Delegates liaison for Committee for Montgomery. Kaiser was also selected by Speaker Michael Busch to be in the inaugural class of the Howard P. Rawlings Leadership Fellowship Program. Previously, she was active with the Girls in Information Technology Taskforce, the Carl M. Freeman Foundation and is a graduate of Leadership Montgomery. In 2004, she was elected as a Kerry delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

Awards

Kaiser has been recognized with several awards:

• Out for Equality award from Equality Maryland
• nominated for the Young Woman of Achievement Award from the Women’s Information Network
• two certificates of appreciation from the Maryland Municipal League
• one of Maryland's Top 100 Women in 2006 by The Daily Record
• Legislator of the Year (2007), by the Maryland Nurses Association
• Advocacy in Action Award from the Maryland Association of Youth Services Bureaus (2008)

Election results

• 2010 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – 14th District

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Anne Kaiser, Democratic	23,503	21.5%	Won
Craig Zucker, Democratic	22,148	20.2%	Won
Eric Luedtke, Democratic	21,165	19.3%	Won
Patricia Fenati, Republican	14,866	13.6	Lost
Henry Kahwaty, Republican	14,152	12.9%	Lost
Maria Peña-Faustino, Republican	13,639	12.5%	Lost

• 2006 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – 14th District

Voters to choose three:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Anne Kaiser, Democratic	24,500	21.8%	Won
Karen S. Montgomery, Democratic	24,478	21.8%	Won
Herman L. Taylor, Jr., Democratic	24,273	21.6%	Won
John McKinnis, Republican	13,471	12.0%	Lost
John Austin, Republican	12,963	11.5%	Lost
Jim Goldberg, Republican	12,603	11.2%	Lost
other write-ins	61	0.1%	Lost

Legislative notes

• voted for the Healthy Air Act in 2006 (SB154)[1]
• voted against slots in 2005 (HB1361)[2]
• voted in favor of increasing the sales tax whilst simultaneously reducing income tax rates for some income brackets - Tax Reform Act of 2007(HB2)[3]
• voted in favor of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants in 2007

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External links

• Legislative homepage
• Campaign website