Angela Angel (born December 26, 1979) is an American politician who represented

District 25 A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she ran for Congress in

Maryland's 4th congressional district Maryland's 4th congressional district wraps around the eastern edge of Washington, D.C., taking in most of Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County and a small portion of Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County. It is home ...

in 2022.

Background

Angel was born in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

. She received her undergraduate degree at

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missiona ...

. Angel then graduated from the

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University in New York City. Founded in 1976 and now located on Fifth Avenue near Union Square in Lower Manhattan, the school is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardo ...

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

, where she received her

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 2004. She graduated with Honors and a specialization in Alternative Dispute Resolution. She served as a judicial fellow to Judge James A. Yates of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

from 2004 to 2005. She was admitted to New York Bar in 2005. Angel first got involved with politics in 2000, when she worked as a legislative aide to Virginia State Delegate

Mary T. Christian Mary Taylor Christian (August 9, 1924 – November 11, 2019) was an American educator and politician. Christian was born in Hampton, Virginia and graduated from Phenix High School in Hampton in 1941. She received her bachelor's degree in educ ...

. In 2010, Angel served as the principal coordinator for policy and politics in

Prince George's County Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it the second-most populous ...

for Governor

Martin O'Malley Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American politician who served as the 17th commissioner of the Social Security Administration from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was th ...

, and later served as legislator director for the

Prince George's County Delegation The Prince George's County Delegation refers to the 23 delegates who are elected from districts in Prince George's County, Maryland, to serve in the Maryland House of Delegates. Historical background Prince George's County has a rich ...

until 2011. From there, she worked as an Education and Social Services Specialist for the Prince George's County Council until 2014, when she began working as the Legislative Affairs Counsel for the Prince George's Department of Environmental Protection.

In the legislature

From 2015 to 2019, Angel served on the Health and Government Operations committee in the Maryland House of Delegates. She was also a member of the

Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, Inc. (also known as The Maryland Legislative Black Caucus) is an American political organization composed of African Americans elected to the Maryland General Assembly. Incorporated in 1970, the Caucus me ...

. In March 2018, Angel said that she was sexually harassed while working in the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives, and the lower ...

, saying that she "felt defenseless when she was accosted in front of other people and no one came to her defense". Angel announced that she would run for the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

on November 8, 2017, seeking to succeed retiring state Senator

Ulysses Currie Ulysses Currie (July 10, 1937 – December 27, 2019) was an American politician from Maryland. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented District 25 in Prince George's County, first in the house of delegates from 1987 to 1995, then in t ...

. She lost the Democratic primary to former state Delegate Melony G. Griffith, receiving 36.8 percent of the vote to Griffith's 55.0 percent.

Post-legislative career

In April 2023, Angel applied to fill a vacancy in District 25 of the Maryland House of Delegates left by the resignation of

Darryl Barnes Darryl Lamont Barnes (born April 21, 1965) is an American politician who was previously a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2015 to 2023. Barnes has represented Maryland's 25th District since 2015. He also served as Deputy Majority ...

. In May 2023, the Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee unanimously voted to nominate its chair,

Kent Roberson Kent A. Roberson is an American politician who is currently a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from Maryland Legislative District 25, District 25. Background Roberson was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He graduated from Frederick Douglass ...

, to succeed Barnes. In December 2023, Angel again applied to fill a vacancy in District 25 of the House of Delegates left by the appointment of Nick Charles to the Maryland Senate. The Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee voted to nominate Denise Roberts to the seat over Angel. In July 2024, after Prince George's County councilmember Mel Frankin resigned from his at-large seat on the county council, Angel filed to run in the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to succeed Franklin. She was defeated by

Jolene Ivey Jolene Ivey (née Stephenson; born July 30, 1961) is an American politician who has served as a member of the Prince George's County Council since 2018, first representing the 5th district from 2018 to 2024 and then the county's at-large distric ...

in the Democratic primary on August 6, 2024.

2022 U.S. House campaign

On December 20, 2021, Angel announced her bid for the Democratic nomination in Maryland's 4th congressional district. She was defeated in the Democratic primary on July 19, 2022, placing third behind former Prince George's County State's Attorney

Glenn Ivey Glenn Frederick Ivey (born February 27, 1961) is an American politician and attorney serving as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 4th congressional district since 2023. The district covers most of the black-majority areas on the Maryland s ...

and former Congresswoman

Donna Edwards Donna Fern Edwards (born June 28, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2008 to 2017. The district included most of Prince George's County, as well as part of Anne Arundel County. She is a member of the ...

Personal life

In June 2012, Angel briefly lived in a

homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of service and total institution that provides temporary residence for homelessness, homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather whi ...

after escaping an abusive marriage. She is a

single mother A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, bec ...

of five children. She is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Political positions

Development initiatives

During her House campaign, Angel said that she would support efforts to bring the

FBI headquarters The J. Edgar Hoover Building is a low-rise office building located at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Planning for the building began ...

to Prince George's County.

Education

During her House campaign, Angel said that she supported universal pre-K.

Health care

In 2018, Angel was a sponsor of the Healthy Maryland Act, a bill that would establish a universal

single-payer healthcare Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare, in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from pr ...

system in Maryland.

Immigration

In November 2015, Angel signed a letter condemning Governor

Larry Hogan Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 62nd governor of Maryland from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party and son of three-term U.S. representative Lawrence Hogan, he served as co-ch ...

's decision to block Syrian refugees from resettling to Maryland.

Social issues

During the 2016 legislative session, Angel introduced legislation to change the definition of abuse to include harassment and malicious destruction of property. The bill died in the House Judicial Proceedings Committee, prompting Angel to attach her legislation as an amendment, which passed the House with a vote of 65-60, to a domestic-violence-related bill introduced by state Senator Victor R. Ramirez. Veteran lawmakers accused Angel of violating constitutional rules by making this move, with House parliamentarian William Frick arguing that reviving a dead bill by grafting it onto a live bill "upends the integrity of the committee system that first put the brakes on Angel's legislation". The House passed Ramirez's bill as amended, but the legislation died in the Senate. Angel supported a 2018

historically Black colleges and universities Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

lawsuit against the

state of Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, saying that "institutions with predominantly Black student bodies should be given equitable funding by the state with those with White students in the majority".

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Angel, Angela 1979 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly 21st-century Roman Catholics African-American Catholics African-American state legislators in Maryland American Roman Catholics Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Candidates in the 2024 United States elections Catholic politicians from Maryland Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Hampton University alumni Maryland lawyers New York (state) lawyers Politicians from Prince George's County, Maryland Politicians from South Bend, Indiana Women state legislators in Maryland Yeshiva University alumni