Bonnie Cullison
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Bonita Lynne Cullison (born March 24, 1954) is an American teacher, labor official, and politician who has served as a member of 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 ...
in
District 19 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 ...
since 2011.


Background

Cullison was born in
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
on March 24, 1954. She graduated from the
University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...
, where she earned her bachelor's and masters degrees in speech pathology in 1976 and 1978. After graduating, Cullison worked as a speech language pathologist for St. Mary's County Public Schools from 1978 to 1981, afterwards working as a special education teacher for Montgomery County Public Schools until 2000. She continued to work in various local education organizations and has worked as a field liaison for the
National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college st ...
since 2010. From 2003 to 2009, Cullison was the chief of the Montgomery County teachers' union. While seeking to be elected to the policy-setting executive committee of the National Education Association, Cullison raised money to pay for her campaign's travel, mailings, and other costs. She asked for contributions from Maryland state legislators, many of whom had previously been endorsed by the teachers' union. The
Attorney General of Maryland The Attorney General of the State of Maryland is the chief legal officer of the State of Maryland in the United States and is elected by the people every four years with no term limits. To run for the office a person must be a citizen of and qual ...
determined that political campaigns cannot fund a national union's internal election, and the Maryland State Board of Elections ordered Cullison to refund the several thousand dollars she'd raised from state legislators, and she did so. Cullison was not elected to the position at the National Education Association. Cullison served as the chair of the Committee for Montgomery, a coalition of business and community leaders in Montgomery County advocating for Montgomery County's interests in the Maryland General Assembly, from 2006 to 2007.


In the legislature

Cullison was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 12, 2011. She has served as a member of the Health and Government Operations Committee since 2011, and its vice chair since 2023. She has also served as a member of the Rules and Executive Nominations Committee since 2023. Cullison served as deputy majority whip from 2013 to 2018, and as deputy speaker pro tempore from 2020 to 2023. In August 2017, after state senator
Roger Manno Roger P. Manno (born April 26, 1966) is an American politician. He was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2006 to represent the 19th Legislative District, and in 2010 was elected to the Maryland State Senate. Background Roger P. Ma ...
announced that he would run for Congress in
Maryland's 6th congressional district Maryland's 6th congressional district elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives from the northwest part of the state. The district comprises all of Garrett, Allegany, Frederick, and Washington counties as well as a po ...
in
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
, Cullison expressed interest in running for Manno's seat in 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 ...
. She ultimately decided against running, instead running for re-election and backing
Benjamin F. Kramer Benjamin F. Kramer (born March 5, 1957) is an American politician who has served as a member of the Maryland Senate representing Maryland Legislative District 19, District 19 since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrati ...
in the Senate election.


Political positions


Education

In 2013, Cullison voted against a bill that would give Prince George's County Executive
Rushern Baker Rushern Leslie Baker III (born October 24, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 7th county executive of Prince George's County, Maryland from 2010 to 2018. He previously served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegate ...
more control over the county's school system, including the ability to appoint its superintendent. In August 2019, Cullison signed onto a letter calling for the
Maryland State Department of Education Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is a division of the state government of Maryland in the United States. The agency oversees public school districts, which are 24 local school systems—one for each of Maryland's 23 counties plus on ...
to add lessons on
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
and
disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all disabled people. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocates, around ...
movements into social studies curriculum. The Department of Education agreed to update its curriculum to include this material two weeks after it was sent.


Gun policy

In April 2013, Cullison voted for the Firearm Safety Act of 2013, a bill that placed restrictions on firearm purchases and magazine capacity in
semi-automatic rifle A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single round each time the Trigger (firearms), trigger is pulled while automatically loading the next Cartridge (firearms), cartridge. These rifles were developed Pre-World War II, and w ...
s.


Health care

During the 2018 legislative session, Cullison supported a bill to ask the federal government to divert money to Maryland used to offset the cost of high-risk patients on the
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
's insurance pool, instead using it under a new "reinsurance program" under the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. In 2019, Cullison defended a bill on the House floor to establish the Prescription Drug Affordability Board to negotiate the prices of
prescription drugs A prescription drug (also prescription medication, prescription medicine or prescription-only medication) is a pharmaceutical drug that is permitted to be dispensed only to those with a medical prescription. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs ca ...
for state and local governments, which passed and became law. In 2025, she introduced a bill that would allow the Prescription Drug Affordability Board to set statewide upper payment limits on certain drugs. During the 2023 legislative session, Cullison introduced the Access to Care Act, which would allow undocumented immigrants to buy into the state's health exchange.


Immigration

In 2017, Cullison supported the Maryland Trust Act, which would prevent the use of state and local funding for federal immigration enforcement.


Israel

In May 2018, Cullison said she supported 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 executive order banning the state from contracting with companies that supported the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's ...
movement.


Minimum wage

During the 2014 legislative session, Cullison voted for a bill to raise the state's minimum wage to $10.10 an hour by 2017.


Social issues

Cullison supported the
Civil Marriage Protection Act Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Maryland since January 1, 2013. In 2012, the state's Democratic representatives, led by Governor Martin O'Malley, began a campaign for its legalization. After much debate, a law permitting same- ...
, a bill to legalize
same-sex marriage in Maryland Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Maryland since January 1, 2013. In 2012, the state's Democratic representatives, led by Governor Martin O'Malley, began a campaign for its legalization. After much debate, a law permitting same- ...
. During the 2011 and 2014 legislative sessions, she supported a bill to ban discrimination against
transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
individuals. In 2018, she introduced a bill to ban
conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...
for minors, which passed and was signed into law by 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 ...
. During the 2023 legislative session, Cullison supported the Trans Health Equity Act, a bill that would have required the state's
Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...
program to cover
gender-affirming treatment Transgender health care includes the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of physical and mental health conditions which affect transgender individuals.Gorton N, Grubb HM (2014). General, Sexual, and Reproductive health. In L. Erickson-Schroth. ...
, which passed and was signed into law by Governor
Wes Moore Westley Watende Omari Moore (born October 15, 1978) is an American politician, businessman, author, and former U.S. Army officer serving as the 63rd governor of Maryland since 2023. Moore was born in Maryland and raised primarily in New York. ...
. In September 2018, Cullison signed a letter calling for a county investigation into sexual assault allegations made against
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
nominee
Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael Kavanaugh (; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since Oct ...
. Montgomery County law enforcement officials declined to investigate the matter unless the alleged victim filed a complaint. During the 2021 legislative session and following the suicide of
Jamie Raskin Jamin Ben Raskin (born December 13, 1962) is an American attorney, law professor, and politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Maryland's 8th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Demo ...
's son, Tommy, Cullison introduced a bill named for Tommy that would allow people to opt into periodic calls from
2-1-1 211 is an abbreviated dialing code that is reserved in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) as an easily recognizable code (ERC) and excluded from use as an area code. It is intended to reach local information and referral services to healt ...
crisis counselors. The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Hogan.


Taxes

During the 2013 legislative session, Cullison voted for a bill to index the state's gas tax to inflation to pay for transportation projects.


Personal life

Cullison is openly
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
. She is married to her wife, Marcia Massey, who was her partner of 29 years up until Maryland legalized same-sex marriage in 2013. Together, they live in
Aspen Hill, Maryland Aspen Hill is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is located 6 miles north of Washington D.C. Its population as of the 2020 census was 51,063. Etymology The community name is ...
.


Electoral history


References


External links


Campaign website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cullison, Bonnie 1954 births American trade union leaders American lesbian politicians LGBTQ state legislators in Maryland Living people Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Politicians from Silver Spring, Maryland University of Maryland, College Park alumni Women state legislators in Maryland 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly