Vaughn Stewart (politician)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Vaughn Morton Stewart III (born November 15, 1988) is an American attorney and politician. He is 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 ...
, representing
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 ...
in Montgomery County since 2019.


Early life and education

Stewart was born on November 15, 1988, in
Anniston, Alabama Anniston is a city and the county seat of Calhoun County, Alabama, Calhoun County in Alabama, United States, and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston–Oxford metropolitan area, Anniston–Oxford Metropo ...
to father Vaughn Stewart Jr., who served as the mayor of Anniston from 2012 to 2016, and mother Eva Sproull Andrews. He graduated from The Donoho School and later attended the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
, where he earned a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in political science in 2011, and
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
, where he earned a
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 ...
degree in 2014.


Career

After graduating from law school, Stewart moved to
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, where he worked as a law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge John Trice Nixon and as a legal intern for the White House Domestic Policy Council. He later worked as a summer associate with
WilmerHale Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, also known as WilmerHale, is an American multinational law firm with offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Co-headquartered in Washington, D.C., and Boston, it was formed in 2004 through the m ...
and on
pro bono ( English: 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. The term traditionally referred to provision of legal services by legal professionals for people who a ...
matters, such as legal assistance to refugees. In the summer of 2011, Stewart worked as a staff writer for ''
The Anniston Star ''The Anniston Star'' is the daily newspaper serving Anniston, Alabama, and the surrounding six-county region. Average Sunday circulation in September 2004 was 26,747. However, by 2020 it was approximately half of this. The newspaper is locally ...
''. Stewart first became involved in politics in 2015 as a policy director for Maryland state senator
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 congressional campaign in
Maryland's 8th congressional district Maryland's 8th congressional district is concentrated almost entirely in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, with a small portion in Prince George's County. Adjacent to Washington, D.C., the 8th district takes in many of the city’ ...
. He later served as the treasurer and precinct chairperson of the District 19 Democratic Club, and on the boards of the Action Committee for Transit and the Montgomery County Renters Alliance. In August 2017, Stewart declared his candidacy for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 19. He came in third place in the Democratic primary, receiving 16.9 percent of the vote. He won the general election with 24 percent of the vote.


In the legislature

Stewart was sworn into 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 ...
on January 9, 2019. He has served as member of the Environment and Transportation Committee since 2019, including on its environment subcommittee from 2019 to 2022 and its transportation subcommittee since 2023. In 2022,
House Speaker The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...
Adrienne A. Jones appointed Stewart to lead the newly created "Progressive Policy Forum" within the House Democratic Caucus. In 2023, Jones appointed Stewart as one of two Chief Majority Whips for the Maryland House of Delegates.


Political positions


Health care

In between
chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...
treatments, Stewart studied health care policy. He supports proposals to regulate
prescription drug 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 c ...
manufacturers like
public utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...
and to create a statewide
universal health care Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized a ...
system.


Housing

Stewart introduced legislation during the 2019 legislative session that would increase affordable housing units and
condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...
s. The bill would ease zoning restrictions for high-density housing, introduce new real-estate transaction fees to fund
public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
projects, and allow tenants to terminate leases in cases of unsafe housing or harassment by landlords. The bill was reintroduced during the 2020 and 2022 legislative sessions. In March 2019, Stewart voted in favor of legislation that would require landlords to give a reason for evicting a tenant. The bill was rejected by the House Environment and Transportation Committee in a 2-17 vote. During the 2021 legislative session, Stewart introduced a bill that would require landlords that own properties that use
well water A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
to test for a series of contaminants every three years. During the 2022 legislative session, Stewart introduced legislation that would delay an eviction when a tenant can prove they have applied for rental assistance. The bill passed both chambers. He also introduced the "Tenant Protection Act of 2022", which establishes rules and procedures for landlords who give tenants ratio utility bills. The bill passed both chambers and became law without the governor's signature. During the 2024 legislative session, Stewart introduced a bill to make it easier for tenants to put their rent payments in escrow if their landlord neglects life-threatening defects in their residence.


Immigration

Stewart introduced the "Dignity Not Detention Act" during the 2021 legislative session, which prohibits jurisdictions from contracting with
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the Un ...
to detain undocumented people in local jails. The bill passed, but was vetoed 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 ...
. The Legislature voted to override Hogan's veto on December 7, 2021.


Marijuana

In 2018, Vaughn supported the
legalization of marijuana The legality of cannabis for medical and recreational use varies by country, in terms of its possession, distribution, and cultivation, and (in regards to medical) how it can be consumed and what medical conditions it can be used for. The ...
.


Minimum wage

Stewart co-sponsored legislation introduced during the 2019 legislative session that would raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour.


Social issues

Stewart introduced legislation in the 2020 legislative session to create a multi-state compact to end corporate tax breaks aimed at getting businesses aimed to move across state lines. In February 2020, Stewart co-sponsored legislation that would investigate the possibility of distributing reparations to the descendants of enslaved Africans. Stewart introduced legislation during the 2022 legislative session that would prohibit the
Governor of Maryland The governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...
from using apps that automatically destroy text messages. He also introduced legislation that would amend the Constitution of Maryland to set up an
ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...
elected position in Maryland, which would "receive, respond to, and investigate ethics complains" against state officials. The bill did not receive a committee vote. In May 2022, Stewart attended a protest in
Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...
against the alleged mistreatment of hundreds of animals at Inotiv's Indiana drug toxicity lab.


Statewide and national politics

During the 2020 presidential election, Stewart ran to be a national delegate at the
Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...
pledged to
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...
. During the 2022 primaries in Maryland, Stewart endorsed
Tom Perez Thomas Edward Perez (born October 7, 1961) is an American politician and attorney who served as the senior advisor to the United States president Joe Biden and the director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs from 2023 to 202 ...
for
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
,
Brooke Lierman Brooke Elizabeth Lierman (born February 14, 1979) is an American civil rights and disabilities attorney and politician who is the 34th Comptroller of Maryland. She was first elected in 2022, becoming the first female Comptroller of the state and ...
for
Comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...
, and Katie O'Malley for
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
.


Transportation

Stewart supports increasing funding for
monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...
projects, including a proposal that would build a 27-mile monorail line between Shady Grove and
Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in, and the county seat of, Frederick County, Maryland, United States. Frederick's population was 78,171 people as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Maryland, second-largest ...
. Stewart introduced legislation during the 2019 legislative session that would increase the minimum fine against drivers who fail to yield to a pedestrian to $150, with fines larger than the minimum amount going toward improving pedestrian safety. The bill passed and became law. He also introduced legislation that would require state-funded highway projects or projects built through public-private partnerships to go through environmental studies.


Personal life

Stewart married Alexandra Tucker Stewart, an attorney at WilmerHale, on May 29, 2016. Their wedding was officiated by U.S. Court of Appeals judge Pamela Harris. Together, they live in
Derwood, Maryland Derwood is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in east-central Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It lies just north of Rockville, Maryland, Rockville, southeast of Gaithersburg, Maryland, Gai ...
and have two children. Stewart is a two-time cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with
salivary gland cancer Salivary gland tumours, or neoplasms, are tumours that form in the tissues of salivary glands. The salivary glands are classified as major or minor. The major salivary glands consist of the parotid, submandibular gland, submandibular, and subling ...
in 2007 and
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tire ...
in 2017. Both cancers have since gone into remission.


Electoral history


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Vaughn Maryland socialists Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from Maryland 1988 births People from Anniston, Alabama University of Pennsylvania alumni New York University School of Law alumni Living people 21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly