Jennifer R. Terrasa

Jennifer R. Terrasa (born June 6, 1969) is a Democratic member of the Maryland House of Delegates. She was previously a member of the Howard County Council from 2006 to 2018.[1][2]

Jennifer R. Terrasa
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 13th district
Assumed office
January 9, 2019
Preceded byFrank S. Turner
Member, Howard County Council, 3rd district
In office
December 4, 2006 – December 3, 2018
Preceded byGuy Guzzone
Succeeded byChristiana Rigby
Personal details
Born (1969-06-06) June 6, 1969
New York, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseDivorced
Childrenthree children
ResidenceKings Contrivance, Columbia, Maryland
EducationOakland Mills High School, Columbia, Maryland; University of Maryland at College Park, B.A. (sociology), summa cum laude, 1992; University of Baltimore School of Law, J.D., summa cum laude, 1997

Early life and career

Terrasa was born on June 6, 1969, in New York City.[1] Her family moved to Columbia, Maryland when she was a toddler,[3] where she graduated from Oakland Mills High School. She attended the University of Maryland at College Park in College Park, Maryland, where she earned a B.A. degree in sociology in 1992, and the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she earned a J.D. degree in law review in 1997. She was admitted to the Maryland Bar in the same year.[1] While at the University of Baltimore, she met her husband Gabriel.[3]

After graduating, she served as a law clerk to Maryland Court of Appeals judge Howard S. Chasanow until 1998 and Howard County Circuit Court judge Lenore R. Gelfman until 1999. From 2000 to 2006, Terrasa served as a family law hotline attorney for the Women's Law Center of Maryland.[1]

Howard County Council

In 1994, Terrasa and her husband moved to the Kings Contrivance neighborhood of Columbia. She was appointed to the neighborhood's Village Board in December 2001, succeeding Victoria Dieringer, who resigned for personal reasons.[3] She resigned from the Village Board in December 2005 to run for the Howard County Council,[4] seeking to succeed councilmember Guy Guzzone, who announced plans to run for the Maryland House of Delegates.[5] She won the general election with 62.0 percent of the vote.[6]

Terrasa was a national delegate for Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.[7] Before the 2008 Maryland Democratic presidential primary, Terrasa canvassed alongside county council member Calvin Ball III in Oakland Mills for Obama.[8]

Terrasa faced a tough re-election campaign in 2010, facing off against Republican moderate Dennis R. Schrader in the general election.[9] She defeated Schrader in the general election, receiving 67.1 percent of the vote.[10][11]

In January 2018, Terrasa declared her candidacy for the Maryland House of Delegates, seeking to succeed delegate Frank Turner. who announced plans to retire at the end of his term. Turner endorsed Terrasa's campaign in January 2018.[12] She won the Democratic primary with 27.7 percent of the vote, coming in third out of a field of four Democrats.[13][14] She won the general election with 27.1 percent of the vote, defeating Republican Chris Yates.[15]

In the legislature

Terrasa was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 9, 2019.[1]

In February 2022, House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones assigned Terrasa and Vaughn Stewart to lead the newly-created Progressive Policy Forum within the House Democratic Caucus.[16]

Committee assignments
  • Member, Environment and Transportation Committee, 2019–present (housing & real property subcommittee, 2020–present; land use & ethics subcommittee, 2020–present; local government & bi-county agencies subcommittee, 2020–present)
  • Member, Appropriations Committee, 2019 (health & social services subcommittee, 2019; oversight committee on personnel, 2019)

Other memberships
  • Member, Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus, 2019–present
  • Maryland Legislative Transit Caucus, 2019–present
  • Women Legislators of Maryland, 2019–present

Political positions

Elections

Terrasa, alongside Howard County Council chairman Jon Weinstein, introduced legislation in February 2016 that would create a public financing system for candidates who swear off large donations.[17] The legislation was reintroduced in 2017.[18]

Environment

In March 2021, Terrasa, alongside Delegates Lorig Charkoudian, Dana Stein, and Vaughn Stewart, joined the Leaders for Climate Accountability, a national work of public officials who support holding corporate polluters accountable for their contributions to the climate crisis.[19] She introduced legislation in the 2021 legislative session that would allow the Attorney General of Maryland to sue companies that have contributed to the climate crisis through fraud or deception.[20] The bill was reintroduced in the 2022 legislative session.[21]

Healthcare

Terrasa supports universal health care and Medicare for All.[22] She co-sponsored the Healthy Maryland Act of 2019, which would institute Medicare-for-all, single-payer healthcare legislation in Maryland.[23]

Housing

In October 2015, Terrasa introduced legislation that would require 15 percent of all new housing units developed in downtown Columbia to be affordable to families earning between 40 and 80 percent of the county's median income.[24]

In October 2018, Terrasa introduced a bill that would require new single-family houses and apartments to have infrastructure to support charging stations for electric vehicles.[25]

Immigration

Following the election of President-elect Donald Trump, Terrasa introduced legislation that would designate Howard County a sanctuary jurisdiction.[26][27]

Marijuana

Terrasa supports the legalization and regulation of recreational marijuana.[22]

Redistricting

Terrasa supports using an independent redistricting commission to draw Maryland's legislative and congressional district maps.[22]

Taxes

In July 2018, Terrasa introduced legislation that would repeal Howard County's tax on mobile home rental sites.[28] The County Council voted to kill the bill in September 2018.[29]

Electoral history
Kings Contrivance Village Board Election, 2004[30]
Candidate Votes %
Jennifer Terrasa 136 31.8%
Heidi Gaasch 123 28.7%
Buna Cumbie 108 25.2%
Heather Ryan 61 14.3%
Howard County Council Councilmanic District 3 General Election, 2006[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jennifer Terrasa 9,846 62.0%
Republican Donna Thewes 6,037 38.0%
Other Write-Ins Other Write-Ins 10 0.1%
Howard County Council Councilmanic District 3 Democratic Primary Election, 2010[31]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jennifer Terrasa 3,022 100.0%
Howard County Council Councilmanic District 3 General Election, 2010[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jennifer Terrasa 11,071 67.1%
Democratic Dennis R. Schrader 5,413 32.8%
Other Write-Ins Other Write-Ins 13 0.1%
Howard County Council Councilmanic District 3 Democratic Primary Election, 2014[32]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jennifer Terrasa 3,947 100.0%
Howard County Council Councilmanic District 3 General Election, 2014[33]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jennifer Terrasa 14,107 97.8%
Other Write-Ins Other Write-Ins 324 2.2%
Maryland House of Delegates District 13 Democratic Primary Election, 2018[34]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Vanessa Atterbeary 10,856 32.7%
Democratic Shane Pendergrass 10,020 30.2%
Democratic Jen Terrasa 9,169 27.7%
Democratic Larry Pretlow, II 3,110 9.4%
Maryland House of Delegates District 13 General Election, 2018[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Vanessa Atterbeary 39,470 30.7%
Democratic Shane Pendergrass 36,519 28.4%
Democratic Jen Terrasa 34,921 27.1%
Republican Chris Yates 17,258 13.4%
Other Write-Ins Other Write-Ins 513 0.4%

References
  1. "Jennifer R. Terrasa, Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. January 24, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  2. "GAM-Delegate Terrasa Bio". mgaleg.maryland.gov. Maryland General Assembly. February 25, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  3. Klosner-Wehner, Dana (January 29, 2002). "Teen experiences the culture of France". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  4. "Rosenbaum is nominated for panel". The Baltimore Sun. February 1, 2006. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  5. Cadiz, Laura (December 4, 2005). "Before vote, Ulman seeks a change in smoking bill". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  6. "Official 2006 Gubernatorial General Election results for Howard County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  7. "Bios of Add-on delegates, party leaders and super delegates". Capital News Service. August 23, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  8. Carson, Larry (February 17, 2008). "Obama supporters basking in Potomac sweep". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  9. Carson, Larry (August 29, 2010). "Council race: Terrasa has edge, but Schrader is determined". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  10. Carson, Larry (November 4, 2010). "Howard voters stick to status quo, re-elect incumbents". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  11. "Official 2010 Gubernatorial General Election results for Howard County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  12. Magill, Kate (January 18, 2018). "A veteran Howard legislator is retiring, endorsing a candidate". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  13. Brennan, Leah (June 28, 2018). "Howard councilwoman makes the cut for open seat in House of Delegates". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  14. Kinnally, Kevin (June 27, 2018). "Terrasa Advances to District 13 House General Election". Maryland Association of Counties. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  15. "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  16. Kurtz, Josh (February 9, 2022). "House Dems Create 'Progressive Policy Forum' Within Their Caucus". Maryland Matters. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  17. Waseem, Fatimah (February 2, 2016). "Howard County Council members propose 'citizen funded campaign system'". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  18. Waseem, Fatimah (April 20, 2017). "Support for publicly funded campaign system surges at Howard hearing". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  19. Shwe, Elizabeth (March 3, 2021). "Md. Delegates Join National Group Dedicated to Holding Polluters Accountable for Climate Change". Maryland Matters. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  20. Shwe, Elizabeth (March 10, 2021). "Bill Would Allow the Attorney General to Sue Companies for Climate Fraud". Maryland Matters. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  21. Kurtz, Josh (February 9, 2022). "Here Are Three Smaller Climate Bills That Could Have a Big Impact". Maryland Matters. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  22. "Jen Terrasa". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  23. "Legislation - HB1087". mgaleg.maryland.gov. Maryland General Assembly. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  24. Yeager, Amanda (October 2, 2015). "Terrasa introduces affordable housing bill for downtown Columbia". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  25. Logan, Erin B. (October 22, 2018). "Howard legislation would require new homes to support electric vehicle charging stations". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  26. Waseem, Fatimah (December 29, 2016). "Howard County Council seeks 'sanctuary' status ahead of Trump presidency". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  27. Turque, Bill (January 6, 2017). "Howard County debates bill to declare 'sanctuary' status". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  28. Magill, Kate (July 16, 2018). "Council considers repeal of mobile home site rental tax". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  29. Nocera, Jess (September 5, 2018). "Howard council rejects plan to kill tax on mobile homes". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  30. Cadiz, Laura (April 25, 2004). "Election shakes board's balance". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  31. "Official 2010 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Howard County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  32. "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Howard County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  33. "Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for Howard County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  34. "Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
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