Andrea Fletcher Harrison (née Andrea Carleen Fletcher, born September 20, 1963) is an American politician. She currently serves in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing district 24 in Prince George's County, Maryland. She previously served on the Prince George's County Council, representing district 5.[1]

Andrea Harrison
Harrison in 2013
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 24th district
Assumed office
January 9, 2019
Preceded byCarolyn J. B. Howard
ConstituencyPrince George's County, Maryland
Member of the Prince George's County Council from the 5th district
In office
May 19, 2008 – December 3, 2018
Preceded byDavid C. Harrington
Succeeded byJolene Ivey
Personal details
Born
Andrea Carleen Fletcher

(1963-09-20) September 20, 1963 (age 61)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Children3
Residence(s)Springdale, Maryland, U.S.
Alma mater

Early life and education

edit

Andrea Carleen Fletcher was born in Washington, D.C. on September 20, 1963,[1] to father James C. Fletcher.[2] She received an Associate in Arts in micro computer systems from Prince George's Community College in 1992. She then received a Bachelor of Arts degree in public policy from Bowie State University in 2002.[1]

Career

edit

Before getting into politics in 2002, Harrison was active with the Ardmore Springdale Civic Association, serving as its president, vice president, and secretary from 1994 to 2007.[3]

After the death of Gwendolyn T. Britt on January 12, 2008, Prince George's County councilmember David C. Harrington was appointed to serve the rest of Britt's term in the Maryland Senate. A special election was held to fill the rest of Harrington's term on the County Council.[4] Harrison won the Democratic primary to fill the seat on April 2, 2008, edging out Edmonston mayor Adam Ortiz by 137 votes.[5] She was sworn in on May 19, 2008, and represented district 5 until December 3, 2019.[1] She was the first woman to represent the seat, which was previously held by her father.[2] In 2012, she was elected to chair the county council.[6]

In 2016, Harrison campaigned in support of a referendum to expand the county council, which led to speculation as to whether she would seek re-election to the council.[7] She declined running for either of the two at-large positions on the council, instead announcing her candidacy for the Maryland House of Delegates in district 24 on December 14, 2017.[3] During the primary, she was endorsed by U.S. Representative Anthony Brown.[8] She won the Democratic primary, coming in third place in a field of 11 candidates with 14.5 percent of the vote.[9]

In the legislature

edit

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

Committee assignments

edit
  • Member, Economic Matters Committee, 2021 (banking, consumer protection & commercial law subcommittee, 2022–present; public utilities subcommittee, 2022–present)
  • Member, Study Group on Economic Stability, 2019–present
  • Member, Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee, 2020–present
  • House Chair, Protocol Committee, 2020–present
  • Member, Joint Committee on Fair Practices and State Personnel Oversight, 2022–present
  • Member, Environment and Transportation Committee, 2019–2021 (local government & bi-county agencies subcommittee, 2019–2021; motor vehicle & transportation subcommittee, 2019–2021)

Other memberships

edit

Personal life

edit

She is married with three children.[1] She lives in Springdale, Maryland.[10]

Political positions

edit

Minimum wage

edit

In 2013, Harrison introduced a bill to raise the minimum wage in Prince George's County to $11.50 an hour by 2016.[11][12] The bill passed and was signed into law with an effective date of 2017 on December 17, 2013.[13]

Social issues

edit

In 2011, following a proposal to open a casino at Rosecroft Raceway, Harrison co-sponsored legislation to ban slots in Prince George's County.[14] The county council voted in November to table the bill in a 5–4 vote, with Harrison voting against the table.[15] In 2012, Harrison voted for a resolution voicing the county council's opposition to a bill introduced in the Maryland General Assembly that would allow casinos to be built in Prince George's County.[16]

In 2013, Harrison, alongside county executive Rushern Baker, wrote a letter to Dan Tangherlini to endorse a plan to move the headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to Greenbelt, Maryland.[17]

Electoral history

edit
Prince George's County Councilmanic district 5 Democratic primary election, 2010[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Andrea Harrison 6,539 69.2
Democratic Nakia T. Ngwala 1,510 16.0
Democratic Pat Thornton 1,398 14.8
Prince George's County Councilmanic district 5 general election, 2010[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Andrea Harrison 21,268 99.7
Other write-ins 68 0.3
Prince George's County Councilmanic district 5 Democratic primary election, 2014[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Andrea Harrison 8,109 100
Prince George's County Councilmanic district 5 general election, 2014[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Andrea Harrison 19,968 99.6
Other write-ins 87 0.4
Maryland House of Delegates district 24 Democratic primary election, 2018[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Erek Barron 9,939 20.3
Democratic Jazz Lewis 8,513 17.4
Democratic Andrea Fletcher Harrison 7,111 14.5
Democratic LaTasha R. Ward 5,685 11.6
Democratic Maurice Simpson Jr. 3,726 7.6
Democratic Marnitta L. King 3,481 7.1
Democratic Michelle R. Wright 3,297 6.7
Democratic Sia Finoh 2,405 4.9
Democratic Donjuan "DJ" Williams 1,789 3.7
Democratic Joyce Starks 1,780 3.6
Democratic Delaneo Miller 1,166 2.4
Maryland House of Delegates district 24 general election, 2018[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Andrea Fletcher Harrison 38,365 36.7
Democratic Erek Barron 33,069 31.7
Democratic Jazz Lewis 32,406 31.0
Other write-ins 586 0.6

Notes

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Andrea Fletcher Harrison, Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Legislative Power - 2008 Annual Legislative Report" (PDF). Maryland State Archives. p. 6. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Special to the AFRO (December 14, 2017). "Harrison Bids for Seat in House of Delegates". Baltimore Afro-American. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  4. ^ Bartlett, Anne (January 31, 2008). "Harrington Chosen by Dems for Britt's Seat". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  5. ^ Bartlett, Anne (April 2, 2008). "Harrison Appears to be District 5 Winner". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  6. ^ Spivack, Miranda S. (December 4, 2012). "Environmentalist Eric Olson loses bid to head Prince George's County Council". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  7. ^ Hernández, Arelis R. (November 10, 2016). "In Prince George's, focus turns to who will fill new council seats". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  8. ^ Ford, William J. (October 18, 2017). "New Faces Could Represent Prince George's in Annapolis". The Washington Informer. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  9. ^ Mehu, Natasha (June 27, 2018). "Harrison Secures Seat in Crowded Delegate Race". Maryland Association of Counties. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  10. ^ Stewart, Keisha (January 24, 2004). "Suburban Springdale Gets a Sense of Identity". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  11. ^ Spivack, Miranda S.; Turque, Bill (October 1, 2013). "Minimum wage increases proposed in Montgomery and Prince George's counties". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  12. ^ Binkovitz, Leah; Luz, Lazo (November 19, 2013). "Prince George's County Council puts off vote on minimum wage bill". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  13. ^ Wallace, Gregory (December 17, 2013). "Maryland: A minimum wage battleground". CNN Money. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  14. ^ Spivack, Miranda S. (September 27, 2011). "Prince George's council member proposes banning slots from county". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  15. ^ Bush, Matt (November 15, 2011). "PG County Defers Ban On Slot Machines". WAMU. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  16. ^ Spivack, Miranda S. (February 14, 2012). "Prince George's Council says proposed slots bill has little appeal". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  17. ^ O'Connell, Jonathan (February 26, 2013). "Prince George's County leaders back Greenbelt for FBI headquarters relocation". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  18. ^ "Official 2010 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Prince George's County". Maryland State Board of Elections.
  19. ^ "Official 2010 Gubernatorial General Election results for Prince George's County". Maryland State Board of Elections.
  20. ^ "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Prince George's County". Maryland State Board of Elections.
  21. ^ "Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for Prince George's County". Maryland State Board of Elections.
  22. ^ "Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections.
  23. ^ "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections.