Lauren Arikan Explained

Lauren Arikan should not be confused with Loren AliKhan.

Lauren C. Arikan
Office:Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
Term Start:January 9, 2019
Predecessor:Pat McDonough (7th)
Constituency:7th district (2019–2023)
district 7B (2023–present)
Birth Date:14 December 1984
Birth Place:Ellicott City, Maryland, U.S.
Party:Republican
Spouse:Yusuf
Children:4
Residence:Jarrettsville, Maryland
Education:McDaniel College, University of Baltimore

Lauren Arikan (born December 14, 1984) is a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates. She previously represented the 7th district from 2019 to 2023, afterwards being redrawn into district 7B.[1]

Early life and career

Arikan was born in Ellicott City, Maryland on December 14, 1984. She is a member of the Turkish-American community. She attended McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland and the University of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland. Since 2009, she has worked at her family's businesses, Arikan Accounting and Tax, Arikan Acres, and Arikan Investments. She is married and lives on an eight-acre chicken and dairy goat farm in Jarrettsville, Maryland with her husband, Yusuf, and their four children.[1] [2] [3]

Arikan first got involved in politics in 2012 by becoming a member of the Board of Directors for the Maryland Friends of Midwives organization. From 2015 to 2018, she served as the chair of the Love Maryland PAC. In February 2018, Arikan filed to run for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 7.[4] She won the Republican primary with 13.6 percent of the vote, coming in third place in a field of thirteen candidates. She defeated Democrats Allison Berkowitz and Gordon Koerner and Green Party candidate Ryan Sullivan in the general election, receiving 23.3 percent of the vote.

In the legislature

Arikan was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 9, 2019. She was assigned to the Judiciary Committee by House Speaker Michael E. Busch.[5] In 2021, she was elected to serve as vice president of the Women Legislators of Maryland caucus.[6] She left the caucus in 2022 after its members voted to elect Delegate Lesley Lopez as its new president over Arikan, who was in line to become its next president.[7] Arikan is also a member of the Maryland Freedom Caucus.[8]

In August 2021, Arikan filed a complaint with the Maryland State Board of Elections against Michael Steele, who had formed a 527 committee to raise money for his exploratory effort in the 2022 gubernatorial election.[9] [10] Steele's campaign dismissed these allegations, calling them "completely meritless" and accusing Arikan of supporting Dan Cox in the Republican primary. Arikan denied these claims, saying that she intended to stay "completely out of the gubernatorial Republican primary".[11]

Political positions

Abortion

In March 2022, Arikan proposed an amendment to abortion rights legislation that would ban abortion services based on the gender of the fetus. The amendment failed by a vote of 40-86.[12]

Alcohol

In March 2020, Arikan voted against a measure to kill legislation that would allow for liquor sales in Baltimore County on Sundays. The measure was approved by a vote of 14-4.[13]

Education

Arikan opposes mask mandates in schools.[14] [15] In August 2021, she attended an anti-mask rally outside a meeting for the Harford County school board.[16] [17]

Arikan introduced legislation during the 2021 legislative session that would allow parents living in districts that do not offer full in-person instruction by Fall 2021 to apply to receive the amount the state spends per child in public school to spend on private school tuition.[18] [19]

Arikan opposed legislation introduced in the 2022 legislative session that would create an Institute for Public Leadership at the University of Maryland.[20]

In April 2023, Arikan sent a letter to State Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury accusing the Maryland State Department of Education of hiding scores from failing scores by altering data files available on the department's website. An investigation conducted by the state inspector general found no evidence of these claims.[21]

Elections

Arikan supports the use of voter IDs in elections[22] and placing restrictions on mail-in voting.[23]

Housing

Arikan opposed legislation that would temporarily place restrictions on when landlords could evict their tenants until April 2022, and another that would guarantee low-income tenants a right to counsel in eviction cases, saying that she would sell her rental properties if the bills were enacted, instead investing in rental property in Pennsylvania.[24] [25]

National politics

In May 2024, Arikan signed onto a letter condemning the jury's guilty verdict in the Trump hush money trial, calling the ruling a "political prosecution from a kangaroo court and left-leaning prosecutor" that is turning the U.S. justice system into a "third world parody of law and order".[26]

Social issues

Arikan supports midwifery and is the founder of the Birth Circle of Baltimore.[27]

Arikan opposed legislation that would ban threats made against health officials and hospital workers, saying that she received death threats during her first session in the General Assembly but "nothing ever came of it" after reporting it to law enforcement.[28]

Electoral history

Maryland House of Delegates District 7 Republican Primary Election, 2018[29]
Name VotesPercent
Kathy Szeliga7,12723.3%
Richard K. Impallaria4,49414.7%
Lauren Arikan4,17313.6%
Aaron Penman3,21610.5%
Bill Paulshock2,8699.4%
Michael Geppi2,0446.7%
David Seman1,9816.5%
Tammy Larkin1,9346.3%
Joshua Barlow1,5485.1%
Angela Sudano-Marcellino4981.6%
Russ English, Jr.3741.2%
Norm Gifford2190.7%
Trevor Leach1480.5%
Maryland House of Delegates District 7 General Election, 2018[30]
NameVotesPercent
Kathy Szeliga38,61725.4%
Lauren Arikan35,47623.3%
Richard K. Impallaria34,22322.5%
Allison Berkowitz19,55012.8%
Gordon Koerner15,61410.3%
Ryan Sullivan8,4435.5%
Other Write-Ins3240.2%

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lauren C. Arikan, Maryland State Delegate . Maryland Manual On-Line . . August 18, 2021 . April 19, 2021.
  2. News: DePuyt . Bruce . Kurtz . Josh . Business as Usual? . April 6, 2022 . . March 10, 2020.
  3. News: Leckrone . Bennett . Newly Drawn Legislative District 7 Could Lead to Shakeups in 2022 . April 6, 2022 . . February 3, 2022.
  4. Web site: 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election State Candidates List . elections.maryland.gov . . April 6, 2022.
  5. News: Kurtz . Josh . Incoming House Lawmakers Get Marching Orders . April 6, 2022 . . December 18, 2018.
  6. News: Kurtz . Josh . Legislative Women's Caucus Elects New Officers . April 6, 2022 . . April 19, 2021.
  7. News: Kurtz . Josh . Partisan Divide Rips Through Legislative Women’s Caucus . April 6, 2022 . . March 16, 2022.
  8. News: Kurtz . Josh . House Freedom Caucus could be gaining more firepower in Annapolis . August 2, 2024 . Maryland Matters . August 2, 2024.
  9. News: Kurtz . Josh . Steele Faces Uncertain Reception in Ocean City This Week . April 6, 2022 . . August 19, 2021.
  10. News: Sears . Bryan P. . Fellow Republican files campaign finance complaint against Steele . April 6, 2022 . . August 23, 2021.
  11. News: DePuyt . Bruce . Steele Aide Dismisses Campaign Finance Allegations as Politically Motivated . April 6, 2022 . . September 13, 2021.
  12. News: Gaskill . Hannah . After Republican Amendment Attempts, House Moves Forward with Abortion Access Bills . April 6, 2022 . . March 9, 2022.
  13. News: DePuyt . Bruce . Gaines . Danielle E. . Friday's Legislative Roundup . April 6, 2022 . . March 7, 2020.
  14. News: Dacey . Kim . Unmask Maryland calls on governor to remove mask mandate on school children . April 6, 2022 . . June 9, 2021.
  15. News: Republican delegate calls for no mask mandate in Harford County schools . April 6, 2022 . . August 20, 2021.
  16. News: Creighton . Rielle . "I can't breathe": Parents protest Harford Co. Schools' decision to reinstate mask . April 6, 2022 . . August 16, 2021.
  17. News: Fontelieu . Jason . Marbella . Jean . For Harford, a year of turmoil over COVID restrictions ends with its hospitals declaring a state of disaster . April 6, 2022 . . December 30, 2021.
  18. News: Shwe . Elizabeth . Republican Delegates Offer Bills Pushing In-Person Learning . April 6, 2022 . . January 29, 2021.
  19. Web site: Legislation - HB0939 . mgaleg.maryland.gov . . April 6, 2022.
  20. News: DePuyt . Bruce . News Roundup: 'Political' Remarks Draw Rebuke, Brain-Washing College Kids, Lt. Gov. Selection Switch . April 6, 2022 . . March 17, 2022.
  21. News: Reed . Lillian . Maryland State Department of Education did not cover up test scores from failing schools, inspector finds . October 2, 2023 . . May 9, 2023.
  22. News: Leckrone . Bennett . House Rejects Republicans' Amendments to Expanding Absentee Ballot List . April 6, 2022 . . March 4, 2021.
  23. News: Gaskill . Hannah . Leckrone . Bennett . House Moves Forward with Bills to Expand Mail-In Voting, Ballot Access for Incarcerated People . April 6, 2022 . . March 20, 2021.
  24. News: Leckrone . Bennett . House Panel Moves Relief for Tenants – With Sweeping Cuts . April 6, 2022 . . March 10, 2021.
  25. News: Leckrone . Bennett . House Passes Tenant Right to Counsel Proposal After Republican Objections . April 6, 2022 . . March 18, 2021.
  26. News: Pittman . Elijah . Maryland Democrats guarded, Republicans angry in wake of Trump conviction . June 1, 2024 . . May 31, 2024.
  27. News: Hernández . Arelis R. . Wiggins . Ovetta . Meet the freshman class of the Maryland General Assembly . April 6, 2022 . . January 9, 2019.
  28. News: Leckrone . Bennett . Lawmakers Consider Bill to Ban Threats Against Health Officials, Hospital Workers . April 6, 2022 . . January 26, 2022.
  29. Web site: Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates . Maryland State Board of Elections . August 15, 2018 . elections.maryland.gov . July 31, 2018.
  30. Web site: Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates . elections.maryland.gov . September 4, 2019 . December 11, 2018 . Maryland State Board of Elections.