Jump to content

Ibraheem Samirah

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Is0811a (talk | contribs) at 03:53, 14 February 2020 (→Elections: Removed irrelevant statistics.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Ibraheem Samirah
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 86th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 20, 2019
Preceded byJennifer Boysko
Personal details
BornChicago, Illinois
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceHerndon, Virginia
Alma materAmerican University (BA)
Boston University (DMD)
OccupationDentist

Ibraheem S. Samirah is an American dentist and politician from Virginia. In February 2019, he was elected in a special election to the Virginia House of Delegates for the 86th district, which includes parts of Fairfax and Loudoun counties in the Chantilly, Herndon, and Sterling areas. Samirah was re-elected to a full-term in November 2019.

Early life and education

Samirah was born in Chicago, Illinois, a second-generation Palestinian American[1] whose parents were refugees.[2] His father was separated from the family while Samirah attended middle school when he was barred reentry into the United States.[2] Samirah resided in Jordan as a teenager before returning to the United States in 2009. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in government and political science from American University in 2013,[3] where, though Muslim, he was a member of the historically Jewish fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu, attracted by the chapter's progressivism and "respect for diversity."[4] He next earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) from the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine at Boston University in 2017.[5]

Virginia House of Delegates

Elections

After Jennifer Boysko was elected to the Senate of Virginia, Samirah ran in the special election to fill the remainder of her term in the Virginia House of Delegates.

Samirah defeated Republican Gregg G. Nelson and independent Connie H. Hutchinson, receiving 60% of the vote to Nelson's 34% and Hutchinson's 6%, on February 19, 2019.

Delegate Samirah ran unopposed in that year's general election and received 89% of the vote.

Policy positions

Samirah is a progressive.

Abortion rights

Samirah supports codifying and expanding abortion rights.[6]

Environmental policy

Samirah supports enacting a Green New Deal at the state level.[6] In 2020, he introduced a "Green New Deal Act" proposal which would ban the approval of any new fossil-fuel-driven power plants, refineries, and other facilities and require that at least 80% of the electricity sold in the state be from solar, wind, and hydropower by 2028. The bill would also require increased energy efficiency in buildings and include retraining opportunities for workers in the fossil fuel industry. It was co-sponsored by fellow delegates Joshua Cole, Patrick Hope, Clinton Jenkins, Kaye Kory, and Sam Rasoul.[7]

Gun rights

Samirah supports gun control.[6]

Electoral reform

In the 2020 session, Samirah backed a bill introduced by state Senator Louis Lucas to allow for expanded absentee voting and recognize election day as a state holiday.[8]

Marijuana legalization

Samirah supports legalizing cannabis for recreational use.[6]

Health care

Samirah favors universal health care at the state level.[6]

Labor relations

Samirah supports expanding union and worker rights such as removing Virginia's right-to-work law.[9]

Zoning reform

He supports ending neighborhood or local zoning and forcing every community and municipality in the state to allow for multi-family residential developments instead of single-family detached homes.[10][11] Samirah's proposed law would retroactively allow property owners to convert their properties from single-to-multi-family use in established and new neighborhoods without going through the existing neighborhood or local zoning procedures, which typically prefer keeping their communities as single-family use instead of multi-family use.[12][13]

Foreign policy

Samirah is an advocate for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.[14]

Protesting

On July 30, 2019, Samirah was arrested during a speech by Trump in Jamestown, Virginia after disrupting the event by standing up and waving card signs consisting of the words "Deport Hate," "Reunite My Family," and "Go Back to Your Corrupted Home."[15] He opposes civility in politics, stating, "To the critics of incivility... I say it's time to think critically about whom such decorum has traditionally served: the white, wealthy, and comfortable."[16]

Electoral history

Date Election Candidate Party Votes %
Virginia House of Delegates, 86th district
February 19, 2019[17] Special Ibraheem S. Samirah Democratic 3,740 59.5
Gregg G. Nelson Republican 2,162 34.4
Connie H. Hutchinson Independent 370 5.9
Write Ins 13 0.2
November 5, 2019[18] General Ibraheem S. Samirah Democratic 14,730 88.9
Write Ins 1,836 11.1

Personal life

Samirah lives in Herndon, Virginia.[2]

References

  1. ^ Cline, Nathaniel (February 19, 2019). "Democrat Ibraheem Samirah wins House of Delegates 86th District special election | News". loudountimes.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference reston was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Bio: Ibraheem Samirah". Vote Smart. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  4. ^ Cohen, Zach C. (November 16, 2011). "Sammy's Palestinian brother | Today in New Voices". New Voices: The National Jewish Student Magazine. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  5. ^ "Dr. Ibraheem Samirah Joins District Smiles As Senior Dentist In Tenleytown DC". PressCable. MarketersMEDIA. February 11, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e Leahy, Norman (November 14, 2019). "Bipartisan excess threatens to engulf Virginia politics". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  7. ^ {cite web|url=https://wtop.com/virginia/2020/01/whats-on-the-agenda-for-virginias-2020-general-assembly/%7Ctitle=Minimum wage hike, bag tax among Va. lawmakers’ work, environment and health proposals|last=Smith|first=Max|date=2020-01-06|website=WTOP News|access-date=2020-01-27}}
  8. ^ Armstrong, Zach (January 21, 2020). "Bills to make voting easier advance in Virginia legislature". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  9. ^ Leahy, Norman (November 14, 2019). "Bipartisan excess threatens to engulf Virginia politics". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  10. ^ Capps, Kriston (December 20, 2019). "With New Democratic Majority, Virginia Sees a Push for Denser Housing". CityLab. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  11. ^ Sisson, Patrick (December 26, 2019). "Virginia latest place to make single family zoning ban a political fight". Curbed. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  12. ^ Britschgi, Christian (December 31, 2019). "Virginia Bill Would End Single-Family-Only Zoning in the Old Dominion". Reason. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  13. ^ Yglesias, Matthew (December 27, 2019). "The telling conservative backlash to a Virginia zoning reform proposal, explained". Vox. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  14. ^ Shideler, Kyle (July 31, 2019). "Democrat Lawmaker With Ties To Hamas Front Group Disrupts Trump Speech". The Federalist. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  15. ^ Watson, Kathryn (September 30, 2019). "Democratic Virginia state delegate interrupts Trump's speech". CBS. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  16. ^ Samirah, Ibraheem (August 2, 2019). "Why I Disrupted Trump's Speech at Jamestown". The Atlantic. Retrieved December 31, 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  17. ^ "2019 February 19 Special: Official Results". Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  18. ^ "2019 November General: Official Results". Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ibraheem_Samirah&oldid=940711036"