Lauren C. Arikan
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
Assumed office
January 9, 2019
Preceded byPat McDonough (7th)
Constituency7th district (2019–2023)
district 7B (2023–present)
Personal details
Born (1984-12-14) December 14, 1984 (age 39)
Ellicott City, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseYusuf
Children4
ResidenceJarrettsville, Maryland
EducationMcDaniel 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[citation needed] on December 14, 1984. She is a member of the Turkish-American community.[2] 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][4]

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.[1] In February 2018, Arikan filed to run for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 7.[5] She won the Republican primary with 13.6 percent of the vote, coming in third place in a field of thirteen candidates.[6] 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.[7]

In the legislature

Arikan was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 9, 2019.[1] She was assigned to the Judiciary Committee by House Speaker Michael E. Busch.[8] In 2021, she was elected to serve as vice president of the Women Legislators of Maryland caucus.[9] 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.[10]

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.[11][12] 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".[13]

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.[14]

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.[15]

Education

Arikan opposes mask mandates in schools.[16][17] In August 2021, she attended an anti-mask rally outside a meeting for the Harford County school board.[18][19]

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.[20][21]

Arikan opposed legislation introduced in the 2022 legislative session that would create an Institute for Public Leadership at the University of Maryland.[22]

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.[23]

Elections

Arikan supports the use of voter IDs in elections[24] and placing restrictions on mail-in voting.[25]

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.[26][27]

Social issues

Arikan supports midwifery and is the founder of the Birth Circle of Baltimore.[2]

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[6]
Name Votes Percent
Kathy Szeliga 7,127 23.3%
Richard K. Impallaria 4,494 14.7%
Lauren Arikan 4,173 13.6%
Aaron Penman 3,216 10.5%
Bill Paulshock 2,869 9.4%
Michael Geppi 2,044 6.7%
David Seman 1,981 6.5%
Tammy Larkin 1,934 6.3%
Joshua Barlow 1,548 5.1%
Angela Sudano-Marcellino 498 1.6%
Russ English, Jr. 374 1.2%
Norm Gifford 219 0.7%
Trevor Leach 148 0.5%
Maryland House of Delegates District 7 General Election, 2018[7]
Name Votes Percent
Kathy Szeliga 38,617 25.4%
Lauren Arikan 35,476 23.3%
Richard K. Impallaria 34,223 22.5%
Allison Berkowitz 19,550 12.8%
Gordon Koerner 15,614 10.3%
Ryan Sullivan 8,443 5.5%
Other Write-Ins 324 0.2%

References

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