Michele Guyton | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Guyton in 2024 | |
| Member of theMaryland House of Delegates from the42B district | |
| Assumed office January 9, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Susan L. M. Aumann |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1966-10-19)October 19, 1966 (age 58) Madison, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Vanderbilt University (BA) Harvard University (MA) Brandeis University (MA,PhD) |
Michele Jenkins Guyton (born October 19, 1966) is an American politician from theDemocratic Party and is a member of theMaryland House of Delegates representingDistrict 42B.
Guyton was born on October 19, 1966, inMadison,Tennessee. She attendedBaldwin County High School inBay Minette,Alabama and received herB.A. in psychology and anthropology fromVanderbilt University in 1989. She later jointly earned an MA in women studies fromRadcliffe College ofHarvard University as part of the Boston-area Graduate Consortium for Women’s Studies, alongside an MA in psychology fromBrandeis University. Guyton also possesses aPh.D. in developmental and social psychology from Brandeis, which she received in 1996.[1]
In 2015,GovernorLarry Hogan appointed Guyton to serve on theMaryland State Board of Education. TheMaryland Senate approved her nomination in a 42-0 vote.[2] She served on the board until January 1, 2019, when she resigned to become a state delegate.[3]
In January 2018, at theBaltimore Women's March, Guyton announced her intent to run for state delegate, citing the2016 presidential election as what motivated her to run for office.[4] During the primary, she enjoyed endorsements from various organizations, including the MarylandLeague of Conservation Voters, Metro Baltimore CouncilAFL–CIO,NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland, and theLiUNA Mid-Atlantic Region, and state senatorJames Brochin.[5] She received 48.4 percent of the vote in the 2022 Democratic primary[6] and narrowly defeatedRepublican Tim Robinson in the general election with 26.5 percent of the vote.[7] Mileah Kromer, a political scientist and pollster atGoucher College, suggested that Guyton's primary win indicated a polarized electorate in Maryland's 42nd district.[8]
Guyton is a developmental psychologist and disabilities advocate who has worked at various institutions relating to psychology, including theUniversity of Iowa, the North Carolina Department of Mental Health, and theKennedy Krieger Institute.[1] Her three sons all have disabilities, which moved her to co-found a support group for families with disabilities that has since evolved into the Mid-Atlantic chapter of theTourette Association of America.[9] She has also used her position as state delegate to introduce several pieces of legislation that would support disabled Marylanders.[10]
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Guyton was sworn in as a member of the House of Delegates on January 9, 2019.[1] She was floated as a potential candidate for Maryland Senate in 2022.[11] Unopposed in the Democratic primary,[12] Guyton was reelected in the 2022 general election by a more than 20% margin.[13]
Guyton is a self-described progressive Democrat,[8] but has expressed that she will work across the aisle to support good ideas "regardless of who is sponsoring them."[14]
Guyton supportsuniversal pre-kindergarten, boosting mental health supports in schools and improving teacher-student ratios in classrooms.[14]
In February 2020, Guyton joined seven Democratic delegates in voting against a bill that would mandatebackground checks on private sales and transfers of shotguns and rifles.[15]
Guyton supports expanding access to healthcare, saying that she "believes it really is a human right" and thatsingle-payer healthcare is worth discussing but would have to be paid for.[14]
On the campaign trail, Guyton advocated for the legislature to pass a "$15 an hour living wage with future indexed increases."[16] In March 2019, she was one of two Democrats in the Maryland House of Delegates to vote against a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.[17]
Guyton opposes raising new taxes, instead advocating for redirecting priorities and using funding sources like lottery money and thelegalization of marijuana.[14]
| Maryland House of Delegates District 42B Democratic Primary Election, 2018[6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Michele Guyton | 5,652 | 48 |
| Democratic | Sachin Hebbar | 3,293 | 28 |
| Democratic | Daniel Nemec | 2,744 | 24 |
| Maryland House of Delegates District 42B Democratic Primary Election, 2018[7] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Nino Mangione | 20,267 | 29 |
| Democratic | Michele Guyton | 18,815 | 27 |
| Republican | Tim Robinson | 18,090 | 26 |
| Democratic | Sachin Hebbar | 13,670 | 19 |
| Other/Write-in | Other/Write-in | 53 | 0 |