Joseph J. "Sonny" Minnick (March 16, 1933 – October 12, 2015) was an American politician from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Background

Minnick was born in

Dundalk, Maryland Dundalk ( or ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 67,796 at the 2020 census. In 1960 and 1970, Dundalk was the largest unincorporated community in Mar ...

on March 16, 1933. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Upon arriving home, he joined his brother Dan Minnick Jr. to take over the management of Minnick's Hollywood Inn, a family business founded by his grandfather in the early 1920s, now known as Minnick's Restaurant and Catering Business, Inc. Minnick's bar was raided on June 29, 2011, which seized five video devices believed to be involved in illegal gamblin

Minnick was not charged. Minnick was active with both the Restaurant Association and with veteran's groups. Minnick was a strong supporter of small businesses in the State of Maryland. He died on October 12, 2015, from a blood disease.

In the Legislature

He served five terms in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

, representing Maryland's District 6 in

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...

. Minnick was a member of the Economic Matters Committee.

Legislative notes

*voted against the Clean Indoor Air Act of 2007 (HB35

* voted against in-state tuition for illegal immigrants in 2007 -Higher Education -Tuition Charges -Maryland High School Students, 2007 (HB

*voted for income tax reduction in 1998 (SB75

* voted for the Maryland Gang Prosecution Act of 2007 (HB713), subjecting gang members to up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $100,00

* voted for Jessica's Law (HB 930), eliminating parole for the most violent child sexual predators and creating a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in state prison, 200

* voted for Public Safety – Statewide DNA Database System – Crimes of Violence and Burglary – Post conviction (HB 370), helping to give police officers and prosecutors greater resources to solve crimes and eliminating a backlog of 24,000 unanalyzed DNA samples, leading to 192 arrests, 200

* voted for Vehicle Laws – Repeated Drunk and Drugged Driving Offenses – Suspension of License (HB 293), strengthening Maryland's drunk driving laws by imposing a mandatory one year license suspension for a person convicted of drunk driving more than once in five years, 200

* voted for HB 102, creating the House Emergency Medical Services System Workgroup, leading to Maryland's budgeting of $52 million to fund three new Medevac helicopters to replace the State's aging fleet, 200

* voted against Civil Marriage Protection Act (HB438) - civil marriage rights for same-sex couples, 201

For the past four years, Delegate Minnick has annually voted to support classroom teachers, public schools, police and hospitals in Baltimore County. Since 2002, funding to schools across the State has increased 82%, resulting in Maryland being ranked top in the nation for K-12 education.

Election results

*2002 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 6 ::Voters to choose three: : *1998 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 7 ::Voters to choose three: : *1994 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 7 ::Voters to choose three: :

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Minnick, Joseph 1933 births 2015 deaths 21st-century American legislators Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates United States Navy sailors United States Navy personnel of the Korean War People from Dundalk, Maryland 21st-century Maryland politicians