Lynn Afendoulis (born November 3, 1958) is an American politician from the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, she served as a member of

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

from the 73rd district from 2019 to 2021.

Early life and education

Afendoulis was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

, the daughter of a restaurant owner and teacher. Afendoulis is of Greek ancestry: her grandparents are ethnic Greek immigrants from Greece and Turkey. Afendoulis attended

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

before earning a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in journalism from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

Career

Media career

In 1981, Afendoulis started her career as a reporter for ''

The Grand Rapids Press ''The Grand Rapids Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is the largest of the eight Booth newspapers. It is sold for $1.50 daily and $7.99 on Sunday. AccuWeather provides weather content to the ''Grand Rapids ...

'' until 1987. In 1987, Afendoulis became a reporter for ''

The Tampa Tribune ''The Tampa Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Tampa, Florida. Along with the competing ''Tampa Bay Times'', the ''Tampa Tribune'' was one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area. The newspaper also published a ''St. Pe ...

'' until 1989. In 1989, Afendoulis became a Communications/Public Relations Manager for the Bay Plaza Companies in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

. In 1995, Afendoulis was a consultant for The Greystone Group. Since 2003, Afendoulis was a Director of Corporate Communications and Community Relations for

Universal Forest Products UFP Industries, Inc. was founded in Michigan in 1955 as a supplier of lumber to the manufactured housing industry. Today UFP Industries is a multibillion-dollar holding company with subsidiaries around the globe that serve three markets: retail, ...

Political career

In August 2018, Afendoulis won the primary election for

for District 73. Incumbent

Chris Afendoulis Chris Afendoulis (born April 28, 1962) is a former Republican Member of the Michigan House of Representatives, he was first elected in 2014 and represented the 73rd District from 2015 to 2019, he was succeeded by his cousin Lynn Afendoulis. Ea ...

, who is her cousin, had run for the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

. On November 6, 2018, Afendoulis won the election against Bill Saxton and became a member of the

for District 73. On December 18, 2018, Afendoulis was officially sworn in by House Clerk Gary Randall. In June 2020 following the George Floyd protests in Grand Rapids, she proposed a bill to punish those who participate in riots with

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

charges of up to a 20-year felony sentence in, with Afendoulis stating "We want prosecutors to be able to charge them as terrorists. As social terrorists". Afendoulis ran for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in in the 2020 elections. She lost the August 4 primary election to

Peter Meijer Peter James Meijer (, ; born January 10, 1988) is an American politician and business analyst who served as the U.S. representative for from 2021 to 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party. Meijer is a member of the Meijer family, the fou ...

Personal life

Afendoulis has two children. Afendoulis resides in

Grand Rapids Charter Township, Michigan Grand Rapids Charter Township is a charter township of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 16,661 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. The township is bordered by Grand Rapids, Michigan, Grand Rapids to the wes ...

References

External links

Lynn Afendoulis at gophouse.org

Lynn Afendoulis at ballotpedia.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afendoulis, Lynn 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Living people 1958 births Republican Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Miami University alumni Michigan State University alumni Women state legislators in Michigan Politicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan American people of Greek descent