William M. Valentine (born 1971/1972) is an American politician. He is a member for 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, ...

in District 2A in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

counties. He was previously a candidate for the Frederick County Council in 2018.

Background

Valentine graduated from

Delone Catholic High School Delone Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in McSherrystown, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg. History Delone Catholic High School is a regional high school named fo ...

in 1989. He later attended

Frederick Community College Frederick Community College (FCC) is a public community college in Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has lo ...

, where he earned an

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in criminal justice in 1991. He is a retired police officer, working as a police officer in

Thurmont, Maryland Thurmont is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,935 at the 2020 census. The town is located in the northern part of Frederick County (north of Frederick, the county seat), approximately ten miles from the Pen ...

from 1994 to 1998, and again from 2003 to 2005, in between working as a deputy sheriff in Garrett County, Maryland, and retiring as a lieutenant in the

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

Police Department in 2019. Prior to serving in the legislature, he worked as an investigator with the Frederick County State's Attorney's office. In 2022, Valentine ran for the Maryland House of Delegates in

District 4 District 4 can refer to: * District 4, Düsseldorf, in Germany * District 4, Grand Bassa County, in Liberia * District 4 (Ho Chi Minh City), in Vietnam * District 4 (New York City Council), in the United States *IV District, Turku The IV Distr ...

, seeking to succeed outgoing state Delegate

Dan Cox Daniel Lewis Cox (born August 9, 1974) is an American far-right politician. He is a Republican who represents the fourth district in the Maryland House of Delegates. He was also the secretary of the Frederick County Republican Central Committ ...

, who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2022. He was later redrawn into District 2A. He won the Republican primary election with 22.9 percent of the vote, placing second behind incumbent state delegate William J. Wivell. He faced no formal opposition in the general election.

In the legislature

Valentine was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 11, 2023. He is a member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Political positions

During his 2022 House of Delegates campaign, Valentine ran on a platform that included advocating for limited state government, supporting law enforcement, limiting taxes, preserving natural resources, and defending the

Second Amendment The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

. He also supports tougher sentences for violent criminals and people who commit handgun violations. In March 2023, Valentine was one of two members of the House of Delegates to vote against the Child Victims Act, which abolished the

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...

for

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

lawsuits and create a "look back window" to allow survivors to file lawsuits alleging past sexual abuse.

Electoral history

References

External links

* 21st-century American politicians 1970s births Living people Year of birth uncertain People from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates People from Emmitsburg, Maryland {{Maryland-politician-stub