David Fraser-Hidalgo
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David V. Fraser-Hidalgo (born November 25, 1969) is an Ecuadorian-born American politician and a member of 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
District 15 District 15 or 15th district can refer to: U.S. political districts Federal level * Illinois's 15th congressional district * Michigan's 15th congressional district * Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district * Ohio's 15th congressional district S ...
in Montgomery County, Maryland. He was appointed to complete the term of Delegate Brian J. Feldman following Feldman's appointment to a Senate seat and has since been elected to his own full term.


Early life and education

Fraser-Hidalgo was born November 25, 1969 in
Quito, Ecuador Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley on ...
. He grew up in Montgomery County, Maryland, attending
Albert Einstein High School Albert Einstein High School, named after the German-born physicist, is a four-year high school in Kensington, Maryland, that opened on September 7, 1962. It is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) system. Academic programs ...
in
Kensington, Maryland Kensington is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,213 at the 2010 United States Census. Greater Kensington encompasses the entire 20895 ZIP code, with a population of 19,054. History The area around th ...
. In 1992, he earned a
B.A. 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 yea ...
in History from
St. Mary's College of Maryland St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM) is a public liberal arts college in St. Mary's City, Maryland.Maryland State Archives, Online Manual, "St. Mary's College Of Maryland: Origin & Functions" http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/25univ/stmarys ...
. For three years, Fraser-Hidalgo served as a police officer in Montgomery County before leaving the police force and entering the business world. He has worked for a number of firms, most recently as an area sales director for Regus. He has also been involved in a variety of volunteer activities in the county, including as a leader in the Boyds Civic Association and stints on the boards of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. In 2010, Fraser-Hidalgo unsuccessfully ran for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 15, coming in fourth place with 8.8 percent of the vote.


In the legislature

In 2013, the retirement of Senator Robert J. Garagiola from the Maryland Senate prompted the appointment of Delegate Brian J. Feldman to fill the remainder of Garagiola's term. This left an open Delegate seat, which was contested by a number of applicants. Fraser-Hidalgo won the final vote of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee by a close margin, and on October 16, 2013 was appointed by Governor Martin O'Malley to fill the seat. He was sworn in on October 21, 2013. In February 2015, Hidalgo joined state Senator Victor Ramirez and Delegates Maricé Morales, Will Campos, and Ana Sol Gutierrez in organizing the Maryland Latino Legislative Caucus, becoming one of the caucus' first six members.


Political positions


Environment

Fraser-Hidalgo has repeatedly introduced legislation that would ban the practice of
fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frac ...
in Maryland. During the 2017 legislative session, his bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan on April 4, 2017. Fraser-Hidalgo introduced legislation in the 2019 legislative session that would increase the state's electric vehicle tax credit to $3,000. The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Hogan on April 30, 2019. A bill extending the tax credit was introduced and passed during the 2022 legislative session and was signed into law on April 21, 2022. Fraser-Hidalgo introduced legislation in the 2021 legislative session that would charge polluters a carbon fee for their
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...
, investing the revenue earned from the fee into education and green infrastructure. The bill received an unfavorable committee report. Fraser-Hidalgo introduced legislation in the 2022 legislative session that would set goals for electrifying the state's vehicle fleet, with 100 percent of passenger cars purchased to be electric by 2028 and all passenger cars in the fleet to be electric by 2031.


Marijuana

Fraser-Hidalgo introduced legislation in the 2018 legislative session that would create a pilot program authorizing both growing and processing operations for
industrial hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...
. The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Hogan on May 8, 2018. He introduced legislation during the 2019 legislation to fully legalize commercial hemp farming, which was signed into law by Hogan on April 30, 2019.


Social issues

Fraser-Hidalgo introduced legislation in the 2016 legislative session that would have strengthened laws on
underage drinking The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary between ...
. The bill was watered down during committee hearings, but passed and became law on May 19, 2016. Fraser-Hidalgo introduced legislation in the 2020 legislative session that would require
special elections A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
to fill vacancies in the
Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber ...
.


Personal life

Fraser-Hidalgo lives in
Boyds, Maryland Boyds is an unincorporated community in rural Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, located approximately north of Washington, D.C. Its ZIP Code is 20841. According to the United States 2010 Census, the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) f ...
in a home that is almost completely
autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...
. He is married to his wife, Lisa Bethel, and has two children, Samantha and Scott. In the early spring of 2018, his wife passed away from cancer.


Electoral history


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser-Hidalgo, David 1969 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates People from Montgomery County, Maryland Ecuadorian emigrants to the United States American politicians of Ecuadorian descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Maryland People from Quito St. Mary's College of Maryland alumni St. Mary's College of Maryland American municipal police officers 21st-century American politicians