Dalya Attar
Attar in 2023
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 41st district
Assumed office
January 9, 2019
Preceded byBilal Ali
ConstituencyBaltimore City
Personal details
Born (1990-10-17) October 17, 1990
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Children2
Residence(s)Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Baltimore
University of Maryland Law School
ProfessionAttorney

Dalya Attar-Mehrzadi (born October 17, 1990) is an American politician who currently serves in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 41 in northwest Baltimore City.

Early life and education

Attar was born fourth of six children to an Iranian-Jewish father and a Moroccan-Jewish mother.[1] She was raised as a Sephardi Orthodox Jew in Baltimore,[2] where she attended the Bais Yaakov School for Girls.[3] Attar later graduated from the University of Baltimore, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice in 2011, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where she earned her Juris Doctor degree in 2014.[4]

While attending the University of Baltimore, Attar worked as a paralegal for Greenspan, Hitzel & Schrader until 2015, when she became a trial attorney for the firm.[5] In the same year, she also began working as an assistant state's attorney in the Baltimore State's Attorney office, prosecuting narcotics and firearms cases.[2][6]

Attar developed an interest in criminal justice while in middle school, and became interested in politics in high school.[3] She has cited Joe Lieberman, Sarah Schenirer, and Karen Chaya Friedman as her role models.[1][2]

In the legislature

On June 9, 2017, Attar announced that she would run for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 41.[7] During the Democratic primary, she ran on a platform of spurring development, improving schools, and reforming the juvenile justice system.[8] Attar won the Democratic primary in June 2018, defeating incumbents Angela Gibson and Bilal Ali.[9]

Attar was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 9, 2019.[5] She is the first Orthodox Jew elected to the Maryland General Assembly and the highest-ranking Orthodox Jewish woman in American history.[2][6] Attar served on the Environment and Transportation Committee from 2019 to 2020, afterwards serving as a member of the Ways and Means Committee.[5]

Political positions

Crime and policing

In March 2019, Attar voted against a bill that would allow school resource officers to carry guns in Baltimore schools.[10] She also supported a bill that would allow Johns Hopkins University to have its own private police force.[11]

During the 2020 legislative session, Attar introduced a bill that would require incarceration for violent offenders with open warrants.[3] She also supported a bill that would ban driver's license suspensions over unpaid parking tickets.[12]

Education

Attar supports improving public schools and providing publicly-funded scholarships for private schools.[6]

Social issues

Attar supports using an independent redistricting commission to draw Maryland's legislative districts.[13]

During the 2020 legislative session, Attar introduced a bill that would prevent husbands from having a civil divorce unless they granted their wife a gett.[2]

In 2022, Attar voted against a bill that would expand the types of medical professionals who can perform abortions in the state, and voted to sustain Governor Larry Hogan's veto on the bill.[14]

During the 2023 legislative session, Attar introduced legislation to move Maryland's 2024 primary date from April 23—the first day of Passover, which prevents Orthodox Jewish voters from participating in elections—to May 14.[15][16] The bill's contents were added to another bill, which passed and was signed by Governor Wes Moore.[17]

In January 2024, after Zainab Chaudry, the director of the state Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) chapter, was temporarily suspended from the state Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention for making Facebook posts comparing Israel to Nazi Germany and calling attendees of the March for Israel "genocide sympathizers" and later reinstated, Attar said that she would introduce legislation to remove CAIR from the commission.[18]

Transportation

During the 2022 legislative session, Attar supported a bill that would require the Maryland Department of Transportation to seek federal approval for the Red Line.[19]

Personal life

Attar is married to Asaf Mehrzadi, a longtime family friend. Together, they have two children.[2][4]

Electoral history

Maryland House of Delegates District 41 Democratic primary election, 2018[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Samuel I. Rosenberg (incumbent) 7,795 17.2
Democratic Dalya Attar 7,773 17.1
Democratic Tony Bridges 5,476 12.1
Democratic Angela Gibson (incumbent) 5,308 11.7
Democratic Bilal Ali (incumbent) 5,194 11.4
Democratic Richard Bruno 2,996 6.6
Democratic Tessa Hill-Aston 2,862 6.3
Democratic Sean Stinnett 2,806 6.2
Democratic Joyce J. Smith 2,291 5.0
Democratic George E. Mitchell 2,101 4.6
Democratic Walter J. Horton 773 1.7
Maryland House of Delegates District 41 election, 2018[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dalya Attar 26,605 31.3
Democratic Samuel I. Rosenberg (incumbent) 26,333 31.0
Democratic Tony Bridges 26,194 30.9
Green Drew A. Pate 5,350 6.3
Write-in 409 0.5
Maryland House of Delegates District 41 election, 2022[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dalya Attar (incumbent) 26,438 32.5
Democratic Samuel I. Rosenberg (incumbent) 25,557 31.4
Democratic Tony Bridges (incumbent) 24,782 30.5
Republican Scott Graham 4,240 5.2
Write-in 272 0.3

References

  1. 1 2 "Jew of the Week: Dalya Attar". Jew of the Week. May 5, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2022. Dalya Attar (b. 1990) was born in Baltimore to a religious Sephardic family of Iranian and Moroccan heritage.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Deutch, Gabby (March 9, 2020). "The Sephardi Democrat serving as Maryland's first Orthodox legislator". Jewish Insider. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Conte, Carolyn (March 26, 2020). "You Should Know ... Dalya Attar". Baltimore Jewish Times.
  4. 1 2 Arnold, Peter (June 9, 2017). "Jmore Exclusive: Orthodox Lawyer Runs for House of Delegates". JMore.
  5. 1 2 3 "Dalya Attar, Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. February 5, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Rabbi Shraga Simmons (January 4, 2020). "The Highest-Ranking Elected Orthodox Jewish Woman politician in U.S. History". Aish HaTorah. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Hannah (June 9, 2017). "Assistant State's Attorney Dalya Attar Launches Campaign for District 41 Delegate". Baltimore Jewish Times. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  8. ↑ Broadwater, Luke (December 5, 2018). "'A learning experience': 60 new Maryland lawmakers head to Annapolis, ready to tackle big issues". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  9. ↑ Kurtz, Josh (June 28, 2018). "Maryland Primary: Winners and Losers". Maryland Matters. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  10. ↑ Broadwater, Luke (March 16, 2019). "Baltimore delegates vote to kill state House bill allowing school police officers to carry guns inside schools". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  11. ↑ Broadwater, Luke (March 12, 2019). "Baltimore legislative delegation approves Hopkins police force after Cummings 'begs' for help to stop killings". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  12. ↑ Broadwater, Luke (January 15, 2020). "Brian Frosh, lawmakers push for legislation to block Maryland from suspending driver's licenses over unpaid tickets". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  13. ↑ Ingram, Susan C. (June 13, 2018). "Primary Clout". Baltimore Jewish Times. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  14. ↑ Kurtz, Josh (June 24, 2022). "Maryland After Roe Is Extinguished: 'It's Going to Be a Different World'". Maryland Matters. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  15. ↑ Pitts, Jonathan M. (February 28, 2023). "Bill introduced to change Maryland 2024 primary to avoid Passover". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  16. ↑ Pitts, Jonathan M. (March 9, 2023). "Bill to change 2024 primary date amended to avoid clash with another holiday: Ramadan". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  17. ↑ Bush, Matt (April 21, 2023). "The Maryland General Assembly has approved changes to the 2024 election that are a reflection of changing voter habits". WYPR. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  18. ↑ Deutch, Gabby (January 4, 2024). "Baltimore lawmaker seeks to remove CAIR from Md. hate crimes commission". Jewish Insider. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  19. ↑ DePuyt, Bruce (February 23, 2022). "Baltimore Lawmakers Seek to Tee Up Red Line Revival for Next Governor". Maryland Matters. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. July 31, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 11, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 7, 2022.

"Members - Delegate Dalya Attar". mgaleg.maryland.gov. Maryland General Assembly. January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.

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