Melanie Levesque
Melanie Ann Levesque (born May 20, 1957) is an American politician from the state of New Hampshire. A Democrat, Levesque represented the 12th district in the New Hampshire Senate from 2018 until 2020; she was the first African American to serve in that body.[2] Levesque was chair of the Senate Election Law & Municipal Affairs committee, and served on the Judiciary and Transportation committees. Levesque previously served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives between 2006-2010 and 2012-2014.[3]
Melanie Levesque | |
---|---|
Member of the New Hampshire Senate from the 12th district | |
In office December 5, 2018 – December 2, 2020 | |
Preceded by | Kevin Avard |
Succeeded by | Kevin Avard |
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from the Hillsborough's 26th district | |
In office 2012–2014 | |
Preceded by | Multi-member district |
Succeeded by | Multi-member district |
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from the Hillsborough's 5th district | |
In office 2006–2010 | |
Preceded by | Multi-member district |
Succeeded by | Multi-member district |
Personal details | |
Born | Melanie Ann Levesque May 20, 1957[1] Roxbury, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Residence | Brookline, New Hampshire |
Education | New Hampshire Vocational-Technical College, A.A. Daniel Webster College, B.S. Southern New Hampshire University, M.B.A. |
Website | Campaign website Official website |
Education and career
Levesque earned an A.A. from New Hampshire Vocational-Technical College, a B.S. from Daniel Webster College, and an M.B.A. from Southern New Hampshire University. She is the president of TCS of America Enterprises LLC, a telecommunications service provider based in Brookline.[3]
New Hampshire House of Representatives
Levesque was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 2006 for Hillsborough's 5th district, a four-member district. She served two terms before being defeated for re-election in 2010.[4] Levesque was Assistant Majority Floor Leader between 2008 and 2010.
She served on both the House Election Law and the Science Technology and Energy committees, where she earned a reputation for working across political lines in order to enact legislation that improved the lives of the families she represented. In 2009 Levesque Sponsored and passed a bill to create a Statewide Emergency Notification System for NH.[5]
In 2012, Levesque successfully ran for Hillsborough's 26th district, serving once again as Assistant Majority Floor Leader before being defeated for a second term in 2014. She ran and lost once again for the same district in 2016.[4]
New Hampshire Senate
In 2018, Levesque announced she would run for the 12th district in the New Hampshire Senate against Republican incumbent Kevin Avard.[6] After defeating Tom Falter in the primary election, Levesque defeated Avard in the general election 50.3% to 49.7%, a margin of 169 votes. Levesque's victory was one of five seats Democrats flipped to regain the majority in the Senate.
Levesque was the Senate's first African American member.[2] She was chair of the Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee, and a member of the Judiciary Committee and the Transportation Committee.[1]
In 2020, Levesque was defeated by Kevin Avard in a rematch of their 2018 contest.[7]
Personal life
Levesque lives in Brookline, New Hampshire with her husband Scott, with whom she has one child.[1]
References
- "Melanie Ann Levesque's Biography". VoteSmart. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- Ashley Saari (7 November 2018). "Levesque first African American member of the NH State Senate". Monadnock Ledger-Transcript. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- "Senator Melanie Levesque (D-Brookline)". New Hampshire State Senate. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- "Melanie Levesque". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- "Senator Melanie Levesque". Capitol Website. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- "27 Democrats File For The New Hampshire State Senate". NH Labor News. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- "New Hampshire State Senate 2020 general election results". WMUR 9. Retrieved 11 December 2020.