Melanie Levesque

Melanie Ann Levesque (born May 20, 1957) is an American politician from the state of New Hampshire. A Democrat, Levesque has represented the 12th district in the New Hampshire Senate since 2018; she is the first African American to serve in that body.[2] Senator Levesque is chair of the Senate Election Law & Municipal Affairs committee, and serves 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
Assumed office
December 5, 2018
Preceded byKevin Avard
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
from the Hillsborough's 26th district
In office
2012–2014
Preceded byMulti-member district
Succeeded byMulti-member district
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
from the Hillsborough's 5th district
In office
2006–2010
Preceded byMulti-member district
Succeeded byMulti-member district
Personal details
Born
Melanie Ann Levesque

(1957-05-20) May 20, 1957[1]
Roxbury, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceBrookline, New Hampshire
EducationNew Hampshire Vocational-Technical College, A.A.
Daniel Webster College, B.S.
Southern New Hampshire University, M.B.A.
WebsiteCampaign 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 is the Senate's first African American member, and currently the only senator of color.[2] She is chair of the Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee, and a member of the Judiciary Committee and the Transportation Committee.[1]

Personal life

Levesque lives in Brookline, New Hampshire with her husband Scott, with whom she has one child.[1]

References
  1. "Melanie Ann Levesque's Biography". VoteSmart. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  2. Ashley Saari (7 November 2018). "Levesque first African American member of the NH State Senate". Monadnock Ledger-Transcript. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  3. "Senator Melanie Levesque (D-Brookline)". New Hampshire State Senate. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  4. "Melanie Levesque". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  5. "Senator Melanie Levesque". Capitol Website. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  6. "27 Democrats File For The New Hampshire State Senate". NH Labor News. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
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