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 26th district | |
In office December 2012 – December 2014 | |
Preceded by | Multi-member district |
Succeeded by | Multi-member district |
Member of the
New Hampshire House of Representatives from the Hillsborough 5th district | |
In office December 2006 – December 2010 | |
Preceded by | Multi-member district |
Succeeded by | Multi-member district |
Personal details | |
Born | Melanie Ann Levesque May 20, 1957 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Education |
Great Bay Community College (
AA) Daniel Webster College ( BS) Southern New Hampshire University ( MBA) |
Website | Campaign website |
Melanie Ann Levesque ( /ləˈveɪk/ lə-VAYK; [1] born May 20, 1957) [2] 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. [3] 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 from 2006 to 2010 and 2012 to 2014. [4] In 2021, Levesque was a senior advisor for the New Hampshire Democratic Party. [5] In 2022, Levesque announced her run for the New Hampshire Secretary of State. [6]
Levesque was born in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury. She 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. [4]
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. [7] 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. [8]
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. [7]
In 2018, Levesque announced she would run for the 12th district in the New Hampshire Senate against Republican incumbent Kevin Avard. [9] 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. [3] She was chair of the Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee, and a member of the Judiciary Committee and the Transportation Committee. [2]
In 2020, Levesque was defeated by Kevin Avard in a rematch of their 2018 contest. [10] Levesque was defeated again by Kevin Avard in 2022.
Levesque lives in Brookline, New Hampshire with her husband Scott, with whom she has one child. [2]