Meet Delegate Healey

Anne Healey grew up in a blue-collar family in Scranton, PA. Her dad, Joseph Healey, was a mailman who served several terms as president of the Pittston, Pennsylvania chapter of the National Association of Letter Carriers. Her mom, who was originally from Jersey City, NJ, was a housewife.

Anne came of age at the time of the great social struggles of the 20th Century. As a young girl, she was moved by stories about the Civil Rights Movement and was inspired by President John F. Kennedy. She became active in the Democratic Party in 8th Grade working on a mayor’s campaign in Scranton. She graduated from high school in 1968, a year marked by war, assassinations and turmoil. During her college years, (BA, Marywood College 1972), she worked as a waitress and did clerical work for insurance companies. She moved to Washington, DC to attend graduate school. She earned her MA in English in 1974 from Catholic University of America and started to work as a reporter for the Catholic Standard. She became editor of the Catholic Review in Baltimore in 1984, and later edited The Prince George’s Post-Sentinel and the Prince George’s Post. She also is active in her community and church in Hyattsville, where she has lived since her marriage in 1979. She and her husband have two young adult children.

Anne was first elected to the House of Delegates in 1990. She is House Chair of the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review (AELR) and serves on the Environmental Matters Committee, where she chairs the sub-committee on local government. She is also a member of the sub-committees on housing and transportation. She previously served for nine years as Vice-Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and was also a member of the Joint Committee on Spending Affordability and the House Rules Committee.

Delegate Healey’s first legislation in the fight against melanoma was aimed at protecting school children. Her 2005 bill made clear that schools must allow the use of sunscreen for outdoor activities at school. In 2008 she was lead sponsor of legislation requiring parental consent for the use of artificial tanning devices by minors.

In addition to these, she has sponsored bills on a wide variety of subjects from domestic violence to adoption, education and health care including the Fair Share Health Care Bill of 2006.