Darrin Camilleri
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the 23rd district
Assumed office
January 1, 2017
Preceded byPat Somerville
Personal details
Born
Darrin Quiroz Camilleri

(1992-01-28) January 28, 1992 (age 30)
Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceBrownstown, Michigan
Alma materKalamazoo College (B.A.)

Darrin Camilleri (born January 28, 1992) is an American politician from Michigan who represents the 23rd District in the Michigan House of Representatives since 2017.[1][2] A member of the Democratic Party, his constituency includes several Downriver communities, including Brownstown, Gibraltar, Grosse Ile, Huron, Trenton and Woodhaven.[1] He is a candidate for the Michigan State Senate in 2022.

Early life and education[edit]

Camilleri was born in Dearborn, Michigan, to a Maltese-American immigrant father and a second-generation Mexican-American mother.[3][4][5] He is the oldest of three children.[4] After graduating from Gabriel Richard Catholic High School in Riverview, Michigan, he pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Government from Kalamazoo College, which he received in 2014.[6][3]

Professional life[edit]

During his undergraduate studies, Camilleri served as student body president and worked as an intern for Congressman John Dingell; he credits this experience as "inspir[ing] him to think it was possible to run for an elected office to serve others."[7] For two years after finishing his bachelor's, Camilleri taught social studies at Consortium College Preparatory High School in southwest Detroit through Teach for America.[6][5]

Camilleri's first political experience came as a member of the Brownstown Parks and Recreation Commission.[8]

2016 election and first State House term[edit]

He then decided to run for the 23rd District of the Michigan House of Representatives seat being vacated by Republican State Representative Pat Somerville in the 2016 United States Election. Camilleri defeated three other Democratic candidates in the August 2016 primary.[9]

In the 2016 general election, Camilleri faced Republican Bob Howey.[8] Earning the endorsement of – among others – the Detroit Free Press Editorial Board,[10] Camilleri defeated Howey by 323 votes.[5][11][6] In defeating Howey, Camilleri became the only Democrat in the state of Michigan to take a seat held by a Republican during that election cycle.[4]

Upon taking his seat in the Michigan State House, Camilleri was chosen by then-Minority Leader Sam Singh to serve as one of two assistant House Democratic Caucus leaders.[1][11]

2018 election and second State House term[edit]

In the 2018 election, Camilleri faced Republican Michael Frazier.[2] He defeated Frazier 23,416 votes to 17,935 votes.[12][2]

In his second term, Camilleri was appointed as House Democratic Whip.[13]

Personal life[edit]

Camilleri is a Roman Catholic and is a parishioner at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Trenton, Michigan.[4] He has noted his love of bowling, telling progressive candidate recruitment organization Run for Something that he was an "all-state bowler" in high school and that "bowling is really big in my family."[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "News From Rep. Camilleri". housedems.com. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  2. ^ a b c Danielle Portteus (2018-11-08). "Election recap: Camilleri re-elected as Michigan representative". Monroe News. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  3. ^ a b "Darrin Camilleri's Biography". VoteSmart. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d "Meet Darrin". Darrin Camilleri for State Representative. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  5. ^ a b c d Something, Run for (2017-04-12). "Why We Run: Darrin Camilleri – Why We Run (And You Can, Too!)". Medium. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  6. ^ a b c "Darrin Camilleri, 25". Crain's Detroit Business. 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  7. ^ News-Herald, Pat Andrews For The. "Many former John Dingell staffers, interns use job he gave them to land meaningful careers". News-Herald. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  8. ^ a b Twitter, Jackie Harrison-Martin jackie@heritage com @JackieMartin22 on. "Two candidates believe they are best choice for 23rd District State Rep". News-Herald. Retrieved 2019-07-15. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ AlHajal, Khalil (2016-08-03). "Primary election results in Wayne County". mlive.com. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  10. ^ "Free Press 2016 Endorsements: The full list". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  11. ^ a b Lawler, Emily (2017-01-09). "Meet Michigan's new state lawmakers". mlive.com. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  12. ^ Twitter, Jackie Harrison-Martin jmartin@digitalfirstmedia com @JackieMartin22 on. "Downriver voters elect their next batch of leaders". News-Herald. Retrieved 2019-07-15. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. ^ Twitter, Jackie Harrison-Martin jmartin@digitalfirstmedia com @JackieMartin22 on. "Camilleri appointed Monday to serve as House Democratic Whip". News-Herald. Retrieved 2019-07-15. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)