Dagmara Avelar
Dagmara Avelar (Democratic Party) (also known as Dee) is a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing District 85. She assumed office on January 13, 2021. Her current term ends on January 8, 2025.
Avelar (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Illinois House of Representatives to represent District 85. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Dagmara Avelar was born in Quito, Ecuador, and lives in Bolingbrook, Illinois. She earned a bachelor's degree in justice studies from Northeastern Illinois University and a master's degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Avelar's career experience includes working as the director of programs at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.[1][2]
Committee assignments
2023-2024
Avelar was assigned to the following committees:
- Appropriations-Public Safety Committee
- Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, and IT Committee
- Health Care Availability & Accessibility Committee
- Judiciary - Civil Committee
- State Government Administration Committee
- Transportation: Regulation, Roads & Bridges Committee
2021-2022
Avelar was assigned to the following committees:
- Appropriations-Public Safety Committee
- Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, and IT Committee
- Health Care Availability & Accessibility Committee
- Judiciary - Civil Committee
- State Government Administration Committee
- Transportation: Regulation, Roads & Bridges Committee
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: Illinois House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Illinois House of Representatives District 85
Incumbent Dagmara Avelar defeated Chris Metcalfe in the general election for Illinois House of Representatives District 85 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Dagmara Avelar (D) | 59.9 | 19,997 | |
| Chris Metcalfe (R) | 40.1 | 13,383 | ||
| Total votes: 33,380 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 85
Incumbent Dagmara Avelar advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 85 on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Dagmara Avelar | 100.0 | 5,831 | |
| Total votes: 5,831 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 85
Chris Metcalfe advanced from the Republican primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 85 on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Chris Metcalfe | 100.0 | 3,882 | |
| Total votes: 3,882 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Avelar in this election.
2022
See also: Illinois House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Illinois House of Representatives District 85
Incumbent Dagmara Avelar defeated Chris Metcalfe in the general election for Illinois House of Representatives District 85 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Dagmara Avelar (D) | 57.6 | 17,644 | |
| Chris Metcalfe (R) | 42.4 | 12,975 | ||
| Total votes: 30,619 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 85
Incumbent Dagmara Avelar advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 85 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Dagmara Avelar | 100.0 | 6,554 | |
| Total votes: 6,554 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2020
See also: Illinois House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Illinois House of Representatives District 85
Dagmara Avelar defeated Ron Doweidt and Anna Schiefelbein in the general election for Illinois House of Representatives District 85 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Dagmara Avelar (D) | 59.0 | 26,560 | |
 | Ron Doweidt (R) | 35.8 | 16,129 | |
| Anna Schiefelbein (G) | 5.2 | 2,326 | ||
| Total votes: 45,015 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 85
Dagmara Avelar advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 85 on March 17, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Dagmara Avelar | 100.0 | 10,658 | |
| Total votes: 10,658 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 85
Ron Doweidt advanced from the Republican primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 85 on March 17, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ron Doweidt | 100.0 | 3,001 |
| Total votes: 3,001 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Dagmara Avelar did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Dagmara Avelar did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Candidate Conversations
Moderated by journalist and political commentator Greta Van Susteren, Candidate Conversations is a virtual debate format that allows voters to easily get to know their candidates through a short video Q&A.
Click below to watch the conversation for this race.
Dagmara Avelar completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Avelar's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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My name is Dagmara "Dee" Avelar, and I decided to run for office because I was inspired by the number of first time candidates, particularly women of color, who ran in 2018.
Will County has been my home, primarily the Bolingbrook and Romeoville areas, since 2001. This is the district that welcomed me with open arms when my family decided to immigrate from Ecuador to the United States. As a proud product of our public school system, I know first-hand the pivotal role that educators play in the development of healthy children and communities. I want to be able to be a legislator that champions education and continues to fight for the community that has invested in me.
For over a decade, I have dedicated my life to advocating for working families particularly focusing on projects addressing the barriers of low-income, limited English proficient Illinois residents. A community organizer at heart, I have been involved in civic engagement efforts to get out the vote of low-propensity voters in the southwest suburbs since I was in college. I have also advocated in efforts to increase the minimum wage and have been a fierce fighter in Springfield during the fight for a fair budget that puts working families first.
- Will fight to make healthcare more affordable
- Advocate to prepare the next generation for the Jobs of Tomorrow
- Our campaign is rooted in economic, social and racial justice.
I am very passionate about healthcare access, education and uplifting working families.
Healthcare Access - Healthcare is a human right and a matter of life or death for many. We cannot live in a society where families are going bankrupt or have to choose between basic needs or paying their healthcare bills. My own family has gone through those hardships and I am committed to being a strong advocate for affordable healthcare. My commitment to our communities includes assuring that our families have access to quality medical care, affordable medication and the continuing fight for reproductive rights.
Investment in education - A key priority in our district is education. Investments in education means that our state continues to make concerted efforts in supporting our public school system, community colleges, universities, vocational and trade schools. Demand for skilled workers in Illinois is strong yet the number of people who have completed vocational or trade school training has decreased. This is a significant issue as a diverse workforce will make our state stronger.
My life has been surrounded by great, inspiring, kick butt women. My mother instilled in me resiliency and empathy. She was my age when she decided to immigrate to the United States, I have been thinking about that alot. I have been reflecting on how her journey has directly impacted our entire family. Anytime I felt afraid, she was there to look me in the eye and say "Do not falter hija, you are capable of doing anything you work hard for".
My sister and I have taken that to heart, which leads me to my other mentor. My sister is my backbone, my journey is her journey and vice versa. Moving from Ecuador to the suburbs, presented challenges and we knew we had each other to rely on. I have learned from her the meaning of standing up for what you believe in.
She is a close adviser in my campaign along with my campaign manager, Eli. Eli is another one of my role models. A fierce, thoughtful DACAmented woman who leads by her social justice values. Our campaign is a grassroots campaign and as such we are relying on our community to inform our platform with a social justice centered lens. I would be disingenuous for me to say that this campaign has been easy. One of our main obstacles, as I am sure it has been for many, has been campaigning during a pandemic. A key takeaway that we have been reflecting on is that the pandemic has highlighted our chronic problems with income inequality and healthcare access. I have a responsibility to make sure that I do everything in my power to make sure that working families do not continue to bear the brunt of it .
Yes, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by adrienne maree brown
Over the last decade, I have been involved in political advocacy, community organizing and human services management. I love going into work everyday, and fighting for people. It is with that same passion that I envision going to Springfield and being a champion for families. As a proud product of our public school system, I know first-hand the pivotal role that educators play in the development of healthy children and communities. I want to be able to be a legislator that champions education and continues to fight for the community that has invested in me.
The main responsibility of an elected official is to truly reflect the values of their district and stand up for what it right.
My very first job was at a local bakery in Bolingbrook when I was in high school. I remember being excited about it because I was finally going to be able to buy concert tickets.
I believe that having a wide range of people with experience in multiple sectors is beneficial to all. While having experience in government and politics may be helpful, what is more important in my opinion, is the ability to be able to listen to the needs and concerns of community members who live in the district and turn that into good policy making solutions.
Our budget. Fixing our state's budget problems require long term solutions. We need to work on pension reform legislation, taxing of high-end services as well as closing corporate loopholes. What we cannot afford to do is have our much needed human services and education budgets bear the brunt of spending cuts as they are essential. Also, Income inequality has continued to grow and we can no longer continue to have our working and middle class families carry the burden of our current tax system.
Voters should pick who represents them, rather than politicians picking their voters. Districts should be drawn in a way that promotes equal representation. It is imperative that transparency and an equity centered approach is used in the process. If elected, I would work hard to collaborate with my colleagues in both chambers as well as the Black, Latino, and Asian caucuses to try to unite all of us around a principle that representation matters and that redistricting should benefit everyone equitably.
I would be interested in being part of the following committees: Appropriations-Higher Education Committee, Appropriations-Public Safety Committee, Economic Opportunity & Equity Committee, Energy & Environment Committee and Transportation: Regulation, Roads & Bridges Committee
As a first time candidate and a potential first time legislator I am interested in primarily beign able to serve the people of the 85th district well, before considering joining the leadership.
As a first time candidate and a potential first time legislator I am interested in primarily being able to serve the people of the 85th district well, before considering running for any other political office.
Yes, while canvassing one of the areas in the district a small business owner and I were able to have a candid and honest conversation about income inequality and the lack of economic development in this specific area. He told me his concerns and as I listened I got goosebumps when he said that we need more people who have worked with the community to be running for office. He also mentioned that the best thing that can be done to improve the community would be to get people the opportunity to be able to thrive in good paying jobs that allows for them to take care of their families.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Illinois scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 11 to May 27.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 5 to April 9.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 13 to June 1.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Illinois House of Representatives District 85 |
Officeholder Illinois House of Representatives District 85 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 22, 2020
- ↑ Facebook, "Dagmara "Dee" Avelar for IL 85th State Representative," accessed January 7, 2021
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Connor (D) |
Illinois House of Representatives District 85 2021-Present |
Succeeded by - |
