Natalie Ziegler
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Natalie Ziegler | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 9A district | |
| Assumed office January 11, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Reid Novotny |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 5, 1955 New York, New York, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | John Zirschky |
| Children | 2 |
| Occupation | Farmer |
Natalie Carroll Ziegler[1] (born September 5, 1955) is an American politician and farmer. She is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for District 9A in Howard and Montgomery counties.[2]
Born in 1955 to mother Mary Carter Carroll and father John C. Ziegler,[1] Ziegler was raised in New York City and Boston.[3] She graduated from Abbot Academy in 1972 and Oberlin College in 1977, receiving a bachelor's degree with high honors in psychology, and later attended the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, where she earned a master's degree in economics and American foreign policy in 1986.[4] She worked as a journalist and a guest booker for CNN,[3] and founded a jewelry manufacturing company with her husband in 2001.[2][5]
Ziegler is a fifth-generation[1] descendant of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a former U.S. Senator from Maryland and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.[6] She owns Carroll Mill Farm, a feed grain operation in Ellicott City, Maryland.[3]
In 2018, Ziegler ran for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 9A, challenging incumbent Republican state delegates Trent Kittleman and Warren E. Miller.[7] She won the Democratic primary on June 26, 2018, but was defeated by Kittleman and Miller in the general election on November 6.[8] Shortly after her loss, county executive-elect Calvin Ball III named Ziegler to serve on the county's public works subcommittee transition team.[9]
In January 2020, Ziegler was appointed to the Howard Community College Board of Trustees. She was reappointed to the board in October 2021.[10][4]
In November 2021, Ziegler filed to run for state delegate in District 9A, seeking to succeed outgoing state delegate Reid Novotny, who ran unsuccessfully for Maryland Senate.[11][12] She won a tight general election on November 8, 2022, coming in first.[13][14]
In the legislature
Ziegler was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 11, 2023.[15] She is a member of the House Environment and Transportation Committee.[16] In January 2026, House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk named Ziegler as the co-chair of the newly-created Rural Caucus, alongside Republican Jefferson L. Ghrist.[17]
Political positions
In September 2016, Ziegler supported and testified for a proposal to expand solar development on Howard County farmland.[18][19]
During the 2023 legislative session, Ziegler pushed back against a bill that would ban foreign governments from buying farmland in Maryland, worrying that the bill would "demonize people unfairly".[20]
In February 2026, Ziegler introduced a bill that would establish the Rural Maryland Capacity Building Fund and the Rural Readiness Program, which would provide assistance to individuals and small businesses in rural communities.[21]
Personal life
Ziegler lives in Ellicott City with her husband, John Zirschky. Together, they have two children.[4]