Brian J. Bushweller is an American politician. He was a Democratic member of the

Delaware Senate The Delaware Senate is the upper house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 21 Senators, each of whom is elected to a four-year term, except when reapportionment occurs, at wh ...

from 2008 to 2018, representing the 17th district. Bushweller was raised in New York. He received an A.A. in

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...

from

Ulster County Community College SUNY Ulster (Ulster County Community College) is a public community college with its main campus in Stone Ridge, New York, in Ulster County. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The college also maintains facilities in ...

, a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in music from

Oklahoma City University Oklahoma City University (OCU) is a private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The university offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, graduate master's degrees and docto ...

, an A.M. in education from Stanford University, and an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in management and supervision from Central Michigan University. Originally a junior high school music teacher at a public school and an elementary school teacher at a

Christian school A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some count ...

, Bushweller became a labor union official in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and then New York. He moved to Dover, Delaware when he was given a job with the Delaware State Education Association (DSEA), the largest union for Delaware teachers. Bushweller left the DSEA in 1993 when

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Tom Carper Thomas Richard Carper (born January 23, 1947) is an American politician and former military officer serving as the senior United States senator from Delaware, having held the seat since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, Carper served i ...

hired him as his legislative liaison. Five years later, Carper appointed him Secretary of the Department of Public Safety. When Carper was elected to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in 2000, Bushweller became his state director until leaving the position in 2007 to launch his campaign for the Delaware Senate. Bushweller was elected to the 17th District seat in the Delaware Senate in 2008, defeating his Republican opponent, former Dover Mayor James Hutchison. Bushweller married Rocky Bushweller in 1966, with whom he has five children.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Democratic Party Delaware state senators Oklahoma City University alumni Stanford University alumni Central Michigan University alumni People from New York (state) People from Dover, Delaware Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American legislators {{Delaware-politician-stub