Senator David McBride @ Unity Rally - Delaware Legislative Hall 04/26/2017
David B. McBride (born June 23, 1942, in Wilmington, Delaware) is an American politician and has served continuously in Delaware's General Assembly since 1978. After two years in the House of Representatives, McBride was elected to the Delaware State Senate, where he began serving on November 5, 1980. McBride represents District 13, which includes the greater New Castle area. A Democrat, McBride was chosen unanimously as President Pro Tempore of the Senate on January 10, 2017.
Senator David McBride @ Unity Rally - Delaware Legislative Hall 04/26/2017
Early life
McBride is a native of the Wilmington area, attending grade school at Richardson Park School from 1948 to 1957. He went on to attend Conrad High School, graduating in 1960.
Education
After high school, McBride joined the U.S. Air Force. During his time in the service, he took various secondary courses, including:
Various courses, University of Alabama; Montgomery, Alabama (1962–1963)
Various courses, University of Maryland; Okinawa, Japan (1963–1964)
Various courses, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan (1964–1967)
In 1969, McBride returned to Delaware and enrolled at the University of Delaware. In 1972, he earned his BS in civil engineering from the University of Delaware. Then, in 1975, he earned his MS in civil engineering, also from the University of Delaware.
Military service
McBride was enlisted in the U.S. Air Force from 1961 through 1969, when he was honorably discharged as a Staff Sergeant. After being stationed in Texas and Alabama, he served in the Pacific, with stints in Okinawa and Tokyo in Japan, and one in Thailand.
Professional engineering experience
Member, Delaware Society of Professional Engineers, 1976–present
Civil Engineer, Delaware Department of Transportation, 1972–1984; 1987–1998
Vice-President, Conrad Area School Board, 1977–1978
Delaware State House of Representatives, 1978–1980
Delaware State Senate, 1980–present
Elections
1978: McBride defeated incumbent Representative Robert L. Byrd in the Democratic Primary with 928 votes (61 percent) and won the four-way Nov. 7 general election with 3,109 votes (80 percent) against Republican nominee Catherine Kelly and two others.
1980: After the incumbent, Sen. Francis J. Kearns, retired, McBride ran unopposed in the Nov. 4 general election, winning with 6,222 votes.
1982: McBride was unopposed in the Nov. 2 general election, winning with 6,485 votes.
1986: McBride won the Democratic Primary and then defeated Republican nominee D. Drew Angeline in the Nov. 4 general election, garnering 4,477 votes (65.9 percent).
1990: McBride was unopposed in the Nov. 6 general election, winning with 5,197 votes.
1992: McBride was unopposed in the Nov. 3 general election, winning with 9,231 votes.
1996: McBride was unopposed in the Nov. 5 general election, winning with 9,300 votes.
2000: McBride was unopposed in the Nov. 7 general election, winning with 11,190 votes.
2002: McBride was unopposed in the Nov. 5 general election, winning with 6,337 votes.
2006: McBride was unopposed in the Nov. 7 general election, winning with 7,152 votes.
2010: McBride was unopposed in the Nov. 2 general election, winning with 8,736 votes.
2012: McBride was unopposed in the Nov. 6 general election, winning with 14,444 votes.
2016: McBride was unopposed in the Nov. 8 general election, winning with 14,503 votes.
Political career
After spending two years on the Conrad Area School Board, McBride ran for the State House where he served one term before being elected to the State Senate in 1980, where he has served for the past 34 years.
McBride is known as one of the hardest-working legislators in Dover, serving on a number of important committees. In 2012, he was elected as Senate Majority Leader by his Democratic colleagues. In 2017, he was selected as President Pro Tempore by a unanimous Senate vote.
During his career, he's made public health a priority. In 2001, he led the effort in the General Assembly to get the nation's most-restrictive statewide indoor smoking ban – the Clean Indoor Air Act – passed and signed into law. He also authored the 1983 Nurse Practice Act, a 1989 bill establishing telephone service for the hearing and speech impaired, the Delaware Prescription Assistance Program Act of 2000 and the Delaware Cancer Consortium Act of 2003.
McBride has also focused on energy and environmental issues, and he has chaired the Senate Natural Resources & Environmental Control Committee since 1992. He's credited with taking the lead on a 2000 bill that highly-restricts trash incineration in the First State, as well as for legislation passed a year later that increased penalties for chronic polluters. In 2010, he worked with Gov. Jack Markell on implementing a universal recycling throughout the state.
An Air Force veteran, McBride has also been active in supporting veterans' initiatives. In 1981, he sponsored a bill naming I-495 as Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway. He also sponsored a 1989 bill requiring POW-MIA flag displays and in 2001 urged the state to pursue the construction of a Veterans Home, which opened in Milford six years later.
I-495 named Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway, 1981
Living Will Act, 1982
Nurse Practice Act, 1983
Donated Leave Act, 1986
Telephone Services for Hearing or Speech Impaired Act, 1989
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, 1991
POW-MIA Flag Display, 1991
Delaware Firemen & First Responders License Plate Act, 1992
Victims' Rights Act, 1993
Clean Air Act Title V Operating Permit Program, 1995
Animal Welfare License Plate Act, 1996
Incinerator Ban, 2000
Delaware Prescription Assistance Program, 2000
Chronic Environmental Violator Program, 2001
Request State Officials Work With Delaware's Congressional Delegation and the Commission on Veterans' Affairs to Fund and Construct a State Veterans' Home in Delaware, 2001
Brownfield Redevelopment Act, 2001
Clean Indoor Air Act, 2001
Delaware Cancer Consortium Act, 2003
Delaware River and Bay Oversight Committee Act, 2005
Increase Penalties for Environmental Violations Act, 2006
Transfer or Closure of Chemical or Hazardous Substance Establishments and To Establish a Contractor Cleanup and Certification Program for Hazardous Substance Cleanup Sites Act, 2008
Universal Recycling Act, 2010
Floodplain and Wetlands Drainage Standards Act, 2011
Chronic Environmental Violator Program Expansion Act, 2011
