Charneil Bush
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Charneil Bush (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Connecticut State Senate to represent District 15. He did not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on August 9, 2022.
Bush completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Charneil Bush was born in Danbury, Connecticut. He graduated from Post University in 2021. His professional experience includes working as a college and career counselor. Bush has served as a head girls basketball coach and on the CT Department of Children and Families (DCF) LGBTQIA Youth Advisory Board. He has been affiliated with the Annie C. Courtney Foundation, the Neighborhood Housing Services of Waterbury, and Waterbury Empowers the People to Act.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Connecticut State Senate elections, 2022
General election
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Joan Hartley advanced from the Democratic primary for Connecticut State Senate District 15.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Charneil Bush completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bush's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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A former foster youth turned foster parent with a passion for child welfare, youth and family development, and criminal justice reform.
- Housing as a Human Right
- Equitable Education
- Mental Health and Addiction Prioritization
I’m a foster care and child welfare advocate. I’d like to see a more interventionist/restorative justice approach to our handling of juvenile offenders.
Housing should be considered a human right. The lack of protection for tenants and the increased number of unsheltered people isn’t just policy failure. It’s a moral failure.
I want to see people empowered by adequate community support and education.
Equitable access to higher education through state grants and affordable tuition.
Poverty creates so many barriers to our young people and families. I’d love to see better job opportunities, higher wages, and protections for workers.
So many people I have looked up to have passed on but the first person that comes to mind is my grandmother. She was a deeply Christian woman that saw her faith as her fuel to serve people well. She fed the hungry, clothed people, and would always offer a kind word and prayer. Now, as an adult with her as an example, I look to make sure that families have everything they need to thrive. Affordable and dignified housing, food, healthcare, child care, and other community supports.
Accountability is key in an elected official. You constituents should be able to hold you to your promises. They should be beholden to their people and not to special interests.
Transparency and honesty have to be central to how an elected official operates. They should be able to thoroughly explain their votes to the people.
Empathy. To better understand the needs of constituents and how to serve them, one must have a true understanding of their experiences and the consequences of inaction.
As with many millennials, it was the events of September 11, 2001. I was 11 years old and I remember the look on my teacher’s face when she tried to explain to 7th graders what was going on.
My first job was as a birthday party host at Chuck E. Cheese senior year of high school. I had it for about 9 months before I quit to prepare to go off to college.
While The Chronicles of Narnia has always been my favorite book series, out of all of them, my favorite book is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Firstly, throughout the entire series you can see the religious symbolism and allegory. Growing up in a Christian household and still maintaining many of parts of that faith, I enjoyed the fact that characters felt familiar to me.
Secondly, as a former foster kid, I loved the idea of Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy being children of war times and having to live in a strange new place. While there, they discovered that despite what the outside world looked like, there was deeper purpose for them. Being able to read through their grown as people and as leaders can be truly inspiring.
I’m a huge comic book fan and my favorite character is Storm, a member of the X-Men. She has the ability to control the weather and is a skilled strategist and hand to hand fighter. She was orphaned at a young age and despite her struggles and awesome abilities, she was able to find a way to be in service to others.
It’d also be pretty awesome to have instant snow days, end droughts, and stop natural disasters. The lives that would be transformed with those powers would be innumerable.
Find Your Way Back by Beyoncé
Since I was younger, I have always been the parentified sibling. Which means that I have take on the role of caretaker and provider for my siblings and parental figures even as the youngest child. After I lost my mother to addiction in 2007, I became the core support for my siblings who were also facing their own battles with substance abuse. Having to navigate my own life while helping to support others in theirs has made me an organized and consistent person.
Moving through poverty and supporting my siblings as they did the same was a stressful and eye-opening experience. I’ve had my siblings move in with me at several points in time and paid their utility bills or rent to support them. My sister had a difficult time adjusting to changes in the world as a lord single mother. She passed away in March 2021 not knowing a world that wasn’t shaped by poverty.
A lengthy way to say that the experiences that come with being poor have been the struggle of my life. Getting people to understand the cultural implications that come with making a “decent” salary. It still feeling the obligation to support those around me has always been challenging. However, these experiences have shaped me and I don’t want anyone else to have to experiences the hardships and heartaches I had to to learn those lessons. While experience is a great teacher, I believe that the idea that people need to have experience in government or politics is what blocks new voices and causes those in power to become complacent. I believe that communities know what their needs are and because of their proximity, have a better understand of which solutions are best. People who have the life experiences being referenced in policy should be a part of the process. It’s important to also mention the transferable professional and social skills that can make someone just as viable a candidate.
Yes, I do. When considering that the policies that are being pushed affect all people under that level of government, it’s important to understand what other districts and people need. How does one district needs also align with the needs of another? How could they support each other. I think it’s also important to build relationships because connection typically creates pathways of understanding. In conversations that may be difficult or being on opposite sides of a debate, knowing the character and heart of a person can allow for grace in the discomfort.
I would like to be on the human services committee because of my background in community organizing and foster care. I have seen the needs of community around mental health and addiction services and how underfunded the agencies are that do the work. I’d like to bolster support for those agencies.
The higher education committee would also be a top choice. I’ve worked as an admissions officer in higher education and currently work as a college and career counselor. Seeing both sides has taught me that higher education has become increasingly less accessible to those that are working class and low income. State university tuition and costs should be affordable to those living in their state.
I’d like to be on the housing committee because the housing situations for so many residents in my community has become a source of great stress. With so many people facing eviction after the moratoriums being lifted, something needs to be done. The rising rent costs that are pricing out residents that have lived here their entire lives in unacceptable. The amount of neglectful and absentee landlords that demand rent but refuse to maintain their properties is too high. People should have attainable pathways to homeownership. I believe that compromise is necessary when making policy. People are nuanced and so are their needs. A lawmaker’s job is to make policy that is rooted in the concepts of inclusivity, equity, and justice. To do that, compromises sometimes will have to be made.
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.
See also
External links
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 17, 2021
Leadership
Majority Leader:Bob Duff
Minority Leader:Stephen Harding
Senators
Democratic Party (25)
Republican Party (11)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
