Paul Bussman

Paul Bussman

Republican Party

Prior offices

Alabama State Senate District 4

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Elections and appointments

Last election

June 5, 2018

Education

Bachelor's

Troy State University

Personal

Religion

Christian: Episcopalian

Profession

Dentist

Contact

Personal website

Paul Bussman (Republican Party) was a member of the Alabama State Senate, representing District 4. Bussman assumed office in 2010. Bussman left office in 2018.

Bussman (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Alabama State Senate to represent District 4. Bussman lost in the Republican primary on June 5, 2018.

Biography

Bussman received his B.S. from Troy State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Alabama's School of Dentistry. His professional experience includes working as a dentist.

Committee assignments

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Bussman served on the following committees:

2011-2012

Bussman served on the following committees in the 2011-2012 legislative session:

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

2018

See also: Alabama State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Alabama State Senate District 4

Garlan Gudger won election in the general election for Alabama State Senate District 4 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Garlan Gudger (R)	99.1	39,817
		Other/Write-in votes	0.9	343

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 40,160 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Alabama State Senate District 4

Garlan Gudger defeated incumbent Paul Bussman in the Republican primary for Alabama State Senate District 4 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Garlan Gudger	58.6	14,454
		Paul Bussman	41.4	10,195

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 24,649
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2014

See also: Alabama State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the Alabama State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014; a runoff election took place where necessary on July 15, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 7, 2014. Angelo Mancuso was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Paul Bussman defeated Bruce Whitlock in the Republican primary. Bussman defeated Mancuso in the general election.

Alabama State Senate District 4, General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Paul Bussman Incumbent	73.5%	24,750
	Democratic	Angelo Mancuso	26.4%	8,875
	NA	Write-In	0.1%	29
Total Votes				33,654

Alabama State Senate, District 4 Republican Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Paul Bussman Incumbent	61.4%	12,069
Bruce Whitlock	38.6%	7,597
Total Votes		19,666

2010

See also: Alabama State Senate elections, 2010

Bussman and Patricia McGriff defeated Tom Beason in the June 1 primary. He then defeated McGriff in the July 13 primary runoff. He then defeated incumbent Democrat Zebulon Little in the November 2 general election.

Alabama State Senate, District 4 General election (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Paul Bussman (R)		25,621
Zebulon Little (D)		18,733

Alabama State Senate, District 4 Republican Primary (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Paul Bussman (R)		7,061
Patricia McGriff (R)		5,079
Tom Beason (R)		4,565

Alabama State Senate, District 4 Republican Primary Runoff (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Paul Bussman (R)		7,490
Patricia McGriff (R)		6,339

Campaign themes

2014

Bussman's website highlighted the following campaign themes:

• Ethics Reform

Excerpt: "In 2010, Paul ran on ethics reform and making transparency in government a priority. In his first legislative session, he co-sponsored and helped pass sweeping ethics reform and continues to make that a priority for state government:

• Passed legislation, which gave the Ethics Commission the power to investigate violations and gather evidence. (SB1, 2010x)
• Passed legislation, which prohibited public employees from using payroll deductions to pay dues to the AEA and ASEA. (SB2, 2010x)
• Passed legislation, which prohibited legislators from holding other state jobs while serving in the General Assembly. (SB3, 2010x)
• Passed legislation, which placed limits on what lobbyists may give to legislators. (SB14, 2010x)
• Passed Legislation to prohibit nepotism within state agencies and the granting of service contracts with relatives. (SB146, 2013)"

• Jobs and Economy

Excerpt: "Paul believes we need more good paying jobs. When people have jobs, they are able to provide for their families and are more closely connected to the community. Paul has fought for improvements in infrastructure, tourism, and economic development."

• Passed legislation to allow rural Alabama counties to participate in the Rural Assistance Match Program which provided millions of dollars of infrastructure improvements to the district. (SB192, 2013)
• Passed legislation to further define a compensable week for unemployment benefits. (SB300, 2012)
• Passed the Pharmacy Audit Integrity Act, which established uniform standards and criteria for audit of pharmacy records. (SB383, 2012)
• Passed legislation to extend the corporate limits of the City of Cullman. (SB462, 2012)
• Passed legislation to create the Office of Secretary of Information Technology within State Government as the principal advisor to the Governor on information technology policy. (SB117, 2013)
• Passed legislation to specify the circumstances under which the unemployment compensation account for employers may be charged for overpayment of benefits. (SB201, 2013)

• Taxes

Excerpt: "Paul believes you pay enough. He opposes new taxes and looks for ways to improve government efficiency to save tax dollars. Government is too big and too costly. New taxes are not the answer and Paul Bussman will oppose them whenever they come up."

• Passed the Jason Barfield Act, which provides an income tax exemption for members of the Armed Forces who were killed in action, and their spouses. (SB393, 2012)

• Education

Excerpt: "Paul believes that Alabama’s education system has been in the lower half of the country for many years. That’s unacceptable. We need to educate our children at a higher level so they can compete in a global marketplace. Paul opposes all federal intervention into our education system, including Common Core and other federal mandates."

• Passed legislation to provide supplemental funding for teachers certified by National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. (SB143, 2012)

• Public Safety

Excerpt: "Paul believes the efficiency of public safety should be a core priority for the citizens of Alabama. We should not be handicapped by slow moving bureaucracy when it comes to the safety issue of the people."

• Passed legislation to make it easier for citizens to acquire storm shelters. (SB136, 2012)
• Passed legislation to create the Blue Alert System to alert the public to a suspect that is wanted for injuring a law enforcement officer. (SB180, 2012)
• Passed legislation to create the Alabama Interagency Council for the Prevention of Elder Abuse. (SB262, 2012)
• Passed legislation to create the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency to coordinate law enforcement and investigative services. (SB108, 2013)

• Immigration

Excerpt: "Paul believes the federal immigration laws force Alabama to protect its citizens. That’s why Paul supported the toughest immigration reform in the nation. We are a nation of legal immigrants. We should welcome those that follow the law and the legal process to work."

2010

Bussman's website highlighted the following campaign themes:

• Creating quality jobs

"Overhaul the tax code to stimulate businesses to expand and hire our people

Invest in worker retraining

Provide small business opportunity for development"

• Improving education

"Protect parents’ rights to choose how to educate their child

Assure that our children have a safe environment to learn

Stop the destructive results of proration by developing a better budgeting system"

• Improving the security of the family

"Protect the family’s right to bear arms

Protect the family’s heart by preserving the union of marriage between a man and a woman

Protect the unborn child from abortion"

• Preventing government interference

"Block politicians from using your money for political projects and payoffs

Eliminate the slush funds that buy votes

Return to a four-year property tax re-appraisal"

• Illegal immigration

"AL cannot be a safe haven for illegal immigrants

Companies should not be allowed to bid on State jobs without proof of the legal status of their employees

Utilize the E-Verify system to identify a legal workforce in AL"

• Ethics

"Stop the PAC-to-PAC shell game

Open all records for public scrutiny

Make lobbyists and legislators disclose all contributions and perks"

Campaign finance summary

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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.

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Paul Bussman campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2018	Alabama State Senate District 4	Lost primary	$312,330	N/A**
2014	Alabama State Senate, District 4	Won	$478,042	N/A**
2010	Alabama State Senate, District 4	Won	$431,599	N/A**
Grand total			$1,221,971	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Endorsements

In 2010, Bussman's endorsements included the following:

• The Alabama Tea Party Express

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Alabama

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.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Alabama scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2018

In 2018, the Alabama State Legislature was in session from January 9 to March 29.

• The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

• National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to small business issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].
In 2017, the Alabama State Legislature was in session from February 7 through May 19. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2016

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show].
In 2016, the Alabama State Legislature was in session from February 2 through May 4. The Legislature held a special session from August 15 to September 7. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2015

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show].
In 2015, the Alabama State Legislature was in session from March 3 through June 4. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2014

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show].
In 2014, the Alabama State Legislature was in session from January 14 through April 4. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
He and his wife, Holly, have four children.

Noteworthy events

On August 22, 2016, Bussman sent a letter to Senate leadership withdrawing from the Republican caucus. Bussman said he would remain a Republican, but resigned from the caucus in protest over how multiple lottery and gambling bills were handled in the special session. Bussman said on the legislation that led to his resignation that, "The lottery bill had problems and only about four of the Republican senators had signed off on it. The leadership went to the Democrats to get enough votes. That didn't reflect the views of the Republicans." State Sen. Dick Brewbaker (R) also resigned from the Republican caucus.

See also

• Alabama State Senate
• Senate Committees
• Alabama State Legislature
• Alabama state legislative districts

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Paul Bussman's campaign website
• Profile from Open States
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions via Follow the Money
• Paul Bussman on Twitter

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Zebulon Little	Alabama State Senate District 4 2010-2018	Succeeded by Garlan Gudger (R)

[show]

Current members of the Alabama State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Steve Livingston

Minority Leader:Bobby Singleton

Senators

District 1

Tim Melson (R)

District 2

Tom Butler (R)

District 3

Arthur Orr (R)

District 4

Garlan Gudger (R)

District 5

Matt Woods (R)

District 6

Larry Stutts (R)

District 7

Sam Givhan (R)

District 8

Steve Livingston (R)

District 9

Wes Kitchens (R)

District 10

Andrew Jones (R)

District 11

Lance Bell (R)

District 12

Keith Kelley (R)

District 13

Randy Price (R)

District 14

April Weaver (R)

District 15

Dan Roberts (R)

District 16

J.T. Waggoner (R)

District 17

Shay Shelnutt (R)

District 18

Rodger Smitherman (D)

District 19

Merika Coleman (D)

District 20

Linda Coleman-Madison (D)

District 21

Gerald Allen (R)

District 22

Greg Albritton (R)

District 23

Robert Stewart (D)

District 24

Bobby Singleton (D)

District 25

Will Barfoot (R)

District 26

Kirk Hatcher (D)

District 27

Jay Hovey (R)

District 28

Billy Beasley (D)

District 29

Donnie Chesteen (R)

District 30

Clyde Chambliss (R)

District 31

Josh Carnley (R)

District 32

Chris Elliott (R)

District 33

Vivian Figures (D)

District 34

Jack Williams (R)

District 35

David Sessions (R)

Republican Party (27)

Democratic Party (8)