Michael Erin "Coach" Busch (January 4, 1947 – April 7, 2019) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 106th Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2003 until his death in 2019. Busch was a member of the House for nine terms, beginning in 1987. He represented all of legislative District 30 prior to redistricting in 2012, and represented District 30A after the district was split following the 2010 census. The district encompasses parts of Anne Arundel County, including the state capital of Annapolis.

Background

Busch was born in Baltimore and was a lifelong resident of the state of Maryland. He attended St. Mary's High School in Annapolis and in 1970 received his B.S. degree in education from Temple University, where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. Busch was pursued by the National Football League as a running back, prior to a knee injury. Busch then returned to Maryland to coach athletics and teach. He was married to Cynthia Abbott Busch, with whom he had two children, Erin and Megan.

Legislative career

Busch first got involved in politics at the urging of parents of his students. After winning election to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1986, Busch served on the Judiciary Committee, the Economic Matters Committee, which he later chaired, and as Chairman of the Anne Arundel County Delegation before being elected Speaker. Busch repeatedly won reelection in an evenly-split district and served alongside other delegates in District 30 from both the Republican Party and Democratic Party during his tenure in the House. As Speaker, he had significant influence over matters in the House and in state government overall. He served through 5 governors and alongside his counterpart in the state senate, long-time President of the Maryland Senate Mike Miller. At the beginning of the 2003 session of the Maryland Legislature, Busch was elected Speaker of the House by his colleagues in the Maryland House of Delegates. He became the longest-serving Speaker in Maryland history. Busch was known for his interest in the areas of healthcare, education, and economic development. During the 2007 legislative session, he sponsored a bill with other members of the leadership titled the Children and Working Families Healthcare Act of 2007, which proposed to provide health care access to 250,000 Marylanders and all children in the state. Democrats held a supermajority in the House throughout Busch's terms in office. Busch successfully leveraged his party's majority to advance his legislative goals over the objections of Republican Governors Larry Hogan and Bob Ehrlich. The House overrode a number of vetoes by both aforementioned governors during Busch's time as Speaker. Some significant veto overrides include raising the state's minimum wage, twice, restoring voting rights to felons, closing a hotel sales tax loophole, increasing funding for performing arts, and creating a new Public Service Commission. Busch had significant knowledge of procedural rules of the House and occasionally maneuvered to block efforts by the minority party to advance legislation outside the normal committee process. Notably, in 2015 Busch blocked an attempt by Republicans to put forward legislation to ban gay marriage in the state by ending the day's session abruptly in a rare move. Speaker Busch was also instrumental in the passage of LGBTQ+ supportive legislation in Maryland. He rallied his caucus to support legislation allowing visitation rights for unmarried partners before gay marriage was legalized in the state. He also led the fight to legalize gay marriage in the state before other key lawmakers supported the measure. His first attempts to pass the legislation failed, however in 2012 he was successful in leading his caucus to pass legislation legalizing same-sex marriage. The legislation was forced to a ballot referendum in the 2012 general election. The ballot referendum, known as Question 6, passed.

Legislative notes

Speaker Busch voted multiple times to support classroom teachers, public schools, police and hospitals in Anne Arundel County. Since 2002, throughout his Speakership, funding to schools across the state increased 82%, resulting in Maryland being ranked top in the nation for K-12 education.

Awards

Death

Busch underwent a liver transplant in 2017. As his health declined, his supporters adopted the nickname "Iron Mike" to emphasize his strength and resilience as he tried to recover from the transplant. He reportedly fell ill with pneumonia on March 26, 2019, after a follow-up procedure. He was hospitalized at the University of Maryland Medical Center, where he died from complications of pneumonia and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis on April 7. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan ordered flags to be flown at half-staff following his death. Busch was laid in state at the Maryland State House rotunda on April 15, 2019. His funeral took place on April 16 at St. John Neumann Church in Annapolis and was followed by a reception at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. He was laid to rest on April 16, 2019. Tributes from across the state flowed in following Busch's death.

Legacy

In 2019, Maryland Hall, a cultural and arts center located in Annapolis renamed their building the Michael E. Busch Center for the Arts at Maryland Hall, in honor of Busch, who had fought for funding for the institution throughout his career. In 2020, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, Jr. directed that the newly built Annapolis branch of the Anne Arundel County Public Library be named the Michael E. Busch Annapolis Library in Busch's honor. In 2020, the District 30 Democratic Club, a social political club representing the same legislative district that Busch represented, was renamed the Michael E. Busch District 30 Democratic club in his honor.

Election results

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