Chris Dush will begin representing Centre County in December
SENATOR CHRIS DUSH will begin representing part of Centre County in December when redistricting goes into effect.
Beginning in December, for the first time since 1977, no person named Corman will be representing at least part of Centre County as a state senator, and it has nothing to do with the upcoming election.
During the redistricting process, the county was divided and placed into two new districts, the 25th District, currently held by Sen. Chris Dush (R), and the 35th District, held by Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr. (R). Both of their terms run until 2024.
The 34th District that Bellefonte’s own Jake Corman and his father, the late J. Doyle Corman, dominated for years has shifted east and south.
Dush has been in office since 2020 and will be up for reelection in 2024. Currently, he represents all of Camerom, Clinton, Elk, Jefferson, McKean, Potter and Tioga counties and part of Clearfield County.
When things shift in December, he will keep all of Cameron, Clinton, Elk, McKean and Potter counties and part of Jefferson County, and he will add part of Centre County — Benner, Boggs, Burnside, College, Curtin, Gregg, Haines, Harris, Howard, Liberty, Marion, Miles, Penn, Potter, Snow Shoe, Spring, Union and Walker townships and the boroughs of Bellefonte, Centre Hall, Howard, Milesburg, Millheim, Snow Shoe, State College and Unionville.
To prepare for the transition, he says he has been knocking on doors in Centre County and getting to know people by visiting the Grange Fair this summer and Nittany Antique Machinery Show this September. So far, he likes what he sees in Centre County.
“I loved it (the Grange Fair). I said, how do I get one of these campsites,” said Dush with a laugh, now knowing they are passed down by families from generation to generation.
“So beautiful. … It shows the whole basis for our social structure starts with the family, and the fact that all of these families, hundreds of them, are keeping these traditions alive, it speaks very well to the type of people that we have here.”
Dush grew up in Brookville, the oldest of four children, spending a lot of time at his grandfather’s “farmette.” He went to Clarion State College, which is now Clarion University, to major in broadcast journalism and was on the swim team. After three and a half years, he decided to join the Air Force to become a law enforcement specialist. While in the military, he met his wife, Traci.
“We met in February, I proposed in March and three days later I got the assignment to England, so we were married in June, to England in July,” said Dush.
Both of his sons were born while he was overseas.
After a stop in California, Dush moved on to civilian life in 1990, working as an insurance investigator in Delaware and south Philadelphia. Finally, he was able to get back home to his roots when the State Correctional Institution – Houtzdale opened and he landed a job in administration. He also spent time helping to open SCI Chester and SCI Forrest.
“I went into a uniform in 2004 and retired in 2012. Along the way I went back into the Air Force, in the Air National Guard. I spent 16 years at the 193rd Special Operation Wing down in Middletown,” he said.
Dush said his time in the military and at the prison made him aware “of the dysfunction that was going on in both the state and federal government.”
“When I would approach my representative, who at the time was the speaker of the house, and every time I brought up something that was going on, I kept getting, ‘Well that an executive function, separation of powers, I can’t do anything about it,’” said Dush.
Frustrated, he eventually decided to run against his fellow Republican.
He lost his first election for the General Assembly but ended up winning the seat the next time around, in 2013. Dush gave himself a term limit in the house; as that was up, he felt compelled to run for the state senate.
He said in the house, he was working against leadership on a lot of things, but feels that he was able to accomplish a lot of good, such as limiting unnecessary government spending in the budget.
Through it all, he said he has remained true to his core values while in office, while learning how navigate the give and take of the legislative process.
He said it was a little different than how things were handled in the military, “where you have a mission, you go out and take care of it.”
“When it comes to your bills and everything that you want to get done, there is a lot more negotiating going on than there is with the military,” he said, but he used the skills he learned while working in the prison system help move things forward.
“You try to keep order in a prison, and you are there yourself alone with a couple hundred inmates, and a few guys want to start something. You learn de-escalation skills and that sort of stuff,” said Dush.
He said his experience in representing the Penn State Dubois campus as part of his current district will provide good experience as he takes over an area that includes Penn State’s main campus.
“I love the new president (Neeli Bendapudi). It looks like she is going to be a very good asset for the university,” said Dush.
He is especially appreciative of how she stood up for free speech while vice chancellor at the University of Kansas and president at the University of Louisville. He said the impact the University Park campus has on the region’s economy, including in agriculture and technology, is huge, but he understands the area is more than just Penn State.
“I get out a lot and plan on meeting with our municipal leaders and learn what they are facing,” said Dush.
He also has close contact with Corman, as it gets closer to time to make the switch. But, he adds, the most import thing is to be available to the people he represents.
“I put 60,000 miles on my car over the last two years, just getting around the district I have now. I don’t intend to stop doing that. If I don’t hear from the people on what their issues are, it is harder to represent them,” said Dush.
As it gets closer to the transition, Dush wants people of Centre County to know that he will be available to them if they need him.
“I am very reachable. Ask anybody in my current district; that is not just me talking. I back it up with action.”
