Stephanie T. Bolden (born August 16, 1946) is an American politician. She is a Democratic member of the

Delaware House of Representatives The Delaware State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal number of constituencies, each of whom is ...

, representing District 2.

Career

Bolden earned her B.S. from

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a Statutory college#Outside New York State, privately governed, state-assisted Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Land-grant university, land-grant research universi ...

and her M.Ed from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

. She was formerly an educator in Christiana School District and in higher education. Bolden was a ten-year member of the Wilmington City Council, served a term as its president pro tempore, and is a member of the Delaware Black Caucus. She was elected to the Delaware House in 2010 after defeating

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Hazel Plant in the Democratic primary.

Personal life

Bolden is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Lawsuit and criticism

On January 9, 2018, Bolden filed a lawsuit against the city of Wilmington alleging that the August 7, 2017 fire that started at a neighboring property substantially damaged Bolden's property, which was her childhood home and is the present-day headquarters of the Delaware Black Caucus. The lawsuit also claims that the city of Wilmington failed to secure the property, respond to Bolden's prior complaints and repair and maintain the property to prevent the fire. The fire allegedly caused $75,000 worth of damage to Bolden's property. Weeks after the lawsuit was filed, Bolden became a part-time receptionist for the Wilmington City Council. She was criticized by Wilmington residents and Democratic Party members for taking the position; they claimed that doing so appeared to be a political favor and that the job should have gone to an unemployed resident of the city. In June 2018, Bolden submitted her resignation from the position, claiming that the job conflicted with her legislative schedule.

Electoral history

*In 2010, Bolden was elected after defeating incumbent Democrat Hazel Plant in the Democratic primary, winning the election with 676 votes (51.2%). She was unopposed in the general election, winning 4,485 votes. *In 2012, Bolden defeated a challenge by Arthur Scott, a former state representative, in the Democratic primary, winning with 1,400 votes (62.1%). She was unopposed in the general election, winning 6,253 votes. *In 2014, Bolden won the general election with 2,393 votes (82%) against Republican nominee Richard Leroi Dyton. *In 2016, Bolden was unopposed in the general election, winning 6,256 votes. *In 2018, Bolden won the Democratic primary with 1,169 votes (59.7%) against Ugundi Jacobs Sr. She was unopposed in the general election, winning 4,693 votes. *In 2024, Bolden was unopposed in the general election, receiving 6,590 votes.

Committee assignments

Bolden is currently assigned to the following committees: *House Veterans Affairs Committee *Joint Finance Committee *Appropriations Committee *Economic Development/Banking/Insurance/Commerce Committee *House Education Committee *Gaming & Parimutuels Committee (Vice Chair) *Housing & Community Affairs Committee (Vice Chair) *House Labor Committee *Revenue & Finance Committee (Chair)

References

External links

Official page
at the

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legi ...

* 1946 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics Democratic Party members of the Delaware House of Representatives Women state legislators in Delaware African-American state legislators in Delaware Delaware city council members 21st-century American women politicians Politicians from Wilmington, Delaware Lynch School of Education and Human Development alumni Delaware State University alumni African-American city council members in Delaware Women city councillors in Delaware 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians African-American Catholics American Roman Catholics 21st-century members of the Delaware General Assembly {{Delaware-politician-stub