Public Service

Bryan Shupe is a dedicated public servant, small business owner, and lifelong Milford resident committed to making a positive impact in our community. With a strong background in local business and public service, Bryan has been working tirelessly to support and grow our community from the ground up.

Local, Small Business Owner: Bryan’s entrepreneurial spirit has driven him to establish several successful local businesses, including Milford LIVE News in 2010, Delaware LIVE News in 2020, the family-owned Fur Baby Pet Resort in 2011, and The Farmacy Market in 2023. These ventures reflect his commitment to creating jobs and providing service to our neighbors.

Public Service: Bryan’s dedication to public service is evident through his roles as the Mayor of Milford from 2014 to 2018, and as a State Representative since 2018. He also serves on various boards, including the Boys & Girls Club of Delaware Board of Trustees, the University of Delaware Political Science Advisory Board, the Brandywine Valley SPCA Advisory Board, and the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce Small Business Alliance. Through these roles, Bryan works to improving education, supporting our first responders, and strengthening our local economy.

Personal Life: Bryan is a proud father of two young children, ages 4 and 7, and has been happily married for nine years. Born and raised in Milford, he graduated from Milford High School in 2002 and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Delaware. His deep roots in the community guide his commitment to making our district and the state of Delaware a better place for all.

Bryan Shupe’s leadership, both in business and public service, is driven by a desire to improve the quality of life for Delawareans. He continues to advocate for community-driven solutions, economic growth, and strong local governance.

Standing Against Government Overreach -

- Voted and advocated against government management of our local hospitals (HB 350)

- Created Government Transparency Act requiring government to tell citizens when their personal information is used and sold by government agencies (HB 359)

- Fought to Eliminate Desk Drawer Veto, and provided a mechanism where all bills released from committee are heard on House Floor (HCR 9)

- Created legislation to protect the Freedom of Information (FOIA) Act from Executive Suspension (HB 203)

- Fought against eminent domain in Billings v City of Milford case in 2024.

Holding Developers Accountable -

- Created legislation mandating developers pave roads before leaving neighborhoods (HB 297).

- Stood strong against development East of Route 1 and near local watersheds during public meetings.

- Assisted neighbors with Department of Justice against consumer fraud and abuse cases from developers.

Committed to Improving Childhood Literacy -

- Created literacy programs alongside Delaware libraries and early childhood nonprofits (Tonie Box/ Read-A-LOUD Delaware initiative).

- Created public school lunch program that requires all public schools to give free lunch to kids currently of reduced-lunch plans (HS 2, HB 125).

- Created Education Transparency Act requiring Department of Education to list proficiency and growth rates of each school online for parents (HB 66).

- Created Single-Digit Proficiency Plan Act that requires school's with single-digit proficiency rates to develop a local, community plan for improvement (HB 192).

-Mentors local youth in the community though small businesses & member of Delaware Boys & Girls Club Board of Trustees.

Protecting our First Responders -

- Voted to save pensions for first responders injured in the line of duty (HB 308).

- Supported tuition reimbursement for volunteer firefighters in the First State (HB 249).

- Worked alongside Ellendale Fire Co to Pave Ponder Road, a major roadway for their response team, despite the State refusing to rehabilitate due to vehicle traffic counts.

- Worked alongside Carlisle Fire Co to fund critical needs such asambulance garages, Opticoms and the new engine.

- Revived Milford's Memorial Day Ceremony with his committee to honor our fallen heroes.

Protects our Natural Resources -

- Created a water filtration program for low-income families to establish drinkable water where contaminants exist (HB 69).

- Voted to establish the Clean Water for Delaware Act, establishing a framework for assessing needs and planning and implementing projects that support Delaware’s efforts to improve the quality of the State’s water supply and waterways (HB 200).

- Developed Milford's Rivertown Plan that protects the Mispillion River, plans natural rehabilitation of the coastline, and increases recreational infrastructure and programs along the river.

- Created and funded the Memorial Park playground, Pickleball courts, and new railing along the Mispillion River in Downtown Milford.

Strengthening Workforce Development -

- Shupe has established several successful local businesses, including Milford LIVE News in 2010, Delaware LIVE News in 2020, the family-owned Fur Baby Pet Resort in 2011, and The Farmacy Market in 2023.

- Establishes the Focus on Alternative Skills Training Program (“FAST”). FAST will provide tuition, up to $9,000, to Delaware residents who have obtained a high school diploma, Diploma of Alternate Achievement Standards, or a Delaware secondary credential, which includes earning a GED (SB 65).

- Voted to expand the Delaware Student Excellence Equals Degree Act (SEED Act) to adult Delaware residents, who are not recent high school graduates.

Increased Access to Quality Healthcare -

- As the Mayor of Milford, Shupe ensured a partnership with Bayhealth including utilities and infrastructure as the hospital system build the Sussex Bayhealth Campus.

- Expanded workforce development to nurses, technicians, and hospital staff with scholarship legislation (HB 59).

- Supported Primary Care physician development programs including tuition for Delaware students going to medical school (DIMER) and created college loan repayment programs for new physicians to establish and stay in Delaware.

- Voted to increased more transparency in healthcare costs (HB 442) including online hospital costs and (HB 160) expansion of patient resources.

- Committed to opening competition in the healthcare market in Delaware including mulitstate compacts mobile and telehealth (HB 160), and eliminating unnecessary government regulations including HB 350, management of hospital finances, and government Necessity of Need Review Board.

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Building our Local Economy -

- Working alongside the City of Milford and State Housing Authority, we developed the DDD district in our historic business district. The program has brought in over $24.2 million in private investments, with the assistance of $2.62 million in grants.

- Voted for the Budget spending stabilization which requires State spending to be capped using an economic benchmark, instead of the wish list of legislators (HB 109).

- Voted to reduce personal income taxes (HB 149) and eliminate taxes on overtime hours for Delaware workers.

- Voted to reduce in Gross receipts tax on small businesses, which raises the costs of goods and servies at local, small business (HB 445).

- Voted to implement financial literacy classes in public school curriculum (HB 203).

Shupe’s leadership, both in business and public service, is driven by a desire to improve the quality of life for Delawareans. He continues to advocate for community-driven solutions, economic growth, and strong local governance.

Bryan Shupe’s Legislative Priorities:

Clean Water Neighborhoods Act

Addresses street-level challenges to unclean drinking water in the state of Delaware. The bill allows residents not served by municipal water systems, that have contaminated water sources and meet income criteria, to use grants to receive a water filtration system to create access to clean residential drinking water.

Local Voting Rights Act

Eliminates the statewide voting barrier where residents have to register to vote a second time in their municipality in order to vote in local elections. Under this law, residents that meet local voting requirements such as residency and are already registered to vote in the State of Delaware, will be eligible to vote locally.

Online Transparency in Government Act

Requests the Division of Research, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Delaware Department of Technology & Information cooperate in creating a detailed and implementable plan to stream audio and video of all floor proceedings of the State House of Representatives and Senate. This includes public comment action of both legislative chambers, recording all such material, and making these recordings available to the public via a web-based archive.

Freedom of Information Protection Act

Ensures that FOIA, the mechanism by which the public and press request information from their government, cannot be suspended, even during a State of Emergency.

Early Childhood Mental Health Act

Establishes funding for mental health professionals within Delaware elementary schools across the state. Mental health services including prevention, response, and coordination services will help our students develop healthy ways to move through trauma at an early age. When trauma is untreated, negative outcomes including risk of dropout, homelessness, substance abuse, other chronic illnesses, incarceration, and possibly suicide increase, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Vocational Training Expansion Act

Creates a grant program for education opportunities through vocational training in the trade industries for recent students of Delaware public schools and residents that seek to return to school or change careers.

Small Business Growth Act

Supports local, small businesses by eliminating the cap for breweries and brewpubs. Currently these businesses can only open three locations within the state of Delaware.

Nursing Career Expansion Act

Increased the number of Delaware nursing students eligible for education grants by allowing students pursuing nursing careers at non-profit hospitals to be eligible for the program. The bill was signed into law in 2019.

Primary Care Expansion Act

Creates a public, private, nonprofit partnership that invests annually in primary care physicians that set up practices in the state of Delaware. Delaware is losing primary care doctors faster than they can be replaced, even as the population of the state continues to increase.

Delaware Budget Stabilization Act

A Constitutional Amendment that limits spending in the Delaware budget, allowing the government to increase its expenditures no more than the percentage that Delaware’s private economy grows. The amount of revenue above that amount is placed in a budget stabilization account to protect future budgets and allow for alternatives to raising taxes and cutting programs.

Personal Finance Education Act

Seeks to partner with the Department of Education to create a personal finance curriculum for all students in Delaware public schools. Teaching our students financial independence is critical to their success after school, regardless of their life goals. This curriculum will be especially impactful in our underserved communities, helping them to break the cycle of generational poverty and protecting them from predatory practices.

Minimum Wage Analysis Act

Requires Delaware’s Controller General Office to prepare an economic impact analysis on legislation that increases the state’s minimum wage to determine the economic impact on the State of Delaware as an employer and the private economy. This study allows the public, press, and lawmakers to examine empirical evidence, instead of campaign rhetoric, while discussing large-scale legislation that will affect every Delaware family.

Rescue Dog as the Official State Dog

Recognized the Rescue Dog as the Official State Dog of Delaware. The bill was signed into law in 2019.

"If we hope to gain back a government that is created by the people to serve the people, we must place our faith in individuals that follow ethical principles, not positional issues, or political ideology."

- Bryan Shupe