Busick Commits To Running Again In 2010

SNOW HILL - Despite a serious family crisis, County Commissioner Linda Busick says she is still handling her responsibilities as an elected official and will run for re-election next fall.

'I am doing this job,' said Busick Tuesday morning after the County Commissioners meeting.

In early October, Busick's husband, Dwight, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Two weeks later, while undergoing a biopsy, he suffered a brain bleed and became paralyzed on the right side.  For the last month, he has been undergoing rehabilitation and radiation treatments.

Dwight Busick, a retired police officer, is a familiar sight outside county meetings and events, waiting patiently for Busick with their dog, Holly, in his lap.

Busick has missed one commissioner meeting out of four since her husband's diagnosis and health crisis and has, she said, missed only one other meeting in three years as a commissioner.  

While Busick has moved into the rehabilitation center to support her husband, she continues to take care of her duties as commissioner, she said.

'I am not resigning,' Busick said. 'I have to stay focused on my husband and his health issues, but I also have a job to do and I am fulfilling it.'

Busick said she would not be addressing the fall 2010 election if she had not been asked so many times whether the would run, after Worcester County Planning Commission Chair Jim Bunting filed to run on Oct. 27 to run in the fall Republican primary against her. Bunting could not be reached for comment.

With an opponent already seeking the Republican nomination in her district, Busick said her husband has been urging her to start campaigning.

'Every morning he asks me if I'm going out to knock on doors. I say, •€˜not yet, Dwight, not yet,'' Busick said. 'I say, •€˜when I go out knocking on doors you're going with me,' and he says, •€˜that's right.''

Dwight Busick, who is undergoing therapy at the Berlin Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to improve his speech, took the phone briefly during the interview.  'I'm looking forward to getting back out there,' Dwight said.

Four years, she said, is not enough time to accomplish what she wants to do in office. Her concerns, she said, center around Route 589, affordable housing, jobs and adhering to the county's award-winning comprehensive plan.

'I want people to know they don't have to worry about me. I'm here,' Busick. 'Just to dispel rumors, that's the only reason I brought it up.'