Bush, Nellie Trent

Nellie Trent Bush was a candidate for school trustee in Arizona in 1916. She was elected as Justice of the Peace in Parker, Arizona two years later, holding the position for six years. Bush went on to be elected to the Arizona state legislature in 1920 and served for 14 years as a representative and 2 years in the state senate. Bush was highly supportive of women in politics and was reported as saying," "Certainly I believe that a woman can be a success, both as a politician and a mother. I'm here to prove it...I am a firm believer in women going into politics, the more the better."  In 1936 Bush ran for the U.S. Congress, but was defeated. She was active in Democratic politics and in 1932 was elected a delegate to that party's national convention. She was also active in women's clubs and later in life served as president of the Arizona Federation of Woman's Clubs.
Bush was born in Missouri and brought to Arizona by her parents at the age of five. She trained to be a teacher at the Tempe Normal School. In 1912 she married Joseph Bush, an electrical engineer who bought a ferry business on the Colorado River. His wife obtained a riverboat pilot's liicense and worked as a pilot in addition to her other activities. In 1982 she was inducted into the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame.