45 Facts About Christopher Bouchat

Christopher Eric Bouchat was born on October 2,1967 and is an American politician.

Christopher Bouchat is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for District 5, which encompasses most of Carroll County, Maryland and a small part of southeastern Frederick County, Maryland.

Christopher Bouchat was previously a member of the Carroll County Board of Commissioners from 2018 to 2022, representing District 4 in southwest Carroll County.

Christopher Bouchat attended the Howard Vocational-Technical Center, where he earned a welding certificate, Catonsville Community College, where he earned a degree in business administration, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he earned a degree in political science.

Christopher Bouchat worked as a welder with Patrick Aircraft Tank Systems in Columbia, Maryland, before starting his own welding business in 1994.

Christopher Bouchat first became involved in politics in 1992, when he ran for the United States House of Representatives in Maryland's 3rd congressional district.

From 2003 to 2004, Christopher Bouchat served on the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee.

In 2006, Christopher Bouchat ran for the Carroll County Board of Commissioners, challenging the three incumbent Republican commissioners.

Christopher Bouchat ran for the Carroll County Board of Commissioners in 2010.

In October 2013, Bouchat filed to run for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 9A, seeking to succeed outgoing state delegate Gail H Bates.

Christopher Bouchat was the top vote-getter in the Carroll County part of the district, but lost the primary to Howard County Republicans Warren Miller and Trent Kittleman, both of whom went on to win the general election.

In 2018, Christopher Bouchat ran for the Carroll County Board of Commissioners in District 4, seeking to succeed outgoing county commissioner Richard Rothschild.

Christopher Bouchat defeated Democrat Paul Johnson in the general election, receiving 65.5 percent of the vote, and was sworn in on December 4,2018.

On July 26,2019, Christopher Bouchat announced that he would not seek re-election to a second term in 2022.

In March 2020, Christopher Bouchat expressed interest in running for the Maryland General Assembly.

Christopher Bouchat's candidacy was endorsed by former state delegates Al Redmer Jr.

In 2022, Christopher Bouchat filed to run for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 9A, but was later redrawn into District 5.

In 2012, Christopher Bouchat filed a lawsuit challenging the state's legislative redistricting plan, in which he pleaded to the Maryland Court of Appeals to establish a new legislative body that would have each county represented by two state senators and for the county's population to determine its number of state delegates, each belonging to a single-member district.

In January 2013, Christopher Bouchat appealed the case by filing a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States.

In early 2015, Christopher Bouchat filed a lawsuit in the Carroll County Circuit Court challenging the state's legislative redistricting plan, which was dismissed after the judge determined that the court did not have jurisdiction over the matter.

Christopher Bouchat was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 11,2023.

Christopher Bouchat is a member of the House Judiciary Committee.

In March 2023, Christopher Bouchat sent a letter to his House Republican colleagues in which he questioned their tactics during floor debates, asserting that they were being too performative during floor debates and urging them to "look inward for corrective measures that increase our future success rates".

Later that week, six of the most vocal members of the House Republican Caucus released a letter criticizing Christopher Bouchat's comments, arguing that the party was able to reach its 50-seat minority in 2014 by speaking out against Democratic taxes and spending.

Christopher Bouchat agreed that Republicans should contest Democrats in the 2026 legislative elections, but said "we need to stop annoying them" until then.

In June 2020, Christopher Bouchat attended and spoke at a Reopen Maryland rally in Westminster to protest the state's COVID-19 restrictions.

Christopher Bouchat later told Maryland Matters that he did not oppose masks or vaccines, but opposed mandates.

In December 2021, Christopher Bouchat was the only commissioner to vote against instituting a modified mask policy at Carroll County government facilities, which required unvaccinated county government employees to wear a mask while indoors.

In February 2022, Christopher Bouchat declined to attend the State of the County address at the Carroll Arts Center, which was attended by all other county commissioners, because of its indoor mask-wearing requirement.

Christopher Bouchat instead opted to protest outside the building by handing out copies of a written speech to those walking in.

In July 2019, Christopher Bouchat introduced a bill that would place a question on the 2020 ballot that, if approved, would change Carroll County's form of government from a commission to a charter.

In January 2021, Christopher Bouchat recused himself as a non-voting member of the county's Planning and Zoning Commission, and soon after filed motions to eliminate the non-voting positions from the county's Board of Education and Planning and Zoning Commission.

In September 2022, Christopher Bouchat said he supported a constitutional amendment to the Constitution of Maryland establishing a 188-member redistricting commission to draw Maryland's congressional and legislative maps, with each of its members elected proportionally to a county's population and in non-partisan elections.

In June 2020, Christopher Bouchat joined a Black Lives Matter protest in Westminster.

In February 2022, Christopher Bouchat distributed copies of a printed speech at the annual State of the County address, in which he wrote that he believed that the board of commissioners would benefit from not being made up of "old Caucasian males," calling on women to "step up and take control of our local government".

In 2016, Christopher Bouchat ran as an unaffiliated candidate to the Republican National Convention in Maryland's 8th congressional district.

Christopher Bouchat said that he would vote for Donald Trump on the first ballot if the voters sent him to the Convention, and hoped that Trump would pick John Kasich as his running mate.

In January 2021, Christopher Bouchat condemned the January 6 United States Capitol attack and compared the presidential transition to what happens with the Board of Commissioners:.

In 2022, Christopher Bouchat endorsed former Maryland Secretary of Commerce Kelly Schulz for governor.

In March 2023, Christopher Bouchat voted against an amendment that would remove a provision that indexed the state's gas tax to the consumer price index.

Christopher Bouchat divorced his first wife, Carmelita Seda-Carothers, in 1997, defending himself in court during the divorce proceedings.

That same year, Christopher Bouchat was convicted of second-degree assault in a domestic abuse with Seda-Carothers.

In July 2007, he divorced his second wife, April Elizabeth Shook, who claimed that Christopher Bouchat had physically and verbally assaulted her as they sought their divorce.

In February 2014, the Internal Revenue Service placed a $42,526 tax lien on Christopher Bouchat, which was the result of embezzlement by his daughter, Tawni Christopher Bouchat, whom he had employed as a bookkeeper at his own business.

In November 2018, after winning election to the Carroll County Board of Commissioners, Christopher Bouchat settled the tax lien by paying $13,000 to the IRS.