Sen. William Charles “Trey” Paradee III represents the 17th Senate District, which includes most of Dover and the towns of Camden and Wyoming.
Paradee was first elected to represent the 29th District in the Delaware House of Representatives in 2012, a position he held for three terms. He was elected to the Delaware Senate in 2018.
Born and raised in Dover, Sen. Paradee’s ancestors settled in Kent County in the mid-1600s. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware in 1991. Following graduation, he worked for his father’s company Paradee Gas Co. While supporting his young family, Sen. Paradee attended evening classes to earn a master’s degree in business administration from UD in 1998.
When Paradee Gas Co. was sold in 2000, Paradee joined Merrill Lynch as a financial advisor. He opened an Edward Jones Investments office in downtown Dover in 2003 before founding Paradee Financial LLC in 2011. He continues to operate the company, which provides financial advice to small businesses and helps families save for college and retirement.
Sen. Paradee also has served on numerous boards and committees for local organizations and charities, including the Boy Scouts of America, Delaware Technical Community College Educational Foundation, the Downtown Dover Partnership, and the Inner-City Cultural League. Sen. Paradee also volunteered as a youth lacrosse coach for the Camden Mid-State Youth Lacrosse Club from 2009 to 2012.
He currently serves as co-chair of the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee and vice chair of the Senate Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee. He also serves a member of the Senate Agriculture, Environment, Energy & Transportation, and Veterans Affairs committees.
Sen. Paradee lives in Dover and is the proud father of Cassie and Charlie. He is often seen in the company of his Labrador Retrievers Belle, Teddy Bear and Lulu.
Family
Children: Cassie and Charlie
Education
Bachelor’s degree, English, University of Delaware, 1991; Master’s degree, Business Administration, University of Delaware, 1998
Occupation
Financial Advisor
Legislative Service:
Senate, 2018 to present; House of Representatives, 2012 to 2018
Committees:
- Joint Finance, Chair
- Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology, Vice-Chair
- Agriculture, Member
- Environment, Energy & Transportation, Member
- Veterans Affairs, Member
Legislative Highlights
Senate Bill 95
More than a decade after the Delaware General Assembly first created the Inspire Scholarship to help students afford tuition at Delaware State University, Sen. Trey Paradee passed legislation that nearly doubled the average award to cover the full cost of […]
Senate Bill 210
Recognizing that a disability should never preclude someone from enjoying a financially secure future, Sen. Trey Paradee successfully passed legislation to help ensure that Delaware’s signature DEpendABLE accounts conform with federal regulations. Created in 2018, DEpendABLE accounts are tax-advantaged savings […]
Senate Bill 176
Sen. Trey Paradee successfully passed meaningful campaign finance reform that both increased transparency around political fundraising and adjusted the minimum reporting threshold for inflation for the first time in 30 years. Passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, Senate Bill 176 gave […]
Senate Bill 250
As chair of the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, Sen. Trey Paradee sponsored a $5.1 billion operating budget for the State of Delaware that upheld the General Assembly’s commitment to state workers and retirees, while making new investments in Delaware’s public […]
