Bruce Morrison
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Bruce Andrew Morrison (b. October 8, 1944 in New York City) is a former U.S. politician who was a Congressman from Connecticut and candidate for Connecticut governor. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
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[edit] Youth
At a young age, he was adopted by George and Dorothea Morrison who lived in Northport, Long Island. As a child, he attended public schools and graduated from Northport High School second in his class. He had also been an all-state French-horn player during his term at Northport High.
After showing an interest in science in high school, he attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and graduated in three years with a degree in chemistry. He then moved on to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for graduate school. There he received another scientific degree and witnessed concerts by some of the top folk singers of the time, including Phil Ochs.
After five years of scientific study, he attended Yale Law School. His classmates included future President Bill Clinton, future First Lady and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, future US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, and future Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
[edit] Political career
Once he graduated, Morrison began to work for New Haven Legal Services. In 1982, Bruce Morrison, then the head of New Haven Legal Services and an adjunct professor at Yale Law School, decided to run for U.S. Congress. After running a grass roots campaign, he narrowly defeated his Democratic opponent in a primary and then defeated Republican incumbent Lawrence J. DeNardis by fewer than 2,000 votes and became the U.S. Representative from the 3rd district of Connecticut. After narrowly defeating DeNardis in '84, he won two easy re-elections.
In Congress, he served on the Banking and Judiciary Committees and served as chairman of the Immigration Subcommittee from 1989-1991. He was involved in human rights issues, visiting Cuba to demand the release of prisoners, Paraguay to inspect elections, and Chile to inspect the human rights situation there. He was a co-sponsor of the Immigration Act of 1990 or H.R. 4300 and a provision of the bill became known as the Morrison Visa Program. It allotted 40000 visas each year for 3 years, with 40% (48000 total) set aside for people from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Polish emigrants won most of the remaining visas. For his efforts, Morrison received criticism from some anti-immigration groups (see for example (see [[1]]).
[edit] Governor's race and beyond
Morrison announced his candidacy for governor of Connecticut in 1990. In the race, Morrison finished third, behind Republican John G. Rowland and the eventual winner, Independent Lowell Weicker. After losing, he started his own law firm in Hamden, Connecticut.
As a member of the group Irish Americans for Clinton-Gore (later the nonpartisan Americans for a New Irish Agenda), Morrison became involved in the Irish peace process. With Irish Voice publisher Niall O'Dowd, Morrison acted as a key intermediary between Gerry Adams' Sinn Fein, the White House, and the Fianna Fail government led by Albert Reynolds. Morrison, O'Dowd, and Bill Flynn (former CEO of Mutual of America Insurance Co.) were crucial in paving the way for Adams's controversial visa into the U.S. in February 1994 to address the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and for the Provisional Irish Republican Army's ceasefire declaration of August 1994.
He was appointed the director of the Federal Housing Finance Board by President Clinton in 1995. He left office in July 2000 and has since worked as a lobbyist and immigration lawyer.
He resides with his family in Bethesda, Maryland.
[edit] Election results
Congressional elections
| Year | Results |
|---|---|
| 1982 | Morrison 50% (D), DeNardis 49% (R), Fischman <1% (CPUSA) |
| 1984 | Morrison 52% (D), DeNardis 47% (R), Fischman <1% (CPUSA) |
| 1986 | Morrison (D), Earnest Diette (R) |
| 1988 | Morrison |
Gubernatorial election
| Year | Results |
|---|---|
| 1990 | Weicker 40% (A Connecticut Party), Rowland 38% (R), Morrison 20% (D), Independents 2% |
| Preceded by: Larry DeNardis |
United States Representative for the 3rd Congressional District of Connecticut 1983–1991 |
Succeeded by: Rosa DeLauro |
| Preceded by: William O'Neill |
Democratic Candidates for Governor of Connecticut 1990 |
Succeeded by: Bill Curry |
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