Connecticut Senate

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The chamber to the Connecticut State Senate within the capitol.
The chamber to the Connecticut State Senate within the capitol.

The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 94,600 inhabitants. Senators are elected to two-year terms without term limits. The Connecticut State Senate is one of 14 state legislative upper houses whose members serve two-year terms; four-year terms are more common.

As in other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the Senate is reserved with special functions such as confirming or rejecting gubernatorial appointments to the state's executive departments, the state cabinet, commissions and boards. Unlike a majority of U.S. state legislatures, both the Connecticut House of Representatives and the State Senate vote on the composition to the Connecticut Supreme Court.

The Senate meets within the State Capitol in Hartford.

Contents

[edit] Leadership of the Senate

The Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut serves as the President of the Senate, but only casts a vote if required to break a tie. In his or her absence, the President Pro Tempore presides over the Senate. The President Pro Tempore is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation of the entire Senate through a Senate Resolution. The President Pro Tempore is the chief leadership position in the Senate. The Senate majority and minority leaders are elected by their respective party caucuses.

The President of the Senate is Lieutenant Governor Michael Fedele of the Republican Party. The President Pro Tempore is Democrat Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Scotland). The Majority Leader is Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and the Minority Leader is John McKinney (R-Fairfield).

[edit] Current leadership

Position Senator District
  President/Lieutenant Governor Michael Fedele
  President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams, Jr. 29
  Majority Leader Martin M. Looney 11
  Minority Leader John P. McKinney 28

[edit] Make-up of the Senate

Affiliation Members
  Democratic Party 23
  Republican Party 13
 Total
36
 Majority
10

[edit] Members of the Senate

District Name Party Hometown First Elected Towns Represented
1 John W. Fonfara Democrat Hartford 1996 Hartford (part), Wethersfield (part)
2 Eric D. Coleman Democrat Bloomfield 1994 Bloomfield (part), Hartford (part), Windsor (part)
3 Gary LeBeau Democrat East Hartford 1996 East Hartford, East Windsor, Ellington (part), South Windsor
4 Mary Ann Handley Democrat Manchester 1996 Bolton, Glastonbury, Manchester, Marlborough
5 Jonathan A. Harris Democrat West Hartford 2004 Bloomfield (part), Burlington, Farmington (part), West Hartford
6 Donald J. DeFronzo Democrat New Britain 2002 Berlin, Farmington (part), New Britain
7 John A. Kissel Republican Enfield 1992 East Granby, Enfield, Granby (part), Somers, Suffield, Windsor (part), Windsor Locks
8 Thomas J. Herlihy, Jr. Republican Simsbury 1998 Avon, Barkhamsted, Canton, Colebrook, Granby (part), Hartland, Harwinton (part), New Hartford, Norfolk, Simsbury, Torrington (part)
9 Paul R. Doyle Democrat Wethersfield 2006 Cromwell, Middletown (part), Newington, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield (part)
10 Toni N. Harp Democrat New Haven 1992 New Haven (part), West Haven (part)
11 Martin M. Looney Democrat New Haven 1993 Hamden (part), New Haven (part)
12 Edward Meyer Democrat Guilford 2004 Branford, Durham, Guilford, Killingworth, Madison, North Branford
13 Thomas P. Gaffey Democrat Meriden 1994 Cheshire (part), Meriden, Middlefield, Middletown (part)
14 Gayle Slossberg Democrat Milford 2004 Milford, Orange, West Haven (part)
15 Joan V. Hartley Democrat Waterbury 2000 Naugatuck (part), Prospect, Waterbury (part)
16 Sam Caligiuri Republican Waterbury 2006 Cheshire (part), Southington, Waterbury (part), Wolcott
17 Joseph J. Crisco, Jr. Democrat Woodbridge 1992 Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Derby, Hamden (part), Naugatuck (part), Woodbridge
18 Andrew M. Maynard Democrat Stonington 2006 Griswold, Groton, North Stonington, Plainfield, Preston, Sterling, Stonington, Voluntown
19 Edith G. Prague Democrat Columbia 1994 Andover, Bozrah, Columbia, Franklin, Hebron, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Montville (part), Norwich, Sprague
20 Andrea L. Stillman Democrat Waterford 2004 East Lyme, Montville (part), New London, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook (part), Salem, Waterford
21 Dan Debicella Republican Shelton 2006 Monroe (part), Shelton, Seymour (part), Stratford (part)
22 Rob Russo(elected in March 11, 2008 special election) Republican Bridgeport 2008 Bridgeport (part), Monroe (part), Trumbull
23 Ed A. Gomes Democrat Bridgeport 2005 Bridgeport (part), Stratford (part)
24 David J. Cappiello Republican Danbury 1998 Bethel (part), Danbury, New Fairfield, Sherman
25 Bob Duff Democrat Norwalk 2000 Darien (part), Norwalk
26 Judith G. Freedman Republican Westport 1986 Bethel (part), New Canaan (part), Redding, Ridgefield, Weston (part), Westport, Wilton
27 Andrew J. McDonald Democrat Stamford 2002 Darien (part), Stamford (part)
28 John P. McKinney Republican Southport 1998 Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, Weston (part)
29 Donald E. Williams, Jr. Democrat Brooklyn 1992 Brooklyn, Canterbury, Killingly, Mansfield, Putnam, Scotland, Thompson, Windham
30 Andrew W. Roraback Republican Goshen 2000 Brookfield, Canaan, Cornwall, Goshen, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Milford, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Torrington (part), Warren, Washington, Winchester
31 Thomas A. Colapietro Democrat Bristol 1982 Bristol, Harwinton (part), Plainville, Plymouth
32 Rob Kane/ Won Special election January 15, 2008 Republican Watertown 2008 Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Middlebury, Oxford, Roxbury, Seymour (part), Southbury, Thomaston, Watertown, Woodbury
33 Eileen M. Daily Democrat Westbrook 1992 Chester, Clinton, Colechester, Deep River, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Lyme, Old Saybrook (part), Portland, Westbrook
34 Len Fasano Republican North Haven 2002 East Haven, North Haven, Wallingford
35 Tony Guglielmo Republican Stafford 1992 Ashford, Chaplin, Coventry, Eastford, Ellington (part), Hampton, Pomfret, Stafford, Tolland, Union, Vernon, Willington, Woodstock
36 William H. Nickerson Republican Greenwich 1990 Greenwich, New Canaan (part), Stamford (part)


[edit] See also

[edit] External links