Lawrence F. Cafero

Lawrence F. Cafero Jr. (born January 8, 1958 in Bridgeport, Connecticut) is an eleven term Republican member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, having represented parts of Norwalk and New Canaan in the 142nd District from 1992 until 2015.^[2] He served as House Minority Leader from 2007-2015.^[1]

Early life and family

Cafero was raised from an early age in Norwalk, and attended Norwalk schools. Cafero graduated from Norwalk High School and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Connecticut. He earned his J.D. from Western New England College School of Law. He lives in Norwalk with his wife Barbara, where they raised their three children.^[3] He was an attorney and associate of Patricia Kane Legal Group in 1983.^[1] He opened his own law office in 1983, and continued until 1985.^[1] He entered into a partnership Reid and Cafero in 1983 and continued until 1998.^[1] He has been a partner at Brown, Rudnick, Berlack, Israels, Limited Liability Partnership from 1998 up to the present.^[1]

Political career

Cafero first became a member of the Norwalk Republican Town Committee in 1987.^[1] He was a member of the Norwalk Board of Education for six years from 1987 to 1993, and served as its chairman in 1988, 1991, and 1992.^[1] He also served as Expulsion Hearing Officer for the Norwalk school system.^[1] He left his position with the Board of Education when he was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1992.^[1] He was elected Deputy House Minority Leader in 1996, and served in that capacity until 2007.^[1] In 2007, he was elected House Minority Leader, a post which he held until his retirement in 2015.^[1] He was the chairman of the Connecticut House Republican Caucus since 2007.^[1] In 2014, Cafero announced that he would be retiring from the General Assembly after 22 years of service.

Multiple federal investigations have touched on Cafero while in office. In 2012, a federal informant attempted to offer Cafero an illegal campaign contribution in the form of cash. Cafero was videotaped instructing a legislative employee to "take a walk" with the informant and collect the "contribution" across the street from the legislative office building.^[4] On April 27, 2015 Cafero's legislative Chief of Staff entered a plea of guilty to mail fraud in Federal Court in connection with his work for the Connecticut House Republicans.^[5]

Lawrence Cafero's 22-year career has been praised and celebrated by the public, the press, and politicians of all parties.^[6][7][8][9] In October 2014, being hailed as "Larry Legend", Cafero was inducted into the Norwalk High School Hall of Fame.^[10] A testimonial dinner was held in his honor on January 29, 2015 in Norwalk, CT. The event was attended by over 500 guests and all of the proceeds from the dinner, totaling close to $15,000, went to the Norwalk Education Foundation.^[11]

Associations

• Member, Exchange Club, 1990–present^[1]
• Member, Saint Anne's Club, 1992–present^[1]
• Chair, Board of Directors, Side By Side Community Charter School, 1997–present^[1]
• Member, Dean's Advisory Board, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut, 2001–present^[1]
• Member, American Bar Association^[1]
• Member, Communities in Schools, Incorporated^[1]
• Member, Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association^[1]
• Member, District E Republican Town Committee, City of Norwalk^[1]
• Member, Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce^[1]
• Member, Knights of Columbus, 4th Degree^[1]
• Member, Stamford-Norwalk Bar Association^[1]
• Former Expulsion Officer, Norwalk Public Schools^[1]
• Former Scripture Reader, Saint Matthew Church, Norwalk^[1]

External links

• Vote Smart Biography

References