Erick Russell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 84th Treasurer of Connecticut | |
| Assumed office January 4, 2023 | |
| Governor | Ned Lamont |
| Preceded by | Shawn Wooden |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Christopher Lyddy |
| Education | University of New Haven (BA) University of Connecticut (JD) |
Erick Russell is an American politician from Connecticut. A member of the Democratic Party,he is the Connecticut State Treasurer. He is the first openly gay African American elected to a statewide office in the United States.
Russell grew up in New Haven,Connecticut,where his parents owned a convenience store and deli. He graduated from the University of New Haven in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, [1] becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. [2] Russell earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 2012. [1] [3] [4] During law school,he interned for the general counsel to Governor Dannel Malloy. [2]
After graduating from law school,Russell joined law firm Pullman &Comley,based in Bridgeport,Connecticut,in their department on public and private financing,and became a partner in the firm. [1] [5] He also chairs the LGBT section of the Connecticut Bar Association. [6] In 2009,Russell was elected as a vice chair of the Connecticut Democratic Party. [2] [7]
After Connecticut State Treasurer Shawn Wooden announced that he would not run for reelection in the 2022 Connecticut State Treasurer election,Russell announced his candidacy to succeed him. [7] He defeated Dita Bhargava and Karen DuBois-Walton in the Democratic Party primary election in August,receiving 58 percent of the vote. [8] In the November general election,Russell faced state representative Harry Arora,the Republican Party nominee. Russell won the election with 52 percent of the vote. [9] Russell became the first openly gay African American elected to a statewide office in the United States. [10] [11] He was sworn into office on January 4,2023. [12]
Russell's husband,Christopher Lyddy,is a former member of the Connecticut House of Representatives. [13]
Edward Miner Lamont Jr. is an American businessman and politician serving since January 2019 as the 89th governor of Connecticut. A member of the Democratic Party,he served as a Greenwich selectman from 1987 to 1989 and was the party's nominee for the United States Senate in 2006,losing to incumbent Joe Lieberman.
Sean Patrick Maloney is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative from New York's 18th congressional district from 2013 to 2023. The district includes Newburgh,Beacon,and Poughkeepsie. A member of the Democratic Party,Maloney ran for New York Attorney General in 2018,coming in third place to Letitia James in the primary.
The Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Connecticut. Its chair is Nancy DiNardo.
William Morten Tong is an American lawyer and politician who is the 25th and current Attorney General of Connecticut. Born in Hartford,Connecticut,Tong attended Brown University and the University of Chicago Law School. He began his career as an attorney with the law firms Simpson Thacher &Bartlett and Finn Dixon &Herling. In 2006,Tong entered politics upon winning election to the Connecticut House of Representatives to represent the 147th district,which includes most of North Stamford. He served six terms in the House from 2007 to 2019. During this period,Tong chaired the banking committee from 2011 to 2015 and the judiciary committee from 2015 to 2019.
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Connecticut:
Denise Lynn Nappier is an American who served as Connecticut State Treasurer,from 1999 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party,she was first elected in 1998 and was re-elected in 2002,2006,2010 and 2014. She is the first African-American woman elected to statewide office in the history of Connecticut,the first woman elected State Treasurer in Connecticut history,and the first African-American woman elected to serve as state treasurer in the United States. In 2011,she was named to the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame.
Various kinds of elections in Connecticut occurs annually in each of the state's cities and towns,the exact type of which is dependent on the year. Elections for federal and statewide offices occur in even-numbered years,while municipal elections occur in odd-numbered ones. The office of the Connecticut Secretary of State oversees the election process,including voting and vote counting. In a 2020 study,Connecticut was ranked as the 20th easiest state for citizens to vote in.
Kevin P. Lembo is a Democratic elected official who served as the Connecticut State Comptroller,the statewide elected official responsible for reporting on state finances,administering health care plans for public employees and retirees,and paying the state's bills. He took office on January 5,2011 and resigned effective December 31,2021. Lembo is the first openly gay individual to be elected to statewide office in Connecticut.
The Independent Party of Connecticut (IPC) is a minor political party in the State of Connecticut. As of November 3,2014,Connecticut had 16,189 active voters registered with the Connecticut Secretary of State with the Independent party,making it the third largest party in the state. The party has at least one elected official. In November 2013,Lawrence DePillo was elected to the Waterbury Board of Aldermen.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Connecticut on November 4,2014. All of Connecticut's executive officers were up for election as well as all of Connecticut's five seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on August 26,2014.
The 2018 Connecticut gubernatorial election took place on November 6,2018,to elect the next governor and lieutenant governor of Connecticut,concurrently with the election of Connecticut's Class I U.S. Senate seat,as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states,elections to the United States House of Representatives,and various state and local elections. This race's Democratic margin of victory was the closest to the national average of 3.1 points.
Shawn T. Wooden is an American attorney and politician who served as the state treasurer of Connecticut between January 2019 and January 2023. Wooden previously served as a member of the Hartford City Council.
Henry Ellsworth Parker was an American politician who served as Connecticut State Treasurer from 1975 to 1986. These 11 years represented the office's second-longest modern tenure,surpassed only by Denise Nappier's 20 years in the office. Parker was the second African American to be elected treasurer in Connecticut,after Gerald Lamb. Since Parker ran in 1974,the Democratic Party has always nominated an African American for state treasurer. Parker also ran three times for New Haven mayor in 1969,1971,and 1979.
Elections are currently held every four years to elect the mayor of Hartford,Connecticut.
Harry Arora is an Indian-born American politician who served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 151st District,serving from 2020 to 2023. In 2018,Arora ran against incumbent Jim Himes in the race for Connecticut's Fourth District in the United States House of Representatives. He was the Republican nominee for Connecticut State Treasurer in the 2022 election.
The 2022 Connecticut Secretary of the State election took place on November 8,2022,to elect the next Secretary of the State of Connecticut. Incumbent Democrat Denise Merrill planned to retire at the end of her elected term,but resigned June 30 to care for her ailing husband. Governor Lamont appointed former associate attorney general Mark Kohler to the position. Kohler was sworn in July 11. He was not a candidate for the office in the November election.
The 2022 United States state treasurer elections were held on November 8,2022,to elect the state treasurer and equivalents in twenty-seven states,plus a special election in Utah. The previous elections for this group of states took place in 2018. The treasurer of Vermont serves two-year terms and was last elected in 2020.
The 2022 Connecticut State Treasurer election took place on November 8,2022,to elect the next Connecticut State Treasurer. Incumbent Democratic Party Treasurer Shawn Wooden did not seek re-election.
The state of Connecticut,in the Northeastern United States,has been home to LGBT communities and culture since the early 20th century. The state was intolerant of homosexuality at its inception in 1639,but it became the second state to repeal its sodomy law,in 1971. Similarly,in 2008 it became the second state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage.
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