Incoming Crop Of New State Lawmakers Are Already ‘Business Friendly’

HARTFORD — Whether they intended to or not, voters across the state last month have helped make the new legislature much more “business friendly” as a result of their seating a significant crop of new lawmakers who come to office with plenty of small and corporate business expertise, according to a report from the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA). Members of the Statehouse Class of ’11 include small business owners, corporate officers, line managers, IT, as well as medical and sales professionals.

Showing that range are Kim Rose (D-Milford), who ran the Grandma’s Attic antique shop in Milford; Brenda Kupchick (R-Fairfield) who co-owns Peter Kupchick Heating & Cooling; and Gail Lavielle (R-Norwalk), who served as senior vice president of Suez Environment, the world’s largest water and wastewater services company.

There are many more examples of businesspeople stepping into the public arena in the incoming legislature. Also in the new class are several people currently holding, or who have held, municipal offices — such as mayor, town councilman, and town clerk — and several attorneys.

Two incoming lawmakers have been there before: Senator Joe Markley (R-Plantsville) and Representative Al Adinolfi (R-Cheshire). In addition, one new state senator — Beth Bye (D-West Hartford) is shifting over from the House.

New State Senators include:

Stephen Cassano (D-4: Bolton, Glastonbury, Manchester, Marlborough) is a former mayor of Manchester.

Kevin Kelly (R-21: Monroe, Seymour, Shelton, Stratford) is a partner in the law firm of Bishop, Jackson & Kelly, LLC.

Jason Welch (R-31: Bristol) is a business and construction litigation attorney.

New State Representatives include:

Tim Ackert (R-8: Columbia, Coventry, Vernon) is a small business owner who also has served as an elected official and teacher.

Brian Becker (D-19: Avon, Farmington, West Hartford) is an attorney at Becker Law Offices, LLC in West Harford. He also served at The Hartford, where he was a senior executive.

Whit Betts (R-78 : Bristol, Plymouth) is director of fundraising for Indian Rock Nature Center and The Barnes Nature Center and is the director of sales at Green Acres Farm in Bristol.

Christie Carpino (R-32: Cromwell, Middletown, Portland) is a trial attorney with MetLife.

Daniel Carter (R-109: Bethel, Danbury, Redding) works in sales and has served in the Air Force and the health care industry.

James Crawford (D-35: Clinton, Killingworth, Westbrook) is a teacher and a selectman in Westbrook.

Christopher Davis (R-57: East Windsor, Ellington) is a teaching assistant and former assistant clerk of the state legislature’s Finance Committee.

Leonard Greene, Jr (R-105: Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Seymour) works in public administration, and has worked as a community relations specialist for Regan Communications in Wallingford. He will serve in the seat his father held for nearly 12 years, until 2008.

Gregory Haddad (D-54: Chaplin, Mansfield) is Mansfield deputy mayor.

David Kiner (D-59: Enfield) is the head clerk of the State Legislature’s Public Safety and Security Committee, and a councilman in Enfield.

Brenda Kupchick (R-132: Fairfield) is a small business owner (Peter Kupchick Heating & Cooling Inc) and worked for US Representative Christopher Shays and State Senator John McKinney.

Gail Lavielle (R-143: Norwalk, Wilton) teaches business courses at UConn and held executive leadership positions in Fortune 500 companies.

Roland Lemar (D-96: Hamden, New Haven) is alderman from New Haven’s Ninth Ward and does public awareness and communications for some environmental groups.

Geoffrey Luxenberg (D-12) is development officer for Manchester Area Conference of Churches Inc.

Michael Molgano (R-144: Stamford) is an information technology consultant who worked for Praxair Inc for 26 years, and member of the Stamford Board of Representatives.

Elaine O’Brien (D-61: East Granby, Suffield, Windsor) is town clerk of Suffield.

Matthew Ritter (D-1: Bloomfield, Hartford, Manchester), is an attorney.

Kim Rose (D-118: Milford) ran Grandmas Attic antique shop in Milford and co-founded the Downtown Milford Business Association.

Daniel Rovero (D-51: Killingly, Putnam, Thompson), former mayor of Putnam, is a retired small business owner.

Robert Sampson (R-80) is a realtor and insurance agent.

John Shaban (R-135: Easton, Redding, Weston) is an attorney focusing on commercial litigation.

William Simanski (R-62: Barkhamsted, East Granby, Granby, New Hartford) is a senior insurance claim supervisor at The Hartford.

Richard Smith (R-108: Kent, New Fairfield, New Milford, Sherman) is a senior partner of Smith & Pancrazio, LLP, a general practice law firm.

Prasad Srinivasan (R-31: Glastonbury) is a doctor in the Hartford area.

Jonathan Steinberg (D-136: Westport) is a member of the Westport Representative Town Council and has been an executive with large corporations.

William Wadsworth (R-21: Farmington) is a construction manager and was the vice president of CASLE Corporation located in Avon. He also is on the Farmington Town Council.

David Yaccarino (R-87: North Haven) is a small business owner. For the past 19 years, he has owned and operated DJ’s Sports Collectible and Comics in North Haven.