Gayle Slossberg

Gayle Slossberg (born May 14, 1965) is an American politician. A Democrat, Slossberg is a former seven term Connecticut State Senator having served between 2005 and 2019.[1]

Gayle Slossberg
Member of the Connecticut State Senate
from the 14th district
In office
2005–2019
Preceded byWin Smith
Succeeded byJames Maroney
ConstituencyRepresents Milford, Orange, and parts of Woodbridge and West Haven
Personal details
Born (1965-05-14) May 14, 1965
Brookline, Massachusetts
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseDavid Slossberg
ChildrenBecca, Alex, Jeremy
ResidenceMilford, Connecticut
Websitehttp://www.senatedems.ct.gov/slossberg

A resident of Milford, Slossberg as senator represented the western suburbs of New Haven in the Connecticut Senate's 14th District, which includes the city of Milford, the town of Orange, the town of Woodbridge, and part of the city of West Haven.[2]

Slossberg was born and raised in Massachusetts, graduated from Cornell University in 1987, and earned a J.D. degree from New York University School of Law in 1990. She practiced law in New York with the firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton before moving to Milford.

Slossberg served on the board of directors of the Milford Visiting Nurses Association, is a past president of the Mathewson Elementary School PTA, and is a member of the Endowment Committee for Bridges. She mentored a teen mom via “Bright Beginnings,” a Yale-New Haven Hospital program that brings together experienced mothers with teenage mothers to be.[3] Prior to being elected to the Senate, Slossberg served on the Milford Board of Aldermen and was its Democratic minority leader from 2001 to 2004.

Legislative career

In 2004, Slossberg was elected to the Connecticut Senate by defeating six-term incumbent Republican Win Smith by about 1,600 votes. A bizarre incident occurred late in the campaign regarding allegations that Slossberg lawn signs were dumped at a local synagogue.[4] A Slossberg aide claimed it was a hate crime, but no evidence in support of this charge was ever provided.[5]

In the 2005-2006 legislative sessions, Slossberg served as co-chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee, on which she worked for a veterans' benefits package, which included establishing a Military Family Relief Fund to provide financial assistance to family members of people serving in both the U.S. armed forces and the Connecticut National Guard. Slossberg also created the Depleted Uranium Task Force to study the effects of toxic substances on soldiers who fought in the Middle East.

In 2006, Slossberg won re-election against Barbara Lisman, the widow of former Milford Mayor Frederick L. Lisman.

In the 2007 legislative session, Slossberg served as chair of the Government Administration & Elections Committee, vice chair of the Public Health Committee, vice chair of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and as a Member of the Appropriations Committee.

In 2007, Slossberg proposed that Connecticut adopt same-day voter registration. Republicans charged that such systems enable voter fraud to be committed. For that reason, then-Governor John G. Rowland vetoed a similar bill in 2003.[6]

On December 11, 2007, Slossberg proposed ethics reforms for the Connecticut Senate in wake of the CSU bonding scandal centered around fellow Democratic Senator Thomas Gaffey.

In January 2008, Slossberg opposed Governor M. Jodi Rell's proposal to pass a Three Strikes Law mandating life prison terms for career violent criminals. Rell had sought this reform in the wake of a 2007 home invasion in Cheshire.

In the November 4, 2008 election, Slossberg defeated Republican challenger Vincent Marino, town attorney of Orange, to win re-election. Slossberg faced Marino again in the 2010 election and was re-elected to a fourth term.[7]

On April 29, 2014, she voted for a comprehensive campus sexual assault safety bill which aims to protect more people, apply to additional schools, provide on-call crisis counseling and ensure sexual assault victims' anonymity is protected when issuing a report.[8]

In 2017 Slossberg attempted to stop a $10 million improvement plan for Silver Sands State Park, but was unsuccessful.[9]

In October 2017 while discussing with UConn College Democrats her efforts to purge local school libraries of books containing offensive language, Gayle Slossberg used the "N-word" in its explicit form without euphemisms. Her use of the word was highly offensive to the group and others including the NAACP. Slossberg later issued an apology.[10]

In February 2018 Slossberg announced as co-chair of the education committee that she got approval for the West Haven High School to do a $130 million renovation, which will help ingrate education and enrollment in the school.[11]

On March 8, 2018, Slossberg announced that she would not be a candidate for reelection.[12]

References
  1. Keating, Neil Vigdor, Christopher. "Sen. Gayle Slossberg Won't Seek Re-Election To CT Senate". courant.com. Retrieved 2018-04-13.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. "Gayle Slossberg CT State Senator for Milford, Orange, West Haven, Woodbridge". CBIA. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  3. "Senator Gayle Slossberg". State Senate Democrats. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  4. www.wtnh.com https://web.archive.org/web/20070927041014/http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=2502731. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. "Jewish candidate calls sign-dumping hate crime". Connecticut Post. November 1, 2004. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  6. Haigh, Susan (September 28, 2004). "Groups sue over Conn. voter registration". Boston Globe. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  7. Dion, Jill K. (November 2, 2010). "Democrats grab all Milford seats". Milford Mirror. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  8. Ammirati, Andrew. "Slossberg Champions New Sexual Assault Regulations for All Connecticut Colleges and Universities". State Senate Democrats. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  9. "Slossberg says she won't run again". Fairfield Citizen. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  10. Gomez-Aceves, Sandra. "Senator Facing Backlash For Using N-Word During Talk With UConn College Democrats - Hartford Courant". courant.com. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  11. Joseph, Adam. "Slossberg and West Haven Officials Announce New Renovation Plan for West Haven High School". www.senatedems.ct.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  12. "Sen. Gayle Slossberg Won't Seek Re-Election To CT Senate". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
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