Connecticut
Looney announces he will not seek reelection; names his chosen successors
HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — State Sen. Martin Looney, the longest serving Senate president in Connecticut’s history, announced Saturday that he will not seek reelection to another term in office.
“Serving the people of Connecticut in the General Assembly for 46 years has been the great privilege of my public life,” Looney said in a statement.
Looney announced his decision to a private meeting of the Senate’s Democratic office on Saturday afternoon, shortly before the chamber convened for a rare weekend session to approve adjustments to the state budget.
Raised in New Haven to parents who immigrated from Ireland, Looney has served in the legislature since 1981. He held a seat in the state House for 12 years before being elected to the Senate in 1992. In 2003, his colleagues elected him majority leader and then Senate president pro tempore a dozen years later.
Technically, the role of President pro tempore is to preside over the State Senate in the absence of the lieutenant governor. Practically, the role is the Senate’s prime leadership position and one of the most powerful public offices in the state. The Senate president wields immense influence over which bills are put up for votes, which senators receive desirable committee postings and which policies are prioritized by the caucus in each year’s legislative session.
From his perch atop the upper chamber, Looney has consistently preached and advanced an agenda firmly aligned with his party’s progressive wing.
“I was raised by New Deal Democratic immigrant parents and believe to my core that enlightened public policy can deliver positive transformation when government takes its obligations seriously,” Looney said.
In his years as the Senate’s top leader, Looney shepherded the passage of Connecticut’s $15 minimum wage law, helped establish paid family and medical leave, fought for tax relief for the working poor and negotiated a landmark budget framework that has defined the last decade of legislative debate over state spending.
The long arc of Looney’s career as a state lawmaker spans across the administrations of six governors: O’Neill, Weicker, Rowland, Rell, Malloy and Lamont. Throughout that time, he has variously played the role of ally, leader among the opposition and intraparty counterweight – always working to nudge Democrats in a more progressive direction.
His reputation as a labor-aligned man of the left made him at times the subject of Republican scorn, but those political disagreements were always accompanied by deep respect on the other side of the aisle.
“Marty Looney is one of the finest public servants I have ever met,” John McKinney, a retired state senator who led the Republican minority opposite Looney for eight years, said. “Marty never made it about himself. He wasn’t flashy or bombastic. He was always about policy and trying to make life better for his constituents and the people of Connecticut. When Marty rose to speak, you listened. Marty also cared deeply about the institution and protected it at every opportunity. And when it came to using the levers of power, whether as a Committee Chairman, Majority Leader or Senate President, no one did it better.”
Gov. Ned Lamont, a moderate Democrat who has occasionally found himself at odds with the more progressive Looney, echoed that sentiment.
“I am grateful for the service of Marty Looney, who has been a steady, principled voice in the Connecticut General Assembly for working families and the kind of patient, serious legislating that produces lasting results,” Lamont said.
The governor also noted another one of Looney’s most endearing qualities: a near encyclopedic knowledge of history.
“Marty and I would sit down to work through policy and inevitably find ourselves deep in a discussion about American history,” Lamont said. “We shared a particular appreciation for Calvin Coolidge, or ‘Silent Cal’ – a man who understood that not every moment required a speech.”
Looney’s impact on state politics extends far beyond the ornate halls of the Senate chamber. In New Haven, he has been a defining force in city politics, sitting near the center of a multigenerational tapestry of political alliances often rooted in family and lifelong relationships. Looney allies and friends dot the Elm City’s political landscape.
Vincent Mauro Jr., a longtime Looney aide and confidant, serves as chair of New Haven’s Democratic Town Committee. Dominic Balletto Jr., another Looney ally, served as state Democratic Party chairman. State Rep. Alphonse Paolillo Jr., a contemporary and longtime friend of Mauro’s, served on the Board of Alders before heading to Hartford.
Paolillo has Looney’s support to succeed him in the Senate. State Sen. Bob Duff, the current majority leader and second-in-command Democrat, has Looney’s support to be the next Senate president.
Looney’s announcement was accompanied by a reassurance that commemorations of his service would not slow down the final few days of the legislative session. Lawmakers will conclude their business on Wednesday at the strike of midnight. The speeches and ovations that typically accompany the retirement of a longtime legislator will be postponed until the end of the month, after the session is over.
Stay with News 8 for updates.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Looking for a free way to stay cool this summer in Connecticut?
Parks, recreation centers and beaches across the state are opening as temperatures continue to climb.
See News 8’s developing list below:
New Haven
- Foote Park in Brandford
- East Haven Town Beach
- Quasy Amusement Park in Middlebury
- Lighthouse Point Park
- Nolan Athletic Complex in Ansonia
- Villano Park in Hamden
Hartford
- Verplanck Elementary School in Manchester
- Nathan Hale in Beach in Manchester
- A.W. Stanley Park Pool in New Britain
- Willow Brook Park Pool in New Britain
- Chesley Park in New Britain
- Willow Street Park in New Britain
- Beachland Park in West Hartford
- Fernridge Park in West Hartford
- Kennedy Park in West Hartford
Middlesex
- Watrous Park in Cromwell
- Clinton Town Beach
- Veterans Memorial Park in Middletown
New London
- The Dinosaur Place in Montville
Windham
- Paderewski Park in Plainville
Splash pad locations operate at different times. Contact each location for specifics on parking, opening times and residency requirements.
Have a splash pad to add to our list? Email webproducer-wtnh@nexstar.tv
Download the News 8 app to get breaking news and weather alerts.
Watch News 8 on WTNH.com or the free WTNH News 8 streaming app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and select Samsung Smart TVs.
Connecticut
Experts issue pet safety reminders during stretches of high heat, humidity in Connecticut
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — As high heat and humidity stretch across Connecticut for the next couple of days, experts are warning pet owners that this weather can be tough on their furry friends.
Old Lyme Veterinary Hospital chief surgeon Dr. Cornelius Marrinan joined News 8 live with some safety reminders on Thursday.
To watch the full video, click on the player above.
Connecticut
A 300-Year-Old House, the Oldest in Ridgefield, Connecticut, Is Selling as Part of an Amenity-Filled Family Compound
This two-house, two-barn compound includes the oldest home in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and stands right on the town’s historic and famously charming Main Street.
“It’s actually two distinct houses, two really iconic landmark properties on Main Street” that have been carefully restored and renovated, said listing agent Laura Ancona, of William Pitt/Julia B Fee Sotheby’s International Realty.
“Over $10 million has been spent in top-of-the-line improvements and designer appointments inside and out,” according to the listing.
The older home, known as the Hawley House, was built in 1713 for the Rev. Thomas Hawley, a minister who was also the schoolmaster and town clerk, Ancona said. “It’s quite a stylish home for the time, with high ceilings, wide-board floors and multiple fireplaces,” she said.
Other features include a gambrel roof, original paneling on the fireplace wall of one living room, original fireplace mantels, many of the original hand-blown glass windows, an original Dutch door and hand-hewn beams, according to information provided by the agent. An original double-seated, white clapboard outhouse rests about 100 feet behind the home.
The 300-year-old house is on the National Register of Historic Places as well as being one of the 32 “Stations of History” on Ridgefield’s “Museum in the Streets” tour, Ancona said.
MORE: Tour More One-of-a-Kind Homes In Out Listing of the Day Series
The 1777 Battle of Ridgefield in the Revolutionary War was fought on Main Street and it was also where Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold’s horse was shot out from under him, she said. “We’re very historic, very Colonial.”
“It’s one of the top Main Streets in the country,” Ancona said. “It’s a Norman Rockwell-esque, tree-lined Main Street. Ridgefield is very protective of its Main Street.”
The second house on the compound, a Gothic Revival Victorian, was built by Hawley’s descendants in 1826, she said. “It’s very grand, very colorful,” now with four finished levels.
“It was not as well upkept as it should have been” when the sellers bought it in 2002 and began a multiyear renovation soon after, Ancona said. They were able to recreate much of the original architectural details from old photos.
The gray barn/carriage house associated with the Victorian has been renovated to now include a kitchen and great room that opens to the pool area, a gym and sauna, a poker room, a game room with a bar, an arcade and a movie theater for 30-plus people, she said. “It’s a completely tricked-out party barn.”
There’s also a circa-1900 red barn that now holds an indoor basketball court, an arts-and-crafts studio and a second-floor office with a conference room, according to the listing. It was updated and redone in 2012.
Both lots, which together are 3.16 acres, are quite deep with long driveways, which offers a great deal of privacy, even while being on Main Street, Ancona said.
“You can walk to town and still have all of this privacy,” she said.
Stats
The 8,934-square-foot compound has eight bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and two partial bathrooms. It sits on a 3.16-acre lot.
Amenities
Amenities include a heated pool and spa, a pool/carriage house, two two-car garages (one with two Tesla chargers), seven fireplaces, a gym and sauna, an indoor basketball court, a brick courtyard, a pergola, an outdoor kitchen, a home office with a conference room, an arts-and-crafts studio, a bar and game room, a poker room, an arcade and a movie theater.
Neighborhood Notes
The home is within walking distance of everything Main Street has to offer, including museums, the library, Ballard Park, an old-fashioned hardware store and lots of independent shops and restaurants, Ancona said. “There is no fast food in all of Ridgefield.”
Ridgefield is adjacent to Westchester County in New York, and it’s about a 30-minute drive to the Westchester County Airport, she said. Ridgefield is about 90 miles from Manhattan.
Agent: Laura Ancona, William Pitt/Julia B Fee Sotheby’s International Realty
View the original listing.
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