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. 

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