Matt Lesser

Matt L. Lesser is an American politician who represents the 9th district in the Connecticut Senate. First elected to the State House in 2008, Lesser was re-elected in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016. In 2018 he was elected as state senator for the 9th district, winning 57% of the vote.[1][2]

Matthew Lesser
Connecticut Senator from the 9th District
Assumed office
January 9, 2019
Preceded byPaul R. Doyle
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 100th District
In office
January, 2009 – January 9, 2019
Preceded byRaymond C. Kalinowski
Succeeded byQuentin Phipps
Personal details
Born (1983-04-29) April 29, 1983
Washington, DC
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceMiddletown, Connecticut
Alma materWesleyan University

Political career

Early years

In 2006, Lesser, as a full-time student at Wesleyan University and President of the College Democrats of Connecticut, organized the largest student voter mobilization drive in the country.[3]

Lesser was elected as Chairman of the Middletown Planning and Zoning Commission.[4]

State House

On May 20, 2008, Lesser, then a student at Wesleyan University, was selected to run as the second youngest candidate for State Representative at the Democratic 100th District Convention.[5][6] Lesser received the endorsement of then-Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, who once held the 100th District State representative seat.[7] Lesser also received support from State Senator Tom Gaffey and Middletown DTC Chairman Dan Russo.[8] Lesser defeated three-term incumbent Ray Kalinowski.[9][10]

In the state House, Lesser served as the chairman of the Banking Committee. Additionally, he sat on the Government Administration and Elections and Insurance and Real Estate Committees.[11]

Since taking office in 2009, Lesser has written and passed a number of laws, including Connecticut's first in the nation Student Loan Bill of Rights,[12] an act prohibiting fracking waste from being dumped in Connecticut,[13] and updated workplace safety standards.[11] An advocate of voting rights, Lesser considered running for Connecticut secretary of state in 2018 and formed an exploratory committee, but said he would only run if Denise W. Merrill did not seek election.[14][15]

In 2012, Lesser was elected to the Democratic Party's National Platform Committee.[16]

State Senate

Lesser announced a run for state senator in May 2018.[17] He won the August 2018 primary against former state representative Antonio Guerrera.[18] The general election featured some controversy when the campaign of Republican candidate Ed Charamut sent our a mailer to voters attacking Lesser, featuring an altered image of Lesser clutching $100 bills; the mailer garnered national media attention and was denounced for its use of antisemitic tropes.[19][20] Lesser won the general election in November and was appointed as Senate Chairman of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee in the following month.[21][22]

As a state senator, Lesser has written laws to guarantee mental health parity,[23] expand access to epinephrine devices and EpiPens in public venues,[24] and to cap the cost of insulin at $25, the lowest such cap in the United States.[25] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lesser wrote a law expanding access to telehealth.[26]

During the 2019 legislative session, Lesser championed a health care reform effort to create a public health insurance option in the state of Connecticut (dubbed "the Connecticut Option").[27][28] He overseeing the bill from his position as Co-Chair when it passed out of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee.[28] The bill also passed the House Appropriations Committee on a 29–19 vote.[27] The effort ultimately failed amid opposition from health insurers.[29]

Personal life

Lesser lives in Middletown's North End with his wife Sarah, their son, and their dog Lucy.[11]

Electoral history
Connecticut 100th House District Election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes
Republican Raymond C. Kalinowski (inc.) 5,787
Democratic Matthew L. Lesser 6,186
Connecticut 100th House District Election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes
Republican John Swewczyk 4,433
Democratic Matthew L. Lesser (inc.) 4,756
Connecticut 100th House District Election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes
Republican Deborah A. Kleckowksi 3,057
Democratic Matthew L. Lesser (inc.) 6, 677
Connecticut 100th House District Election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes
Democratic Matthew L. Lesser (inc.) 4,558
Republican Angel R. Fernandez 2,138
Working Families Matthew L. Lesser 537
Connecticut 100th House District Election, 2016 [30]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Matthew L. Lesser (inc.) 6,417 62.61
Republican Anthony R.J. Moran 3,136 30.60
Working Families Matthew L. Lesser 696 6.79
Connecticut 9th Senate District Election, 2018[31]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Matthew L. Lesser 22,724 54.22
Republican Ed Charamut 17,674 42.15
Working Families Matthew L. Lesser 1,519 3.62
Connecticut 9th Senate District Election, 2020[32]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Matthew L. Lesser 29,473 54.75
Republican Richard Ruglio 21,609 40.22
Working Families Matthew L. Lesser 1,509 2.81
Independent Richard Ruglio 1,139 2.12

References
  1. "About Senator Lesser". www.senatedems.ct.gov. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
  2. "Matthew Lesser". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
  3. "The CT Mirror » Political Guide". The CT Mirror. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
  4. Olivia Drake, Lesser '10 State Rep. Elect for Middletown, Wesleyan University (November 11, 2008).
  5. "Convention Updates". 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-01-05. Retrieved 2011-01-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Susan Bysiewicz at 100th House District Convention". 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  8. "Matt Lesser Nominated in 100th District". Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  9. "Candidate Cites His Experience". The Baltimore Sun. 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  10. "Stay With Ray". The Town Times. 2008-06-13. pp. 8 & 20. Archived from the original on 2008-06-21. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  11. "Biography". 17 December 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  12. "State Representative Matthew Lesser". www2.housedems.ct.gov. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  13. "No fracking in Connecticut, but what about its waste?". Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  14. "Middletown's state Rep. Matt Lesser considering bid for Connecticut secretary of state in 2018". Middletown Press. April 18, 2017.
  15. Cassandra Day, Connecticut state Rep. Matt Lesser raises $58,000 for possible 2018 secretary of the state bid, New Haven Register (July 7, 2017).
  16. "Drew, Lesser named to Democratic Party leadership posts". New Haven Register. August 9, 2012.
  17. Staff, Press (2018-05-23). "Middletown state Rep. Lesser running for 9th District Senate". Connecticut Post. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  18. Beals, Shawn R. "Matt Lesser Wins Democratic 9th Senate Primary". courant.com. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  19. Foderaro, Lisa W. (2018-10-30). "Political Mailer Prompts Charges of Anti-Semitism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  20. Rosenberg, Eli (October 31, 2018). "Republican mailer depicts a Jewish candidate gripping cash and grinning. The GOP is no longer defending it". Washington Post. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  21. Beals, Shawn R. "Lesser Wins 9th Senate District In Race That Gained National Attention For Anti-Semitism Charges". courant.com. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
  22. Ramirez, Hector (2018-12-27). "Senator-Elect Matt Lesser appointed to Co-Chair of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee". WTNH. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
  23. Carlesso, Jenna (2019-07-19). "Mental health parity bill signed into law". CT Mirror. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  24. Staff, Press (2019-07-07). "New CT law makes epinephrine devices, EpiPens available in public venues". Middletown Press. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  25. "Co-Pays for Insulin and Diabetes Medications Capped at $25 in Connecticut".
  26. "Senator Lesser Leads Passage of Telehealth and Insulin Bills".
  27. Staff, Press (2019-05-03). "Connecticut lawmakers celebrate health care public option bill". The Middletown Press. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
  28. "Public option health insurance bills clear committee". The CT Mirror. 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
  29. Shefali Luthra, Insurers Sank Connecticut's 'Public Option.' Would A National Version Survive?, KHN (March 4, 2020).
  30. "Connecticut 100th District State House Results: Matt Lesser Wins". The New York Times. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  31. Beals, Shawn R. "Lesser Wins 9th Senate District In Race That Gained National Attention For Anti-Semitism Charges". courant.com. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  32. Day, Cassandra (3 November 2020). "Heavy turnout in Middletown; Dem looks to win 33rd House as votes counted in other races". The Middletown Press.
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