With less than two months to go before election day on November 6, 2018, ¶¶Òô»ÆƬapp is well represented across multiple races in Connecticut state politics this year.
One of the clearest lessons our Fairfield education instills in us is the need to live as ‘men and women for others.’ I am blessed to be able to call upon my Jesuit training as we work to lift the economy of our state, provide access to justice in our courts, and better the lives of those we serve in our communities.
— Representative Steven Stafstrom '05
Among alumni running in the general election is Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski ’84, who faces Democrat Ned Lamont for the governor’s seat. Following his graduation from ¶¶Òô»ÆƬapp with an accounting degree, Stefanowski began his career at Pricewaterhouse Coopers where he became a senior auditor and then a litigation consultation at Freeman & Mills, Inc., before joining General Electric in 1994.
At a Republican gubernatorial debate this summer held at ¶¶Òô»ÆƬapp, Stefanowski said, “It’s great to be back. I graduated from this University in 1984… I think I’m a good example of the value of a Jesuit education. When I left Fairfield, I had a job within 90 days up at Pricewaterhouse in Hartford. At General Electric, I was one of the top 50 people in a company with 300,000 employees, and I was a CFO of UBS investment bank where I had a 500 billion dollar business in over 35 countries.”
Another member of the class of 1984, Bryan LeClerc, graduated from Fairfield with a degree in politics and from the University of Connecticut’s School of Law in 1987. LeClerc is running for the open probate judgeship against Democrat Kate Neary Maxham, a seat that is open due to the death of Probate Judge Daniel Caruso earlier this year. The Fairfield Probate District is one of 54 probate courts in Connecticut and has jurisdiction over the Town of Fairfield.
A partner at Berchem Moses, LeClerc is a widely recognized lawyer in the fields of business and commercial law, zoning and land use, and litigation. He is a 30-year resident of Fairfield whose community leadership includes serving on the board of managers for the Fairfield YMCA, on the board of directors for the Connecticut Yankee Council Boy Scouts of America, and as a scoutmaster since 2010. He has also served on the RTM from 1991 to 2007 where he was both majority leader and moderator.
As a student at Fairfield, LeClerc said he was encouraged and inspired to serve others, and he received the Student Achievement Award at graduation for his involvement in the University's service club. “I am privileged to have received an education at ¶¶Òô»ÆƬapp and have always embraced the Jesuit values of service that I learned there.” He continued, “As both a community volunteer and lawyer, I help people on a daily basis. And that is why I am seeking the office of Judge of Probate — to continue to serve others in the Jesuit tradition.”
LeClerc is a past president of Fairfield’s Alumni Association and a Trustee's Advisory Council member, and he has served on the Fairfield Awards Dinner committee and as a mentor to several basketball players.
State Representative Steven Stafstrom ’05 is completing his second term representing District 129 -- the Bridgeport neighborhoods of Black Rock, Brooklawn, and the West End. He is currently assistant majority leader and vice-chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Stafstrom, a Democratic member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, is running in the general election in November after advancing from the primary on August 14. All 151 House seats are up for election in 2018.
As a member of the Bridgeport City Council and other organizations, Stafstrom has worked to improve the city’s business climate and quality of life. He is a civil litigation attorney at the Bridgeport-based law firm of Pullman and Comley, LLC.
At Fairfield, Stafstrom earned a Bachelor of Arts in politics and philosophy from 2001-2005, and a J.D. from the Saint Louis University School of Law. While at Fairfield, Stafstrom was part of the inaugural class of the Ignatian Residential College and then served as a resident assistant to the program for two more years. As an alumnus, his connection to Fairfield runs deep. Stafstrom spent several years on the Alumni Association Board and in his first election to the legislature, he was heavily assisted by several of his former Fairfield politics professors who live in the district he represents.
“One of the clearest lessons our Fairfield education instills in us is the need to live as ‘men and women for others.’ I am blessed to be able to call upon my Jesuit training as we work to lift the economy of our state, provide access to justice in our courts, and better the lives of those we serve in our communities.”
A Fairfield Class of 1998 alumna, State Representative Rosa C. Rebimbas (R-Naugatuck), is a Republican member of the Connecticut House of Representatives representing District 70; she ran unopposed in the Republican primary on August 14, and is running in the general election on November 6.
State Representative Rebimbas was first elected to the Connecticut State House of Representatives representing the 70th district of Naugatuck in a special election in March of 2009. She is a former ranking member of the General Law Committee and former member of the Public Safety and Security Committee, Children’s Committee, Appropriations, and Energy and Technology Committees, and she has served on the Water Pollution Board and Naugatuck Finance Board. She is currently president of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Waterbury.
Rebimbas '98 graduated from Fairfield with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in political science and secondary education, with a minor in Faith, Peace, and Justice. She earned a J.D. from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. She returned to Naugatuck to practice law and give back to the local community, and started The Law Offices of Rosa C. Rebimbas LLC.
Also running in the general election in November, is Fairfield alumnus and Democratic member of the Connecticut State Senate, representing District 11, Martin Looney ‘70. Looney is in his thirteenth term having been elected in the State Senate in 1992. In January of 2015 Senator Looney was elected by members of the State Senate to serve as President Pro Tempore, the highest-ranking legislator in the Connecticut General Assembly. Prior to being elected as Senate president, Looney served 12 years as Senate Majority Leader. Throughout his career he has served as Senate Chair of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee; Chairman of the Banks Committee; and he spent one term as ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.
Looney earned his Bachelor of Arts in English and theology from ¶¶Òô»ÆƬapp in 1970 and his MA in English from the University of Connecticut in 1972. He later earned his J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1985.
