Alex A. Knopp (born September 23, 1947) is an American professor and former politician who served three terms as a member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...

from the 139th District, which encompassed Norwalk, from 1987 to 1993. He served another four terms from the 137th District between 1993 to 2001 for the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. From 2001 to 2005, Knopp served two-terms as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County and ...

. He was defeated for re-election on November 8, 2005, by Republican Richard A. Moccia.

Early life and education

Knopp is the son of Burton Knopp and Fay Honey Irving of Westport. Knopp received his B.A. from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

in 1969, graduating

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

and

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

. He received his J.D. from

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of cou ...

in 1981, graduating as the

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

of his class.

Career

Since 2008, Knopp has been serving as the executive director of the Center for Public Service and Social Justice at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. Since 2006, he has also been a visiting clinical lecturer at

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

Politics

Prior to serving as mayor, he served eight terms as a member of the

, first representing the 139th District for three terms from 1987 to 1993 and then due to redistricting, representing the 137th District for four more terms from 1993 to 2001. He served two terms as Norwalk Councilman-at-Large from 1983 to 1987.

Personal life

On March 25, 1984, Knopp married Bette L. Bono (b. 1950), in

.Connecticut Marriage Index They have two children.

References

1940s births George Washington University Law School alumni Living people Mayors of Norwalk, Connecticut Democratic Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives People from Westport, Connecticut Wesleyan University alumni {{Connecticut-mayor-stub