Andrew W. Roraback (born March 29, 1960) is an American politician from Connecticut. He has served in both the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

and the

Connecticut State Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sen ...

, representing the Republican Party. As a legislator, he was a social moderate and a fiscal conservative. He never missed a roll call vote during his eighteen years in the General Assembly, earning the nickname "the Cal Ripken of the Senate." He became a judge of the

Connecticut Superior Court The Connecticut Superior Court is the state trial court of general jurisdiction. It hears all matters other than those of original jurisdiction of the Probate Court, and hears appeals from the Probate Court. The Superior Court has 13 judicial distr ...

in 2013.

Early life

Roraback was born in

Torrington, Connecticut Torrington is the most populated municipality and only city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the Northwest Hills region. It is also the core city of Greater Torrington, one of the largest micropolitan areas in the United States. The city p ...

. His father, Charlie Roraback, is an attorney with Roraback and Roraback, a law firm that was founded by his great-grandfather in 1883. His great-grandfather, Willard Andrew Roraback, was an attorney and a member of the

. His cousin was attorney Catherine Roraback. Roraback attended public schools in Torrington and in Litchfield. For high school, he attended the Hotchkiss School, graduating in 1978. He graduated with a B.A. cum laude from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1983, where he was a member of the fraternity St. Anthony Hall.Brethren in the News
. ''The Review''. St. Anthony Hall. Fall. 2010. In 1987, he earned a J.D. from the

University of Virginia Law School The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

Career

After law school, Roraback joined the law firm of Wiggin and Dana in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

. In 1988, he returned to Torrington to work with his father, his brother Chip, and his sister Margaret as a partner in the family law firm of Roraback and Roraback. This firm specializes in estates, real estate, and trusts. In 1994, he also became the town attorney for

Harwinton, Connecticut Harwinton is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 5,484 at the 2020 census. The high school is Lewis S. Mills. History The town incorporated in 1737. The name of the town alludes to Hartford and Windsor, Con ...

. Roraback had to resign from the family law practice when he was appointed to the Connecticut Superior Court in 2013. In January 2013, Governor Dannel P. Malloy appointed Roraback to an eight-year term as a

Judge. He was confirmed by the General Assembly on March 6 and was sworn into office on April 1, 2013. He starting salary as a judge was $146,780 a year. Roraback currently serves in the Civil Division of the Waterbury Judicial District. He says, "As a judge, I often now see how legislation I had a hand in crafting plays out in real life. In addition, much of my current work centers on trying to find common ground among parties as they struggle to resolve their disputes. While I do preside over a good number of trials, I find my most satisfying work to be leading parties in conflict to mediated settlements, and my work as a legislator has given me many skills that are helpful in this process."

Politics

Connecticut House of Representatives

Roraback served in the

from 1994 to 2000. In 1994, 1996, and 1998, Roraback was elected to represent the 64th Assembly District.

Connecticut Senate

Roraback served in the

from 2000 to 2012 for the 30th Senate District. The 30th district included the communities of Brookfield,

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, Goshen,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, Litchfield,

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

, New Milford,

North Canaan North Canaan is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,211 at the 2020 census. The town center is still called "Canaan", being the main town center of the old town of Canaan prior to North Canaan splitting o ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

, Sharon, Torrington,

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and Winchester. In June 2007, Roraback was elected Deputy Minority Leader Pro Tempore and Minority Caucus Chairman. He served on numerous General Assembly committees, including Environment; Executive and Legislative Nominations; Finance, Revenue & Bonding; Judiciary; and Regulation Review. He also was a member of the Speaker’s Task Force on Domestic Violence. In 2003, he successfully introduced Stephanie's Law, legislation requiring drivers who cause fatal accidents to submit to blood alcohol testing. In 2007, he also authored and successfully legislation to protect victims of domestic violence by allowing police to issue weekend restraining orders. Another law that he supported stopped harming or taking possession of pets in domestic violence restraining orders. In 2012, Roraback decided to run for the U.S. Congress, rather than to seek reelection to the State Senate.

Attorney General campaign

In early 2010, Roraback explored running for the office of Attorney General of Connecticut."Roraback Decides Not to Seek AG Bid"
''Housatonic Times'', April 18, 2010 In April he announced that he would not run. He said campaigning would involve being away from home six days a week, taking him away from his one-year-old son. However, he also said he would be seeking reelection in the State Senate.

United States Congress

In October 2011, Roraback announced his campaign for

Connecticut's 5th congressional district Connecticut's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in the western part of the state and spanning across parts of Fairfield, Litchfield, New Haven, and Hartford Counties, the distric ...

seat in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. As the Republican convention approached, he was endorsed by former Governor M. Jodi Rell. Rell decided to speak out when Roraback's opponents "started to try to paint him as some sort of right-wing nut, for lack of a better term, someone who was out of touch, nd ananti-woman legislator.'' At the congressional district's convention in May 2012, Roraback won the Republican endorsement with 53% of the delegates' votes. Three other Republican contenders—Mark Greenberg, Lisa Wilson-Foley, and Justin Bernier—each received enough votes to require that the party's nominee be the winner of a primary election, which was held on August 14;"Roraback wins GOP endorsement for 5th Congressional District in tight convention battle"
''The Republic'', May 18, 2012 In the primary, Roraback won 32% of the votes cast, exceeding his nearest opponent by 5 percentage points. Roraback does not always align with the Republican Party—he supports gay marriage, is pro-choice, and won't commit to no tax increases. As a result, he received endorsements from both sides of the spectrum, including the

United States Chamber of Commerce The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is the largest lobbying group in the United States, representing over three million businesses and organizations. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urgin ...

and the

Log Cabin Republicans The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is an organization within the Republican Party which advocates for equal rights for LGBT+ Americans. History Log Cabin Republicans was founded in 1977 in California as a rallying point for Republicans opposed t ...

, a gay rights group. He also secured general election endorsements from numerous newspapers across the state, including the Danbury's ''News-Times'', Waterbury's ''Republican American'', the ''Litchfield County Times'', the ''New Haven Register'', and the ''Housatonic Times''. In the general election, Roraback was narrowly defeated in what has been characterized as an "Obama headwind" by

Elizabeth Esty Elizabeth Esty (née Henderson; born August 25, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from from 2013 to 2019. A Democrat, she previously was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, repres ...

, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

and a one-term member of the Connecticut House of Representatives.

Professional affiliations

Roraback was a member of Governor

Jodi Rell Mary Carolyn "Jodi" Rell (née Reavis; born June 16, 1946) is an American former Republican politician and the 87th governor of Connecticut from 2004 until 2011. Rell also served as the state's 105th lieutenant governor of Connecticut. Rell was C ...

's Campaign Finance Reform Working Group. He was also appointed to the Litchfield Board of Ethics from 1990 to 1992. He is a member of the board of the Torrington Affordable Housing and a member of Torrington Child Care Center. He is a volunteer counsel with Main Street Action Team, Operation Yuli, and Torrington, Connecticut Legal Services. He participated in the Fleming Fellows Leadership Training at the Center for Policy Alternatives in 1999.

Awards

* Person of the Year, ''The Register Citizen'', 2012 * Distinguished First 100 Male Leader, Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 2011 * Children's Champion, Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance, 2009-2010 * Jack Shannahan Prize for Public Service, 2008 * Family Legislator of the Year, Connecticut Council of Family Service Agencies, 2007 * Connecticut Olmstead Award, 2007 * Aspen-Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership, Aspen Institute, 2006 * In 2005, he was honored by the Connecticut Association of Nonprofits “for his steadfast commitment and service to Connecticut’s nonprofit sector and for making a difference in the lives of the people of Connecticut.” * Legislator of the Year, Connecticut Farm Bureau Association, 2005 * Environmental Hero, Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, 2004 * Government Leader Against Drunk Driving (GADD),

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a non-profit organization in the United States, Canada and Brazil that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and strive for stricter impaired drivi ...

, 2004 * Environmental Hero,

Audubon The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such org ...

Connecticut, 2003 * Recognition Award, Connecticut Greenways Council, 2003 * Legislator of the Year, Working Lands Alliance, 2002 * Montgomery Hare Environmental Defender Award, Housatonic Valley Association * Connecticut Chapter of the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill recognized Roraback for his advocacy on behalf of individuals with psychiatric disabilities.

Personal life

Roraback is married to Kara Dowling. They have a son named Andrew Kevin Raraback who was born around 2009. They lived in Goshen, Connecticut, but later moved to Litchfield by 2019. He is an Episcopalian. He is a member of the Torrington Historical Society, the Goshen Historical Society, and the Yale Club of Northwestern Connecticut. He was served as president of the Litchfield County University Club.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Roraback, Andrew 1960 births Living people People from Torrington, Connecticut American Episcopalians Hotchkiss School alumni Yale University alumni St. Anthony Hall University of Virginia School of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Republican Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Republican Party Connecticut state senators People from Goshen, Connecticut 21st-century American judges