Dan Debicella (born October 24, 1974) is a former State Senator and businessman, who represented the 21st district in 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 ...

. He was also the 2010 and 2014 Republican candidate for Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District.

Early life, education, and business career

Debicella was born in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

and raised in

Shelton Shelton may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Shelton, North Bedfordshire, in the parish of Dean and Shelton, Bedfordshire *Lower Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire *Upper Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfor ...

, where he currently resides. His father, Cal, was a

policeman A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

for the

Bridgeport Police Department The Bridgeport Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency in Bridgeport, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is responsible for most law enforcement within the geographical boundaries of City of Bridgeport, with the ex ...

and his mother, Maggie, is a secretary for the federal judicial system. He graduated from Shelton High School in 1992. He holds a degree in finance,

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 ...

, from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Wharton School of Business The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

, graduating in the top 5% of his class. In his business career, Debicella worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Co., Director of Strategy at

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...

, and as an executive at

Bridgewater Associates Bridgewater Associates is an American investment management firm founded by Ray Dalio in 1975. The firm serves institutional clients including pension funds, endowments, foundations, foreign governments, and central banks. It utilizes a globa ...

. He continues to currently serves on the board of various community organizations.

Early political career

Debicella served on Shelton’s Board of Apportionment and Taxation for seven years, four as its chairman. Debicella acted as the

Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Fairfield County, Connecticut * Fairfield County, Ohio Fairfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,921. ...

regional chair for former

New York City Mayor The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...

's unsuccessful 2008

presidential campaign President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

. He also worked for State Senator Doc Gunther as his campaign manager for several elections.

Connecticut Senate

Elections

Debicella decided to run for the

's 21st district in 2006 after longest-serving state legislator in the state's history, Doc Gunther, decided to retire. He defeated Democratic nominee Christopher Jones, 52%-48%. In 2008, he won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee Janice Andersen, 54%-46%.

Tenure

In the State Senate, Debicella was a Deputy Minority Leader. He represented eastern

in parts of the towns of Monroe, Seymour, Stratford, and the entire city of

(which is also his hometown). He co-authored legislation that gave tax credits to businesses that create 10 or more jobs. Working with Republican

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

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 ...

, he supported a budget that increased state aid for education by 10-20% without raising taxes.

Committee assignments

*Appropriations Committee *Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee *Public Health Committee *Regulation Review Committee

Congressional elections

2010

Debicella decided to retire from the state legislature to run for

Connecticut's 4th congressional district Connecticut's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in the southwestern part of the state, the district is largely suburban and extends from Bridgeport, the largest city in the state, to ...

in 2010. On May 21, 2010, he won the endorsement of the

Connecticut Republican Party The Connecticut Republican Party is the Connecticut affiliate of the national Republican Party. Republicans control neither chamber of the state legislature, no constitutional state offices, none of the state's five seats in the U.S. House, and ...

at its convention. On August 10, 2010, Debicella won the Republican three-candidate primary field with 61% of the vote, defeating Robert Merkle and Rick Torres. The general election between Debicella and incumbent Democrat

Jim Himes James Andrew Himes (born July 5, 1966) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, he chaired the New Democrat Coalition in the 115th Congress (2017–2019). Him ...

was very competitive. The race made

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’s Top 100 Most Competitive Races list,

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’s Daily 10 (a tracker of the closest House Races), and

Real Clear Politics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political ...

’ list of “toss up” races. On November 2, he lost to Himes 53%-47%. Debicella won the following areas: Darien (67%), his hometown of

(65%),

New Canaan New Canaan () is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of G ...

(65%), Easton (58%), Monroe (58%),

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

(55%),

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

(55%), Ridgefield (54%), Wilton (54%), and Trumbull (53%). He lost Fairfield (49%), Redding (48%),

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

(47%), Westport (44%), Norwalk (40%), Stamford (39%), and Bridgeport (16%).

2014

In September 2013, Debicella decided to run a rematch in the newly redrawn 4th district.

Electoral history

References

External links

Campaign websiteProfile
at Connecticut Senate Republicans *
Campaign contributions
at

OpenSecrets.org OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Debicella, Dan 1974 births Living people Politicians from Bridgeport, Connecticut People from Shelton, Connecticut Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Harvard Business School alumni Republican Party Connecticut state senators McKinsey & Company people