Erick Russell is an American politician from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. A member of 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 ...

, he is the

Connecticut State Treasurer The Connecticut State Treasurer serves the office of treasurer for the state of Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Ma ...

. He is the first openly gay African American elected to a statewide office in the United States.

Early life and career

Russell grew up 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 134,02 ...

, where his parents owned a convenience store and deli. He graduated from the University of New Haven in 2009 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...

, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. Russell earned his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Connecticut School of Law The University of Connecticut School of Law (UConn Law) is the law school associated with the University of Connecticut and located in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the only public law school in Connecticut and one of only four in New England. In ...

in 2012. During law school, he interned for the

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

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 ...

Dannel Malloy Dannel Patrick Malloy (; born July 21, 1955) is an American politician, who served as the 88th governor of Connecticut from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he chaired the Democratic Governors Association from 2016 to 2017. On July ...

. After graduating from law school, Russell joined law firm Pullman & Comley, based 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 ...

, in their department on public and private financing, and became a

partner Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

in the firm. He also chairs the LGBT section of the

Connecticut Bar Association The Connecticut State Bar Association (CBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of Connecticut. History The CBA was founded on June 2, 1875. In 1878, members of CBA met in Saratoga Springs, New York, to lead in founding the national ba ...

. In 2009, Russell was elected as a vice chair of the

Connecticut Democratic Party The Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee (CT Dems) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Connecticut. Its chair is Nancy DiNardo. Democrats control both chambers of the state legislature, all constitutional state off ...

Connecticut State Treasurer

After

Shawn Wooden announced that he would not run for reelection in the

2022 Connecticut State Treasurer election The 2022 Connecticut State Treasurer election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the next Connecticut State Treasurer. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party Treasurer Shawn Wooden (politician), Shawn Wooden did not ...

, Russell announced his candidacy to succeed him. He defeated Dita Bhargava and Karen DuBois-Walton in the Democratic Party primary election in August, receiving 58 percent of the vote. In the November general election, Russell faced state representative

Harry Arora Harry Arora (born December 16, 1969) is an Indian-born American politician who served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 151st District, serving from 2020 to 2023. In 2018, Arora ran against incumbent Jim Himes in the ...

, the Republican Party nominee. Russell won the election with 52 percent of the vote. Russell became the first openly gay African American elected to a statewide office in the United States. He was sworn into office on January 4, 2023.

Personal life

Russell's husband, Christopher Lyddy, is a former 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 ...

References

External links

Government website

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Erick 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians Connecticut Democrats Connecticut lawyers American gay politicians African-American LGBT people LGBT people from Connecticut Living people Politicians from New Haven, Connecticut State treasurers of Connecticut University of Connecticut School of Law alumni University of New Haven alumni Year of birth missing (living people)