Gayle Slossberg (born May 14, 1965) is an
American politician. 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 ...
, Slossberg is a former seven term
Connecticut State Senator
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. Senat ...
having served between 2005 and 2019.
A resident of
Milford Milford may refer to:
Place names Canada
* Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia
* Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia
* Milford, Ontario
England
* Milford, Derbyshire
* Milford, Devon, a place in Devon
* Milford on Sea, Hampshire
* Milford, Shro ...
, Slossberg as senator represented the western suburbs of
New Haven
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 ...
in the Connecticut Senate's 14th District, which includes the city of Milford, the town of
Orange, the town of
Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland''
*Woodbridge, Tasmania
Canada
*Woodbridge, Ontario
England
*Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of
** Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...
, and part of the city of
West Haven.
Slossberg was born and raised in
, graduated from
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
in 1987, and earned a
J.D. degree from
New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...
in 1990. She practiced law in New York with the firm of
Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (known as Cleary Gottlieb) is an American multinational law firm headquartered at One Liberty Plaza in New York City. Known as a white shoe law firm, Cleary employs over 1,200 lawyers worldwide.
History
The ...
before moving to Milford.
Slossberg served on the board of directors of the Milford Visiting Nurses Association, is a past president of th
Mathewson Elementary School PTA, and is a member of the Endowment Committee for Bridges. She mentored a teen mom via “Bright Beginnings,” a Yale-New Haven Hospital program that brings together experienced mothers with teenage mothers to be. Prior to being elected to the Senate, Slossberg served on the Milford Board of Aldermen and was its Democratic minority leader from 2001 to 2004.
Legislative career
In 2004, Slossberg was elected to the
Connecticut 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. Sena ...
by defeating six-term incumbent
Republican Win Smith by about 1,600 votes. A bizarre incident occurred late in the campaign regarding allegations that Slossberg
lawn signs were dumped at a local synagogue. A Slossberg aide claimed it was a hate crime, but no evidence in support of this charge was ever provided.
In the 2005-2006 legislative sessions, Slossberg served as co-chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee, on which she worked for a veterans' benefits package, which included establishing a Military Family Relief Fund to provide financial assistance to family members of people serving in both the U.S. armed forces and the Connecticut National Guard. Slossberg also created the Depleted Uranium Task Force to study the effects of toxic substances on soldiers who fought in the Middle East.
In 2006, Slossberg won re-election against Barbara Lisman, the widow of former Milford Mayor Frederick L. Lisman.
In the 2007 legislative session, Slossberg served as chair of the Government Administration & Elections Committee, vice chair of the Public Health Committee, vice chair of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and as a Member of the Appropriations Committee.
In 2007, Slossberg proposed that Connecticut adopt same-day voter registration. Republicans charged that such systems enable voter fraud to be committed. For that reason, then-Governor
John G. Rowland
John Grosvenor Rowland (born May 24, 1957) is an American politician, author, and convicted felon who served as the 86th Governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004. He served two nonconsecutive prison terms on various corruption charges. A Repu ...
vetoed a similar bill in 2003.
On December 11, 2007, Slossberg proposed ethics reforms for the Connecticut Senate in wake of the CSU bonding scandal centered around fellow Democratic Senator
Thomas Gaffey.
In January 2008, Slossberg opposed Governor
M. 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 proposal to pass a
Three Strikes Law mandating life prison terms for career violent criminals. Rell had sought this reform in the wake of a 2007
home invasion
A home invasion, also called a hot prowl burglary, is a sub-type of burglary (or in some jurisdictions, a separately defined crime) in which an offender unlawfully enters into a building residence while the occupants are inside. The overarching ...
in
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
.
In the November 4, 2008 election, Slossberg defeated Republican challenger
Vincent Marino, town attorney of
Orange, to win re-election. Slossberg faced Marino again in the
2010 election and was re-elected to a fourth term.
On April 29, 2014, she voted for a comprehensive campus sexual assault safety bill which aims to protect more people, apply to additional schools, provide on-call crisis counseling and ensure sexual assault victims' anonymity is protected when issuing a report.
In 2017 Slossberg attempted to stop a $10 million improvement plan for Silver Sands State Park, but was unsuccessful.
In October 2017 while discussing with UConn College Democrats her efforts to purge local school libraries of books containing offensive language, Gayle Slossberg used the "
N-word
In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...
" in its explicit form without euphemisms. Her use of the word was highly offensive to the group and others including the
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
. Slossberg later issued an apology.
In February 2018 Slossberg announced as co-chair of the education committee that she got approval for the West Haven High School to do a $130 million renovation, which will help ingrate education and enrollment in the school.
On March 8, 2018, Slossberg announced that she would not be a candidate for reelection.
References
External links
Legislative website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slossberg, Gayle
Living people
Politicians from Brookline, Massachusetts
Jewish American state legislators in Connecticut
Democratic Party Connecticut state senators
Cornell University alumni
Women state legislators in Connecticut
1965 births
21st-century American legislators
21st-century American women politicians
People associated with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
21st-century American Jews
21st-century Connecticut politicians