Gary A. Winfield (born March 11, 1974) is an American politician from 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, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and 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 serves 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. Sena ...

, representing the 10th district. From 2009 to 2014 he served as a

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

from the 94th Assembly District. Winfield served as Deputy Majority Leader in his tenure as a State Representative.

Biography

Winfield was raised in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, a

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, by his mother. He graduated from Westbury High School in

Old Westbury, New York Old Westbury is a village in the Towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 4,671 at the 2010 census. The Incorporated Village of Old Westbury ...

. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1994 to 2000 and became a Nuclear Electrician's Mate. He attended

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is g ...

from 2003 to 2006 and received a bachelor of science in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. He worked for the

American Association of University Professors The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership includes over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations. The AAUP's stated mission is ...

Career

Shortly after entering the house Winfield was the lead sponsor of a bill to abolish the death penalty in Connecticut. The freshman's efforts led to the first successful passage of the bill in either chamber of the legislature. While Winfield was successful in getting the bill to the governor's desk it was vetoed. Several years later a subsequent attempt led to the passage and signing by then Governor

Dan 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 ...

. Winfield was also the driving force behind a bill which put in place protections for Transgender citizens in public accommodation which would later b
used against him
in his run for his senate seat. He was also the force behind th
TRUST ACT
which was the first statewide passage of such a bill in the country, several police accountability bills, the first in the natio
racial and ethnic impact statement on demand
without restrictions, and prosecutorial transparency bill along with several other progressive wins. Winfield is the first non attorney to serve as co-chair of the state’s Judiciary Committee. Winfield, along with state rep, Patricia Dillon, proposed a bill which would declare

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...

the official state food of Connecticut. Justin Elicker, the mayor 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 ...

, testified in support of the bill.

Electoral history

Winfield was first elected to the Connecticut House in 2008. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, he declared his candidacy for

Mayor of New Haven This is a list of the Mayors of New Haven, Connecticut. Before 1826, the city's mayors did not have a fixed term of office; once elected, they held office indefinitely, at the pleasure of the Connecticut General Assembly. Beginning in 1826 the ma ...

, but he dropped out and endorsed

Toni Harp Toni Nathaniel Harp (born August 6, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 50th Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut. Harp, a Democrat, was previously a state senator in Connecticut from 1993 to 2013. A resident of New Haven, Harp represente ...

, a member of 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 ...

. Following Harp's election as mayor, Winfield declared his candidacy in the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

to succeed Harp in representing the 10th district in the Connecticut Senate. He won with 75% of the vote.

Personal

Born as a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Winfield now identifies as

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

. He met Natalie, his first wife, in high school. They divorced in 2014. Winfield married his second wife, Rasheda, in 2016. Rasheda brought two children into the marriage and on February 11, 2018 the couple welcomed twins Imani Harriet and Gary Rashid to the family.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winfield, Gary 1970s births Living people People from the Bronx United States Navy sailors Democratic Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives People from Old Westbury, New York 21st-century American politicians Democratic Party Connecticut state senators Southern Connecticut State University alumni