Jonathan W. Pelto 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 ...

. 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 served in 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 ...

Political career

Pelto began working in politics by stuffing envelopes for

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...

's 1972 presidential campaign at the age of 11. In 1980, at the age of 18, Pelto managed field operations for

Sam Gejdenson Samuel Gejdenson (born May 20, 1948) is a former United States Representative for the 2nd Congressional District of Connecticut. Biography Born in a displaced persons camp in Eschwege, Allied-occupied Germany, Gejdenson was the child of a Bel ...

's successful election to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. In 1984, he worked as the Connecticut campaign chair for

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart (''né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out amid revelations of extramarital affairs. ...

's presidential campaign, helping Hart defeat eventual nominee

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...

in the Connecticut

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

. That year, he was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives. He served as the Connecticut

political director in 1990. He opted not to run for reelection in 1994, retiring to the private sector. He resigned from the State House in September 1993. He opened a

consulting firm A consulting firm or simply consultancy is a professional service firm that provides expertise and specialised labour for a fee, through the use of consultants. Consulting firms may have one employee or thousands; they may consult in a broad range ...

, called Impact Strategies Inc., when he left the state legislature. Unhappy with the tenure of

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 ...

, Johnathan Pelto and his running mate took the needed steps to be legitimate "Write-In" candidate for governor. They had a number of interviews and blog postings during the campaign, but they did not get the needed signatures to receive an official placement on the ballot. In the end, Pelto received 568 votes of the 1,081,317 cast for Governor. Malloy received 554,314, while Foley received 526,295. Write-in candidates Daniel R Gait running mate Jason D Smith received 108 votes, while two other teams received 32 votes combined. In 2016, Pelto has been nominated and is running for Representative in U.S. Congress representing Connecticut for the Green Party, competing against Joe Courtney (D), Daria Novak (R), and Daniel Reale (L).

Personal life

Pelto and his wife, Nicole, have two daughters named Mara and Aliza. He also teaches at Quinnipiac University.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pelto, Jonathan Living people Democratic Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Year of birth missing (living people)