Joseph M. Suggs Jr. (born August 1, 1940) is an American politician who served as

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 ...

from 1993 to 1995.

Biography

Suggs was appointed to the office of state treasurer by the Connecticut General Assembly to complete the term of Francisco L. Borges, who had resigned to accept a finance job in the private sector. Suggs lost the 1994 general election for treasurer to

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

state representative

Christopher Burnham Christopher Bancroft Burnham (born 1956) is and American business executive, public servant, and politician. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of Cambridge Global Capital, LLC and chairman of the board of EN+ Group. He has served as ...

. 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 ...

, Suggs had served as mayor of

Bloomfield, Connecticut Bloomfield is a suburb of Hartford in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town's population was 21,535 at the 2020 census. Bloomfield is best known as the headquarters of healthcare services company Cigna. History Originally land ...

, from 1989 to 1993. He was the town's first African American mayor and the only Black mayor of a suburban Connecticut town at the time. In 1998, Suggs sought the Democratic nomination for

Connecticut's 1st congressional district Connecticut's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in the north-central part of the state, the district is anchored by the state capital of Hartford. It encompasses much of central Conne ...

, losing the primary to

John B. Larson John Barry Larson (born July 22, 1948) is an American politician and businessman serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1999. The district is based in the state capital, Hartford. A member of the D ...

. In 2018, he narrowly lost a special election for 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 ...

. Suggs worked 27 years as a laboratory supervisor for

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in th ...

, retiring in 1993. He supported the development of

PET A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...

plastic bottles now widely used in the beverage industry. Born in

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

and raised in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, he served in the US Air Force and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. The university attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. The university and it ...

in 1978. He has served on the boards of the University of Hartford and Saint Francis Hospital and as co-chair of the

Council of Institutional Investors Council of Institutional Investors is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association of U.S. pension funds and other employee benefit funds, foundations and endowments that "promotes the interests of institutional investors in the United States". It descri ...

. He was recognized twice by 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 ...

as one of the 100 Most Influential Blacks of Connecticut. He is currently a business consultant.

Personal life

Suggs is a widower (his wife Mary died in 1989) with three children: Ronald, Rosemary, and Felicia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suggs Jr, Joseph M. Living people 1940 births People from Bloomfield, Connecticut University of Hartford alumni Monsanto employees Connecticut Democrats 20th-century American businesspeople Mayors of places in Connecticut State treasurers of Connecticut African-American people in Connecticut politics 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American businesspeople