Peter A. Nystrom (born c. 1957) is an American politician. He was a member of the Norwich City Council from 1979 to 1984, when he won his first election to 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 ...

. Nystrom served as a state representative until 2002. That year, he ran unsuccessfully for seat on 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 ...

. In 2009, Nystrom returned to the Norwich City Council via a special election and won the mayoralty later that year. He relinquished the mayoralty in 2013, began a third stint on the city council in 2015, and was elected to consecutive mayoral terms in 2017 and 2021.

Career

Nystrom attended Eastern Connecticut State College, and competed for the school's track and cross country teams. Outside of politics, Nystrom drove for the

United Parcel Service United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational corporation, multinational package delivery, shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company ...

for 24 years. A

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 ...

, Nystrom contested his first election at the age of 22, winning a seat on the

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

City Council in 1979. After five years as a city councilor, Nystrom defeated nine-term Democratic incumbent Thomas Sweeney in the 46th district of the

. Nystrom's tenure as a state representative lasted 18 years. in 2002, he lost to incumbent Edith Prague of the

's 19th district. During the campaign, Nystrom debated Prague on health-related issues. Nystrom won a special election in 2009, returning to the Norwich City Council. That November, he defeated Mark Bettencourt to win the mayoralty. In 2013, Nystrom lost reelection to Deberey Hinchey, the first woman mayor in Norwich history. Nystrom contested the 2015 city council election, and won, subsequently assuming the office of council president pro tempore. He was one of five candidates to declare interest in running for the mayoralty in 2017, and eventually won 57 percent of the vote to defeat Democrat Derell Wilson. Nystrom announced in March 2021 that he would run for a third and final mayoral term. Nystrom defeated Mark Bettencourt, his opponent in 2009, to retain the mayoralty.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nystrom, Peter 1950s births Living people Mayors of Norwich, Connecticut Connecticut city council members Republican Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Eastern Connecticut State University alumni United Parcel Service 20th-century Connecticut politicians 21st-century Connecticut politicians