Joseph Brendan Sharkey (born March 18, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician. He is the former Speaker of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

. He was sworn in as Speaker on January 9, 2013. From 2011 until his election as Speaker he served as the Majority Leader. From 2001 to 2017, he represented the 88th Assembly District, consisting of parts of Hamden.

Early life and family

Sharkey was born in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

in 1962 and moved to

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 capita ...

in 1971. He attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in Washington, D.C., graduating in 1984 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in English/Philosophy. He graduated from the

University of Connecticut School of Law The University of Connecticut School of Law (UConn Law) is the law school associated with the University of Connecticut and located in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the only public law school in Connecticut and one of only four in New England. In ...

in 1989.

Professional career

Sharkey is an attorney and owner of AmeriZone, LLC, a small consulting business specializing in zoning and permit expediting for national companies.

Political career

Sharkey was first elected to the House in 2000 representing the 103rd Assembly District covering a part of Hamden. He was redistricted into the 88th District in 2002. In 2011, he was elected the Majority Leader and elected Speaker in 2013. He previously served as House Chair of the Planning & Development Committee and the Review & Investigations Committee and served on the Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee.

Associations

* Member, Hamden Chamber of Commerce * Member, Connecticut Bar Association

Electoral history

External links

Biography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharkey, Brendan 1962 births Connecticut lawyers Georgetown College (Georgetown University) alumni Living people Speakers of the Connecticut House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives People from Hamden, Connecticut People from Orange, New Jersey University of Connecticut School of Law alumni 21st-century American politicians