Gary A. Winfield (born March 11, 1974) is an American politician from the state of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and member of the Democratic Party. 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 St ...

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 the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, a

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 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 naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

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 research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it ...

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 (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. He works 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 that was founded in 1915 in New York City and is currently headquartered in Washington, D.C. AAUP membership inc ...

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. Winfield was also the driving force behind a bill which put in place protections for transgender citizens in public accommodation which would later be used against him in his run for his senate seat. He was also the force behind the TRUST ACT which was the first statewide passage of such a bill in the country, several police accountability bills, the first in the nation 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 an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

the official state food of Connecticut.

Justin Elicker Justin Elicker (born July 31, 1975) is an American politician who serves as the 51st mayor of New Haven, Connecticut. A Democrat currently in his third term, he was previously a city alderman representing East Rock and a diplomat in the United S ...

, the mayor of

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, testified in support of the bill.

Electoral history

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

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, he declared his candidacy for Mayor of New Haven, but he dropped out and endorsed

Toni Harp Toni Nathaniel Harp (born August 6, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 50th List of mayors of New Haven, Connecticut, Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut. Harp, a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, was previously a state senato ...

, 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. Se ...

. 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, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, Winfield now identifies as

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

. 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 1974 births Democratic Party Connecticut state senators Democratic Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Living people People from Old Westbury, New York Politicians from the Bronx Southern Connecticut State University alumni United States Navy sailors 21st-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly