Former Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell Endorses Tony Hwang for State Senate

Letter to the Editor:

Gov. M. Jodi Rell, the 87th Governor of Connecticut and the second woman to hold the position in the state’s history, didn’t mince words in her endorsement of Tony Hwang for state Senate, calling the three-term representative “one of the best” public servants she knows.

“The best public servant is the one who is in touch with everyday people, the one who you know can relate to you. Tony Hwang is one of the best!” Rell said. “Few other legislators make as much time for their community and constituents as Tony, and even fewer do it out of a genuine desire to connect with people, to listen and help.”

Rell served as Connecticut Governor from 2004 to 2010, and is widely heralded with restoring the public trust and bringing integrity back to the Governor’s Office following the John Rowland corruption scandal. She was Governor during Hwang’s first term as a state representative, and the two have stayed in

touch since. They met on a recent morning at Blue Colony Diner in Newtown.

“Tony is a rare breed, a true people person in every sense of the word,” Rell said. “I know he’ll be an excellent state Senator.”

“To have the support of someone like Governor Rell, who I’ve long admired and looked up to, is profoundly powerful to me personally,” Hwang said. “She demonstrated true leadership when our state needed it most, and her charisma and warmth with people is inspiring.”

Hwang added, “Thank you, Governor Rell, for your endorsement, but more importantly, thank you for setting such a positive example for the rest of us. I’m looking forward to building on your legacy of integrity, to do the important work ahead of us in the state Senate on behalf of the people of Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, Weston and Westport.”

Currently in his 3rd term in the Connecticut General Assembly House of Representatives for the 134th District, which encompasses portions of Fairfield and Trumbull, state Rep. Tony Hwang is the ranking leader in the Government Administration and Elections Committee and a member of Public Safety & Security Committee and the Insurance and Real Estate Committee. He is a state Senate candidate for the 28th District, which includes the towns of Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, Weston, and Westport.