Candidate Profile: Republicans Tom Foley and Heather Somers

By Barbara Heins (Patch Staff)

Republican Tom Foley, the Greenwich businessman and former diplomat, is hoping to claim the governor’s mansion from Democrat Dannel Malloy, who beat him four years ago by a mere .05 percent of the vote.

The Foley-Somers team may get an 11th hour boost as Independent petition candidate Joe Visconti abruptly withdrew from the race Sunday, endorsing Foley. Visconti made the announcement during a campaign appearance with Foley at the Brookfield Republican headquarters.

Foley is facing Malloy after winning an August primary against outgoing Senate Minority Leader John McKinney by about 10,000 votes.

The 62-year-old Foley received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Foley first worked at McKinsey & Company and then at Citicorp Venture Capital. He left CVC and founded NTC Group, a private investment company, in 1985, that invests in under-performing businesses.

In 2003 and 2004, Foley was appointed to take charge of restoring Iraq’s economy. For his service in Iraq he received the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award. And in 2006, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as U.S Ambassador in Dublin, Ireland from 2006 to 2009.

In 2009, Foley married Leslie Fahrenkopf, who was vice president for global ethics and compliance and an associate general counsel at News Corporation in New York. From 2003 to 2008, Fahrenkopf had been an associate counsel to President George W. Bush in the Office of White House Counsel. The couple are parents of three-year-old twins. Foley also has a son Tom Jr.

Somers is a native of Groton where she lives with her husband and three children. She is a five-term city councilor and also the former mayor of the town.

Somers earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Connecticut and her background includes co-founding a Windham County biotech manufacturer and serving as vice president of international sales and marketing for a Illinois-based medical device company.

Somers earned the running mate slot on the ballot with Foley by beating out two fellow Republicans in the August primary.

Photo: via jewishledger.com

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