Matt Lesser
Encyclopedia
Matt Lesser, American
politician, member of the Democratic party. He is a current member of the Connecticut House of Representatives
representing Connecticut's 100th district in the General Assembly. The district is made up of Durham
, Middlefield
, Rockfall, and parts of Middletown
. Lesser was first elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2010.
Lesser serves as House Vice Chairman of the Government Administration and Elections Committee. He also sits on the Education, Public Health and Energy and Technology Committees.
Lesser has worked on behalf of Senators Chris Dodd
and Barack Obama
and the Democratic National Committee
and interned at the Brookings Institution
Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy.
On May 20, 2008, Matt Lesser, then a student at Wesleyan University
, was selected to run as the second youngest candidate for State Representative at the Democratic 100th District Convention. Lesser received the endorsement of current Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz
, who once held the 100th District State representative seat. Lesser also received support from State Senator Tom Gaffey
and Middletown DTC Chairman Dan Russo. Lesser defeated 3-term incumbent Ray Kalinowski, a veteran, retired federal agent, former first selectman, and member of the state legislature for six years, who claimed "The only way to get 10 years of experience is to work for 10 years."
and President of the College Democrats of Connecticut, organized the largest student voter mobilization drive in the country. He hired staff and organized students across the state, increasing voter turnout by nearly 700% at the University of Connecticut
.
In 2007, Lesser was elected as Chairman to Middletown's Planning and Zoning Commission with a platform of preserving open space.
(SBE) and the Connecticut School Finance Advisory Panel called A Plan for Promoting Equal Educational Opportunity in Connecticut and is viewed as outdated and misinterpreted by opponents.
In order to lower the cost of education further, Lesser has supported a controversial "pooling" bill that would have allowed municipalities, small businesses and nonprofit organizations to join the state's health insurance plan until it was vetoed by Governor M. Jodi Rell
on June 13. Lesser has also called for switching schools over to renewable alternative sources of energy and for funding of the PILOT
and ECS programs to lower education costs further still.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician, member of the Democratic party. He is a current member of the Connecticut House of Representatives
Connecticut House of Representatives
The Connecticut 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 each constituency containing nearly 22,600 residents...
representing Connecticut's 100th district in the General Assembly. The district is made up of Durham
Durham, Connecticut
Durham is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Durham is a former farming village on the Coginchaug River in central Connecticut. The population was 6,627 at the 2000 census. Every autumn, the town hosts the Durham Fair, the largest volunteer agricultural fair in New...
, Middlefield
Middlefield, Connecticut
Middlefield is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 4,203 at the 2000 census. The town includes the village of Rockfall-History:...
, Rockfall, and parts of Middletown
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
. Lesser was first elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2010.
Lesser serves as House Vice Chairman of the Government Administration and Elections Committee. He also sits on the Education, Public Health and Energy and Technology Committees.
Lesser has worked on behalf of Senators Chris Dodd
Christopher Dodd
Christopher John "Chris" Dodd is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States Senator from Connecticut for a thirty-year period ending with the 111th United States Congress....
and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
and interned at the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy.
On May 20, 2008, Matt Lesser, then a student at Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
, was selected to run as the second youngest candidate for State Representative at the Democratic 100th District Convention. Lesser received the endorsement of current Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz
Susan Bysiewicz
Susan Bysiewicz served as Secretary of the State of Connecticut from 1999 to 2011. She was briefly a candidate for Governor of Connecticut in 2010, before dropping out to run for Connecticut Attorney General. She was disqualified from running for the office by the Connecticut Supreme Court and...
, who once held the 100th District State representative seat. Lesser also received support from State Senator Tom Gaffey
Thomas Gaffey
Thomas P. Gaffey is an American politician. Gaffey, a Democrat, had been a state senator from Connecticut since 1995, but left office due to criminal violations on January 5, 2011....
and Middletown DTC Chairman Dan Russo. Lesser defeated 3-term incumbent Ray Kalinowski, a veteran, retired federal agent, former first selectman, and member of the state legislature for six years, who claimed "The only way to get 10 years of experience is to work for 10 years."
Pre-election
In 2006, Lesser, as a full time student at Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
and President of the College Democrats of Connecticut, organized the largest student voter mobilization drive in the country. He hired staff and organized students across the state, increasing voter turnout by nearly 700% at the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
.
In 2007, Lesser was elected as Chairman to Middletown's Planning and Zoning Commission with a platform of preserving open space.
Political positions
Lesser has stated that he plans to shift the burden of education from the taxpayers to the state, as the state legislature had already agreed to pay for 50% of the costs of education. However, this is a contested claim since the supposed state “promise” of 50% funding comes from a 1979 report of the Connecticut State Board of EducationConnecticut State Board of Education
The Connecticut State Board of Education is the governing body of the Connecticut State Department of Education, the state education agency of Connecticut...
(SBE) and the Connecticut School Finance Advisory Panel called A Plan for Promoting Equal Educational Opportunity in Connecticut and is viewed as outdated and misinterpreted by opponents.
In order to lower the cost of education further, Lesser has supported a controversial "pooling" bill that would have allowed municipalities, small businesses and nonprofit organizations to join the state's health insurance plan until it was vetoed by Governor M. Jodi Rell
M. Jodi Rell
Mary Jodi Rell is a Republican politician and was the 87th Governor of the U.S. state of Connecticut from 2004 until 2011. She was the Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut under Governor John G. Rowland, who resigned during a corruption investigation. Rell is Connecticut's second female Governor,...
on June 13. Lesser has also called for switching schools over to renewable alternative sources of energy and for funding of the PILOT
PILOT (finance)
A PILOT is a payment in lieu of taxes , made to compensate a local government for some or all of the tax revenue that it loses because of the nature of the ownership or use of a particular piece of real property...
and ECS programs to lower education costs further still.