Matt Lesser

Matt Lesser
Member of the Connecticut Senate from the 9th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 9, 2019
Preceded by	Paul Doyle
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 100th district
In office January 7, 2009 – January 9, 2019
Preceded by	Raymond Kalinowski
Succeeded by	Quentin Williams
Personal details
Born	(1983-04-29) April 29, 1983 (age 41) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Children	2
Residence	Middletown
Education	Wesleyan University

Matthew L. Lesser (born 28 April 1983) is an American politician who represents the 9th district in the Connecticut State Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the State House in 2008, and re-elected in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016. He won election to the state Senate from the 9th district in 2018, and was reelected in 2020 and 2022. Lesser unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Connecticut Secretary of the State in 2022.

Early life

Lesser grew up in the Washington, D.C. area.^[1] His father once reported for The Washington Post.^[2] His mother is from Argentina.^[3]

Career

Early years

As an undergraduate student at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, Lesser was elected president of the College Democrats chapter and ran voter registration drives.^[4] He was elected as Chairman of the Middletown Planning and Zoning Commission.^[5]

State House

In May 2008, 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.^[6][7] Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, who once held the 100th District State representative seat, endorsed him.^[8] Lesser also received support from State Senator Tom Gaffey and Middletown DTC Chairman Dan Russo.^[9] Lesser defeated three-term Republican incumbent Ray Kalinowski.^[10][11] Lesser took a leave of absence from Wesleyan in the fall 2008 semester.^[5]

In the 2013 session of the state House, Lesser was a vice chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee and a member of the Energy and Technology Committee.^[12] In 2015, he became co-chair of the Banking Committee.^[13] He also was a member of the member of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee.^[13]

While in the state House, Lesser sponsored a number of bills that were enacted into law, including Connecticut's first-in-the-nation Student Loan Bill of Rights;^[14][15] an act prohibiting fracking waste from being dumped in Connecticut,^[16] and updated workplace safety standards.^[13] He also pressed for a review of natural gas pipelines in Connecticut after the 2018 Merrimack Valley gas explosions in neighboring Massachusetts.^[17] In 2013, Lesser voted in favor of the gun control bill that passed in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.^[18]

In 2012, Lesser was elected as one of the Connecticut Democratic Party's two delegates to the National Platform Committee ahead of the 2012 Democratic National Convention.^[19]

In 2017, Lesser considered running for Connecticut Secretary of the State in 2018 and formed an exploratory committee, but said he would only run if Denise W. Merrill did not seek election.^[20]

State Senate

In May 2018, Lesser announced a run for state senator from the 9th district,^[21] which includes Cromwell, Newington, Rocky Hill, and portions of Middletown and Wethersfield.^[22] He won the August 2018 primary against former state representative Antonio Guerrera.^[23] The general election featured some controversy when the campaign of Republican nominee, Ed Charamut, of Rocky Hill, sent out a mailer to voters attacking Lesser, featuring an altered image of Lesser clutching $100 bills; the mailer garnered national media attention and was denounced for its use of antisemitic tropes.^[24][25][26] Lesser won the general election in November,^[26] and was appointed Senate chairman of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee the following month.^[27] He was reelected in 2020^[28] and 2022.^[29]

As a state senator, Lesser has written laws to guarantee mental health parity,^[30] expand access to epinephrine devices (such as EpiPens) in public venues,^[31] and to cap the cost of insulin at $25.^[32] In the 2019 legislative session, Lesser sponsored a health care reform effort to create a public health insurance option in the state of Connecticut (dubbed "the Connecticut Option")^[33][34] that ultimately failed amid opposition from health insurers.^[35]

Beginning in 2009, Lesser advocated for Connecticut to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The General Assembly passed the bill in 2018 (on a 73–71 vote in the House and 21–14 vote in the Senate).^[36]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lesser wrote a law expanding access to telehealth.^[37] In 2023, Lesser was one of several legislators and staff to test positive for COVID-19, prompting the Senate to implement a masking policy.^[38][39] He was absent from several votes while isolating.^[40]

In 2022, Lesser sought the Democratic nomination for Connecticut Secretary of the State in the 2022 election. At the Democratic Party of Connecticut state convention in May 2022, he ran against state Representative Stephanie Thomas of Norwalk, state Representative Hilda Santiago of Meriden, state Representative Josh Elliott of Hamden, and New Haven health director Maritza Bond. Lesser came in second, losing the party's endorsement to Thomas; although he qualified to run against Thomas in the primary, Lesser dropped out of the race and opted to seek reelection to the state Senate instead.^[41]

On January 14, 2024, an online petition initiated by Black community leaders criticized Lesser for withdrawing funding for CPREP. In 2023, Lesser opposed funding of Steve Perry's Capital Preparatory Charter School (CPREP) in Middletown; funding for the charter school was initially allocated by the Appropriations Committee, but was removed from the budget after eleventh-hour maneuvering on the last day of the 2023 legislative session. The decision was condemned by various Black community leaders, and criticized by the Connecticut NAACP and its Middlesex County chapter.^{[42][43][44][45]}

In March 2023, Lesser, a former co-chair of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, questioned fellow Democrat and current Committee Co-Chair Kerry Szeps Wood for several hours in a filibuster intended to stall discussion on H.B. 6710, a bill to allow trade associations to offer certain health insurance plans to their members.^[46][47] The bill attracted bipartisan support as an effort to lower costs for small employers, but also opposition from patient advocates who feared that the plans permitted by the bill would destabilize insurance markets and possibly discriminate against policyholders with illnesses or disabilities.^[46] After Governor Ned Lamont's staff agreed to "mediate" issues raised by Lesser, he ended questioning and voted against the bill.^[46] In 2024, he supported expanded eligibility for HUSKY, the Connecticut Medicaid program.^[48][49] The same year, he sponsored legislation to bar the reporting of medical debt to credit reporting agencies; the bill passed the General Assembly and was signed into law by Lamont.^[50]

Activities outside the General Assembly

He was appointed executive director of the Cancer Support Community of Southern Connecticut (which serves New London, Middlesex, New Haven and Fairfield counties) in 2014.^[51] In 2015, Lesser was selected as a 2015–16 Marshall Memorial Fellow by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.^[52]

Personal life

Lesser lives in Middletown's North End with his wife Sarah and their two children.^[53]

Lesser was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2012, and survived.^[51]

Electoral history

2008

2008 Connecticut 100th House District Election^[54]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matt Lesser	5,704	47.6
	Working Families	Matt Lesser	482	4
	Republican	Ed Charamut	5,787	48.3

2010

2010 Connecticut 100th House District Election^[55]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matt Lesser	4,756	48.3
	Working Families	Matt Lesser	296	3
	Republican	John Swewczyk	4,433	45.1
	Libertarian	John Swewczyk	245	2.5
	Connecticut for Lieberman	John Swewczyk	109	1.1

2012

2012 Connecticut 100th House District Election^[56]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matthew Lesser	6,342	65.2
	Working Families	Matthew Lesser	335	3.4
	Republican	Deborah Kleckowksi	2,782	28.6
	Independent Party	Deborah Kleckowksi	275	2.8

2014

2014 Connecticut 100th House District Election^[57]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matt Lesser	4,558	63
	Working Families	Matt Lesser	537	7.4
	Republican	Angel R. Fernandez	2,138	29.6

2016

2016 Connecticut 100th House District Election^[58]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matt Lesser	6,417	62.6
	Working Families	Matt Lesser	696	6.8
	Republican	Anthony R.J. Moran	3,136	30.6

2018

2008 Connecticut 9th Senate District Election Democratic Primary^[59]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matt Lesser	4,779	56.4%
	Democratic	Antonio "Tony" Guerrera	3,699	43.6%

2018 Connecticut 9th Senate District Election^[60]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matt Lesser	22,724	54.22
	Working Families	Matt Lesser	1,519	3.62
	Republican	Ed Charamut	17,674	42.15

2020

2020 Connecticut 9th Senate District Election^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matt Lesser	29,473	54.85
	Working Families	Matt Lesser	1,509	2.87%
	Republican	Richie Ruglio	21,609	40.22
	Independent Party	Richie Ruglio	1,139	2.12

2022

2022 Connecticut 9th Senate District Election^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matt Lesser	19,593	52.94
	Working Families	Matt Lesser	632	1.71
	Independent Party	Matt Lesser	346	0.93
	Republican	Lisa J. Marotta	16,440	44.42

References

1. Matt Lesser named to list of 'movers and shakers', Middletown Press (December 27, 2013).
2. Mark Pazniokas, Can the state defend a newspaper against a hedge fund?, CT Mirror (March 18, 2021).
3. "Matt Lesser asks to join Black & Latino caucus". New Haven Register. February 26, 2013.
4. Steph Dukich, Democratic Candidates Matt Lesser and Quentin "Q" Phipps Discuss Campaigns in PAC, Wesleylan Argus (November 5, 2018).
5. Olivia Drake, Lesser '10 State Rep. Elect for Middletown, Wesleyan University (November 11, 2008).
6. "Convention Updates". 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
7. "Matt Lesser: '10 State Representative". Wesleyan University. Archived from the original on 2011-01-05. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
8. "Susan Bysiewicz at 100th House District Convention". YouTube. 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2008-06-15.^{[dead YouTube link]}
9. "Matt Lesser Nominated in 100th District". Retrieved 2008-06-15.
10. "Candidate Cites His Experience". The Baltimore Sun. 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
11. "Stay With Ray". The Town Times. 2008-06-13. pp. 8 & 20. Archived from the original on 2008-06-21. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
12. "Legislative Guide" (PDF). Connecticut General Assembly. 2013–2014.
13. "Biography". 17 December 2015. Archived from the original on 2018-01-27.
14. Jillian Berman (January 10, 2016). "Inside one state's effort to tackle the student debt crisis". MarketWatch.
15. Morgan Crabtree (July 14, 2015). "Connecticut is the first state to implement Student Loan Bill of Rights". WTNH.
16. Jan Ellen Spiegel (February 12, 2014). "No fracking in Connecticut, but what about its waste?". CTMirror.
17. Connecticut state lawmakers want review of gas pipelines, Associated Press (October 1, 2018).
18. Connecticut House roll call on gun-control bill, CT Mirror (April 4, 2013).
19. "Drew, Lesser named to Democratic Party leadership posts". New Haven Register. August 9, 2012.
20. Day, Cassandra. (July 7, 2017). Connecticut state Rep. Matt Lesser raises $58,000 for possible 2018 secretary of the state bid. New Haven Register.
21. "Middletown state Rep. Lesser running for 9th District Senate". Connecticut Post. May 23, 2018.
22. Cassandra Day, Election '22: Meet Middletown candidates for 100th, 33rd House; 9th Senate, Middletown Press (November 1, 2022).
23. Beals, Shawn R. (August 14, 2018). "Matt Lesser Wins Democratic 9th Senate Primary". Hartford Courant.
24. Foderaro, Lisa W. (October 30, 2018). "Political Mailer Prompts Charges of Anti-Semitism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
25. Rosenberg, Eli (October 31, 2018). "Republican mailer depicts a Jewish candidate gripping cash and grinning. The GOP is no longer defending it". Washington Post.
26. Beals, Shawn R. (November 6, 2018). "Lesser Wins 9th Senate District In Race That Gained National Attention For Anti-Semitism Charges". Hartford Courant.
27. Ramirez, Hector (December 27, 2018). "Senator-Elect Matt Lesser appointed to Co-Chair of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee". WTNH.
28. 2020 Nov 3 :: General Election :: State Senator :: District 9, Connecticut Office of the Secretary of the State.
29. 2022 Nov 8 :: General Election :: State Senator :: District 9, Connecticut Office of the Secretary of the State.
30. Carlesso, Jenna (July 8, 2019). "Mental health parity bill signed into law". CT Mirror.
31. "New CT law makes epinephrine devices, EpiPens available in public venues". Middletown Press. July 7, 2019.
32. "Co-Pays for Insulin and Diabetes Medications Capped at $25 in Connecticut" (Press release). American Diabetes Association. August 6, 2020.
33. "Connecticut lawmakers celebrate health care public option bill". The Middletown Press. May 3, 2019.
34. "Public option health insurance bills clear committee". The CT Mirror. May 19, 2019.
35. Shefali Luthra, Insurers Sank Connecticut's 'Public Option.' Would A National Version Survive?, KHN (March 4, 2020).
36. Susan Haigh, Connecticut lawmakers vote to join popular vote pact, Associated Press (May 6, 2018).
37. "Senator Lesser Leads Passage of Telehealth and Insulin Bills".
38. McQuaid, Hugh (May 30, 2023). "Senate Masking Requirements Return Amid New COVID Cases". CT News Junkie.
39. Dixon, Ken (May 30, 2023). "COVID infections in state Senate prompt CT lawmakers to make changes". CTInsider.
40. y Mark Pazniokas (May 31, 2023). "Senate Democrats vote to bring early voting to Connecticut in 2024". CTMirror – via WSHU.
41. Putterman, Alex (May 10, 2022). "Matt Lesser drops out of CT secretary of the state race after missing Democratic endorsement". CTInsider.
42. Otte, Emilia (May 13, 2023). "Capital Prep Wins Approval, But Matt Lesser Says Charter School Still has 'Work to Do'". CT Examiner.
43. Montague, Deidre (2023-06-05). "CT NAACP, others push for funding for Middletown charter school, as 'where you live matters'". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
44. Portfolio, Meghan (2024-01-22). "Black Leaders Call for Sen. Lesser's Removal from Black and Puerto Rican Caucus". Yankee Institute for Public Policy.
45. Harkay, Jessika (June 9, 2023). "Two of four proposed CT charter schools left out of state budget". Hartford Courant.
46. Phillips, Erica E. (March 17, 2023). "Sen. Matt Lesser filibusters bill for trade groups to offer health plans". CT Mirror.
47. Stuart, Christine (2023-03-15). "Former Insurance Committee Co-Chair Takes A Stand Against Association Health Plans". CT News Junkie. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
48. Maricarmen Cajahuaringa, CT high school students advocate for expanding HUSKY health care, New Hampshire Public Radio (April 18, 2024).
49. Katy Golvala, Thousands of CT residents to lose HUSKY coverage, health group says. State says it saves millions., Hartford Courant (August 11, 2024).
50. Michayla Savitt, New CT law will prevent medical debt reporting to creditors, Connecticut Public via CT Mirror (May 17, 2024).
51. Rep. Lesser new head of cancer support network, Middletown Press (May 20, 2014).
52. Matt Lesser selected for policy fellowship, Middletown Press (April 10, 2015).
53. "Matthew Lesser". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
54. 2008 Nov 4 :: General Election :: State Representative :: District 100, Connecticut Office of the Secretary of the State.
55. 2010 Nov 2 :: General Election :: State Representative :: District 100, Connecticut Office of the Secretary of the State.
56. 2012 Nov 6 :: General Election :: State Representative :: District 100, Connecticut Office of the Secretary of the State.
57. 2014 Nov 4 :: General Election :: State Representative :: District 100, Connecticut Office of the Secretary of the State.
58. 2016 Nov 8 :: General Election :: State Representative :: District 100, Connecticut Office of the Secretary of the State.
59. 2018 Aug 14 :: Democratic Primary :: State Senator :: District 9, Connecticut Office of the Secretary of the State.
60. 2018 Nov 6 :: General Election :: State Senator :: District 9, Connecticut Office of the Secretary of the State.