Past drunken driving convictions Part-time legislature

Multiple legislators have been arrested for drunken driving through the years — Republican and Democrat, male and female.

One of the high-profile cases involved state Rep. William Varese, a Monroe Republican who was charged with drunken driving after his Cadillac crashed into five parked cars after he left a Bridgeport strip club. Varese’s blood-alcohol concentration was measured at 0.167, and witnesses reported that he struggled out of his car before sitting down on the sidewalk and held his head in his hands. He did not seek re-election in 1998 and died in 2019.

Another case involved state Rep. Raymond V. Collins Jr., a West Haven Republican who was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol in 1993 after drinking with fellow legislators at the Officer’s Club in the state armory building that has been known as a drinking spot for decades. Collins had expected to take Interstate 91 to his home in West Haven, but he ended up traveling south on Route 9, where he ran a red light in Middletown and crashed into two cars. A popular lawmaker, Collins continued to win re-election for years and died in 2017.

In another case, state Rep. Jessie G. Stratton, a Canton Democrat, served 120 days at the women’s prison in Niantic in 2008 after three drunken driving convictions. A rising star in the legislature, Stratton was a candidate for House Speaker before losing her House seat in November 2022 to Republican newcomer Kevin Witkos. Her stay in prison became news when Stratton was visited in prison by legislators and then-state comptroller Nancy Wyman as questions were raised about whether the rules were being followed when she had more visitors than the average inmate.

Like Stratton, state Rep. Kevin Ryan, a Montville Democrat, served 120 days in prison after three convictions. He was arrested for the third time in July 2001 after a Democratic fundraiser in Hartford when his blood alcohol concentration measured 0.199, police said. He lost his driver’s license and was incarcerated in late 2001 before being released on Jan. 1, 2002.

Since then, Ryan has won 11 consecutive elections — the longest-serving lawmaker in Hartford to continue following multiple arrests. He currently serves as assistant deputy speaker pro tempore. Ryan did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

Motorists traditionally receive the mandatory 120 days in prison after four DUI convictions because the first conviction is normally erased from their record after completing an alcohol education program. They then receive the sentence after the next three convictions.

Historically, Connecticut has proudly touted its part-time legislature, saying the laws are often shaped with more insight because legislators have other jobs as lawyers, real estate agents, nonprofit workers and small business owners.

“We, as a legislature, are merely a reflection of society,” Candelora said. “I think the incidents that you are seeing within our House and Senate families are no different than what everybody else is dealing with because of the proliferation of drugs and alcohol now.”

In that vein, Candelora said he perceives a permissive attitude among some lawmakers about drinking and drugs, noting that the legislature voted to legalize recreational marijuana in 2021 after many years of debate.

“I think there’s certainly a more casual attitude,” said Candelora, who voted against the marijuana bill. “I generally think that, culturally, we’re going through the evolution. There are studies out there that people don’t believe that marijuana use is harmful. There is a much more casual attitude right now about alcohol and drugs and driving. I think we’re seeing that in the statistics of wrong-way driving and fatalities on the road. All of that has increased, and the legislature is just a small microcosm of where we are as a society. And we need to be better examples.”