‘Cornerstone of the community’
After 2 decades, Livvy Floren set to leave state legislature
When the General Assembly returns on Jan. 6, it will be more than just the start of a new legislative session in Hartford. For the Greenwich and Stamford delegations, it will also be the dawning of a new era and the closing of a major chapter.
It will be the first time in 20 years that Livvy Floren, a Republican from Greenwich, will not be representing the 149th House District.
After winning 10 terms in the district representing backcountry Greenwich and North Stamford, Floren did not run for reelection this past November, closing a career in politics that started on the Greenwich Board of Estimate and
Taxation and the Representative Town Meeting.
And though she made the decision to not seek reelection back in the spring, Floren admitted this is a bittersweet moment for her.
“I love doing this job,” Floren said in an interview with Greenwich Time. “I love the people, and I am going to miss it. But I think I
have accomplished what I set out to do when I first took office — and 20 years is a long time. It was time.”
Floren stressed the importance of building relationships as a part of her job as state representative. She shared a quote from former President Bill Clinton: “Relationships are key because once you’ve been in the job, you’re bound together by experience, by duty, by trust and by scar tissue.”
“I really found that to be a truism,” Floren said. “I followed it very carefully with not just my colleagues but also my constituents and staff. I really tried to approach people the way I approached issues — and that was with an open mind and a healthy dose of respect. I’ll miss that because it was stimulating. Every day I learned something new.”
The job required more patience than she had needed as the mother of four children, she said. And she said she also had to learn the skill of compromise, which takes humility and careful listening
Those skills, Floren said, enabled her to do good work in areas she was passionate about, including education, the environment, good governance, health and pay parity for women.
She listed some proud accomplishments, including renovating and rehabilitating Wright Tech High School in Stamford; building new residence halls at the UConn Stamford campus; securing state money for Greenwich to help build new school buildings at Hamilton Avenue, Glenville and New Lebanon and the Performing Arts Center at Greenwich High School.
Floren also pointed to her work helping nonprofits in Stamford and Greenwich, as well as the Nathaniel Witherell, The Hill House, Kids in Crisis and more.
“These are very real needs that wouldn’t have been met without the work of the Bonding Commission,” Floren said. “These weren’t just nice to haves, and I think we used our bonding stipends judiciously and well.”
“Livvy Floren has been a cornerstone in our community in Greenwich and Stamford. Widely respected and deeply appreciated, her trademark positivity and independent thinking have benefited the people of our state for years.” Kimberly Fiorello
No commute? No problem
Floren admitted she will not miss the commute to Hartford, which she said could be “soul numbing” at times. But it was worth it to do the important work other legislators in the capitol.
She hopes to soon be able to travel more and see her four children and nine grandchildren. And Floren said she plans to remain
involved with the Greenwich Tree Conservancy and the Greenwich Point Conservancy as well as the American Legion and its Boys State and Girls State programs.
In her career, Floren has served under four governors, two Republicans and two Democrats, including current Gov. Ned Lamont, who is her friend, her neighbor and her constituent.
She has seen a lot of change on the Greenwich delegation in her time. Early in her career, she served with Reps. Claudia “Dolly” Powers and Lile Gibbons, along with thenSen. William Nickerson, and they nicknamed themselves “Bill Nickerson and the G-babes.” Years later, Floren was the only woman, serving with then-Sen. L. Scott Frantz and former Reps. Fred Camillo and Michael Bocchino — and she called the team “Livvy and the G-men.”
The Greenwich delegation was all Republican — with the GOP locked in with the state reps for a century and with the senator since 1930. But as Floren leaves office, it is a truly bipartisan delegation.
State Rep. Harry Arora, a Republican, represents the 151st District, and Republican Kimberly Fiorello
will be sworn in to succeed Floren. Sen. Alex Kasser, a Democrat, holds the seat in the 36th District once held by Nickerson and Frantz. And state Rep. Stephen Meskers, a Democrat, serves in the 150th District.
True to politics
And while much has changed, Floren hasn’t, according to those who have served with her and those who ran against her.
“Livvy has a tireless devotion to our district and happens to be my near neighbor in back-county, how could we not be friends?” John Blankley, who was Floren’s Democratic opponent in 2012. “When I ran against her, we didn’t always see eye to eye on issues, that’s the nature of politics, but we never let differences intrude on our friendship. Agreeing to disagree without being disagreeable is the slogan; Livvy lives up to that and I’d like to think I do, too.”
Howard Richman, who ran against Floren in 2010, shared similar sentiments and noted that their race saw none of the animosity often seen in politics.
“It was a good, clean and fun campaign,” Richman said. “And the best part was we became friends after and you don’t see that too often.”
Before he was elected first selectman last year, Camillo had served with Floren in the legislature for 11 years. And now he says he misses her emails every morning, detailing the agenda for the day.
“I enjoyed each and every one of those years serving with Livvy,” Camillo said. “Her good cheer, common sense and wonderful sense of humor got us through many long nights at the state capitol. Long the dean of the Greenwich delegation, Livvy’s popularity reached far beyond the borders of the 149th District.”
Powers served with Floren in the legislature and the two have remained close friends, regularly taking walks together around Cos Cob Park. Powers noted her friend’s dedication and commitment, as well as her ability to change the tone of a conversation to a positive direction, which is something that Powers said is lacking in today’s politics.
“When Livvy commits to doing something, she does it 1,000 percent with a smile and with grace,” Powers said.
Fiorello, who is succeeding Floren after her victory at the polls in November, was quick with praise, too. She said it was with great humility that she would follow in Floren’s footsteps by “championing good policy to help our local residents, families and businesses thrive and succeed.”
“Livvy Floren has been a cornerstone in our community in Greenwich and Stamford,” she said. “Widely respected and deeply appreciated, her trademark positivity and independent thinking have
benefited the people of our state for years.”
Standing by bipartisanship
Floren said she hopes that the kind of bipartisan cooperation she enjoyed is not a lost art in politics.
“That’s what politics should be about,” she said. “Keep your eye on the ball and work with anyone that will help you. I think it’s getting a little bit harder because people have gotten so polarized and also there are so many special interest cliques within the legislature. That’s a shame. But I believe we can work through it.”
As she leaves office, Floren had advice for Fiorello and for anyone who wants to get involved and run for political office.
“The best thing you can do when you get there is to keep your ears open and your mouth kind of closed for a while until you get the lay of the land,” Floren said. “There’s a lot to learn, and when you get there, you should stick to your issues. You ran for the legislature or for governor or for any office for a reason. Keep that in mind and don’t sweat the small stuff.”