Connecticut legislators fill 3 top vacant posts

Hartford — State legislators in Connecticut have chosen three colleagues to fill leadership positions vacated by long-standing members of the General Assembly who decided not to seek reelection.

Democrats in the House of Representatives backed state Rep. Matt Ritter of Hartford as the House Speaker and Rep. Jason Rojas of East Hartford as the House Majority Leader. Republicans, meanwhile, selected Rep. Vincent Candelora of North Branford as the new House Minority Leader.

Ritter, who has served as the House Majority Leader, succeeds retiring House Speaker Joe Aresimowitz, D- Berlin. Candelora succeeds retiring House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby.

“It is incredibly humbling to have the unanimous support of my colleagues to serve as their next Speaker of the House,” said Ritter, whose father, Hartford Democrat Tom Ritter, was the Connecticut House Speaker from 1993-98.

In the Senate, Republicans chose Sen. Kevin Kelly of Stratford as the next leader of the Republican caucus. He succeeds retiring Sen. Len Fasano, R-North Haven. Republicans also backed Sen. Paul Formica of East Lyme to serve as his deputy leader.

Kelly said he was honored to lead the Senate GOP, pledging to “lead our state through the unprecedented challenges of pandemic recovery by simultaneously focusing on job growth and protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19: our elderly population and minority communities.”

Democratic senators on Friday were expected to endorse their current top leaders, Senate President Martin Looney of New Haven and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff of Norwalk for another two years.

Following this year’s election, both Looney and Ritter will have more members in their respective caucuses when the next regular legislative session convenes on Jan. 6.