New Haven Republican Orosco to challenge Looney
NEW HAVEN — A onetime candidate for the New Haven Board of Alders who founded a sports and entertainment firm has thrown his hat into the ring to get the GOP nomination to challenge longtime state Sen. Martin Looney, the New Haven Republicans announced Saturday afternoon.
The candidate, Steve Orosco, “brings high energy and excitement to the race,” the New Haven Republicans said in a statement.
“Orosco is exactly what the CT legislature needs,” the statement said. “He is driven, intelligent, has a background in finance and is a business owner.”
Orosco hopes to beat out Looney, who is in his 14th term representing parts of New Haven, Hamden
and North Haven in state Senate District 11. Since January 2015, Looney has served as president pro tempore, making him the highest-ranking legislator in the Connecticut General Assembly.
Neither Looney nor Orosco could be immediately reached for comment Saturday afternoon.
Last November, Orosco ran unsuccessfully for the Ward 18 seat in the Board of Alders in New Haven.
He holds degrees in finance and marketing from Pace University and earned his master’s degrees from Albertus Magnus College in New Haven.
After college, Orosco worked at Charles Schwab on Wall Street and then was recruited by Barnum Financial Group in Shelton. Later, he moved to California to become a professional mixed martial arts, or MMA, fighter.
There, he founded SMASH Global Sports and Entertainment, a company that hosts MMA events with networking, awards ceremonies and “class and sophistication,” according to its website. He also founded SMASH for Troops, a charity that supports military veterans.
The New Haven Republicans said after his success in California, Orosco and his wife moved back to Connecticut to grow SMASH Global in the tri-state area.