Sen. Alex Bergstein is now Alex Mochary Kasser
“My name now reflects my true identity, which is the last name of my mother and the last name of my father.” State Sen. Alex Kasser
The state senator previously known as Alex Bergstein is now state Sen. Alex Mochary Kasser, or just state Sen. Alex Kasser — or just Sen. Alex.
The Greenwich-based Democrat said she made the legal change in town hall Thursday morning, reflecting her divorce and her heritage.
“My name now reflects my true identity, which is the last name of my mother and the last name of my father,” Kasser said. “I shed the name of the person that I was unhappily married to for over 20 years, and I am disassociating with that person.”
She also changed her Twitter and Facebook accounts to Alex Kasser.
Mochary is the surname from her father, and Kasser is her mother’s birth name. Kasser grew up in New Jersey with the last name Mochary. Both names were originally Hungarian, though Kasser was anglicized.
Kasser, whose full first name is Alexandra, won the seat in the state’s 36th Senate District in 2018, beating then-Sen. L. Scott Frantz, a Republican. The district also includes parts of Stamford and New Canaan.
She has made a name for herself as an outspoken Democrat not necessarily in line with the leadership of the caucus, but not easily categorized as liberal or conservative.
In the recent tolls debate, for example, Kasser opposed the tolls proposal because it did not include cars and light trucks, and included provisions that would make a changeover to tolling cars and light trucks difficult before 2030.
She harshly criticized fellow Democrats for lacking the guts to vote for tolls.
Kasser said she’s fine with a reference to her last name as Kasser, not necessarily Mochary Kasser.
“It’s just easier if everybody calls me Senator Alex,” she said.