The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Local man to be next consumer protection commissioner
After what one state lawmaker described as “a love fest,” Bryan Cafferelli of Fairfield on Tuesday won confirmation in a key legislative committee to become the next commissioner of the state Department of Consumer Protection.
The legal counsel for state Senate Republicans for the last 10 years, Cafferelli won support from both sides of the aisle and was easily confirmed by the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee. A former state prosecutor for domestic violence matters in the Stamford and Norwalk Judicial District, Cafferelli is on track to lead the DCP, where he once worked as the lead attorney in the drug-enforcement unit overseeing pharmaceuticals. His nomination, introduced by Gov. Ned Lamont, next heads to the state Senate for a final vote. He would replace Commissioner Michelle Seagull, who later this month is leaving for other opportunities after a dozen years at the agency, including nearly six years as commissioner. Several medical and recreational-use cannabis activists spoke against his nomination.
A 2003 graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law, Cafferelli also served as legal counsel and chief of staff under then-Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele. “During my previous tenure at DCP, I learned the agency operations and was able to work with and get to know many of the hard-working employees there, which I believe will really help for a smooth transition,” he said, acknowledging the recent additions of recreational-use cannabis and online sports betting to the agency’s oversight duties.
Cafferelli, a former congressional aide, said he wanted to explore ways to make it easier for those in the markets that DCP regulates, including sales of alcohol, to work with the state on
licensing, enforcement and outreach to the public. He promised to work to rid retail shelves of products that include the active ingredient found in recreational-use cannabis that stores are not allowed to sell under law but seem to exist in a gray area because they do not come under the purview of the agency and have therefore prompted pending state legislation.
Under questioning from Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, Cafferelli said he understands that the agency is working to clarify some regulations in the lottery process as well as the packaging and safe storage of recreational-use cannabis. “The agency executes the laws that are passed by this body and signed by the governor,” Cafferelli said. “We will try to continue to point out problematic issues, but our role is not to make policy.”
“You have always been gracious,” said Duff, who was running the meeting remotely in the snow storm. “You have always played it down the middle. I think those traits will serve you well going forward in this role at DCP, as an advocate, really, for consumers.”
“It couldn’t happen to a better, nicer individual,” added Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly, RStratford. “I think the hallmark of what you do is your fairness. Your fairness, you’re detail-oriented, your aptitude and being able to deal with complex issues.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said that his caucus’s interactions with Cafferelli indicate that he will be an able commissioner. “Especially in a constituent-sensitive department like the Department of Consumer Protection, where the public needs to have confidence in the responsiveness of that agency,” Looney said.
State Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, said Cafferelli has a notable sense of fairness and has been able to make difficult legal issues easy to understand.
“Having the experience in both the executive and legislative branches as an attorney gives me, I think, the unique ability to see things from both perspectives,” Cafferelli said.
“You’re expertise is unparalleled,” said state Rep. Michael D’Agostino, DHamden, co-chairman of the legislative General Law Committee, which oversees consumer protection legislation.
State Rep. David Rutigliano of Trumbull, a top Republican on the General Law Committee, said he hopes that under Cafferelli, the DCP can becom ea little more businessfriendly, then realized the confirmation was assured. “I had several hundred questions for you,” Rutigliano quipped. “But then the love fest started.”
During a public-hearing portion of Cafferelli’s confirmation process, members of the marijuana activist organization known as the CT CannaWarriors, opposed the nomination, citing the slowness with which members of the minority community have been allowed into the recreational-use retail market and the number of people who still might be in prison for cannabis possession.