Carroll Hughes, longtime lobbyist at the state Capitol, dies at 79
Carroll J. Hughes of Old Saybrook, a jovial, wellknown lobbyist in the state Capitol with a wry, winking attitude toward the legislative process while at the same time aggressively protecting clients, died Monday at age 79 after a long illness.
With clients as wideranging as the thousands of Connecticut package store owners and the Police Chiefs Association, Hughes had a remarkable knack of winning the day by pointing out hidden consequences of a bill to lawmakers and reporters, often one person at a time rather than through public bluster.
His decline in recent years went generally unnoticed, as the Capitol complex was closed to the public during most of the 2020 and 2021 legislative sessions, forcing lobbyists, like everyone else, to contact lawmakers online.
“He was a good guy,” said Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, co-chairman of the law-writing Judiciary Committee. “He was a fierce advocate for his clients, a real straight shooter and someone who had a lot of respect for in the way he conducted himself in the building.”
An online memorial by the Swan Funeral Home of Old Saybrook did not give the cause of death Tuesday afternoon.
Hughes, a fixture in the atrium of the Legislative Office Building or outside the House of Representatives Chamber on a session day in the Capitol, headed a family lobbying firm with his wife Jean Cronin and son Sean. Another son, Josh, runs a separate lobbying firm at the Capitol.
“He was always very jovial, and seemed to get along with everyone even if you didn’t see eye-to-eye on an issue,” Stafstrom recalled. “Certainly you could have a robust conversation with him on a host of issues.”
Michael J. Riley, former longtime lobbyist for the state trucking industry, said Tuesday that no other lobbyist could come close to Hughes’s effectiveness during public hearings. “He was the king,” said Riley, who began working in the Capitol in 1971, a few years before Hughes. “He was the best lobbyist at the microphone. If there was a public hearing before the General Law Committee, grab some popcorn and a beer. He would take on all comers. ‘Give me your best shot,’ right down your throat.”
“My heart goes out to Carroll's family and loved ones,” said state Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford. “I've known Carroll for over three decades. A fellow Irishman, he loved our heritage and celebrating his culture and life. He loved our state. He was an enormous figure in the state Capitol who will be greatly missed.”
“My deepest condolences to Carroll’s wife, family, and all who loved him,” said Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme. “Fierce, smart, and hardworking, he was a friend to so many. He will be missed by all and remembered for helping bring the voices of many — from small business owners to the brave men and women in law enforcement – to the state Capitol.”
Hughes, with roots in the Bridgeport and Naugatuck Valley areas, began lobbying in the Capitol about 50 years ago.
He might be best-known for getting hundreds of members of the Connecticut Package Stores Association to mobilize several times in recent years, in a successful 2015 battle against former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposal to eliminate so-called minimum pricing. Store owners, with close connections to their towns and neighborhoods, complained that bigger stores could essentially wipe them out unless statewide minimum prices were retained.
This year, the General Assembly killed legislation that would allow wine to be sold in supermarkets, amid protests by the package store owners mobilized by Hughes. Nine years ago, Hughes was less successful in an attempt to stop Sunday retail sales of alcohol, eventually seeing the momentum to enact the law, turning the 1,200 association members into sevenday-a-week operations.
Friends may call on Nov. 8, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Swan Funeral Home, 1224 Boston Post Road, Old Saybrook. A Mass of Christian Burial will occur Nov. 9, at 10 a.m. in St John Church, 161 Main St., Old Saybrook.