Will Haskell

William Haskell (born June 28, 1996) is an American politician and a former member of the Connecticut State Senate, representing District 26 from 2019 to 2023. The district includes the towns of Redding, Ridgefield, Wilton, and parts of Bethel, Weston, Westport, and New Canaan.[2] The 26th District has not been represented by another Democrat since 1973.[3] Haskell is a member of the Democratic Party, and was a member of the State Senate Democratic Caucus.[4]

Will Haskell
Member of the Connecticut State Senate
from the 26th district
In office
January 9, 2019 – January 4, 2023
Preceded byToni Boucher
Succeeded byCeci Maher
Personal details
Born (1996-06-28) June 28, 1996
Westport, Connecticut, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Katie Cion
​
​
(m. 2023)​
[1]
EducationGeorgetown University (BA)
New York University (JD) (enrolled)
WebsiteCampaign website Connecticut Senate website

Education

Haskell attended school in the Westport Public School System and graduated from Staples High School in 2014, where he was an active member of Staples Players, the student theater group. He attended Georgetown University majoring in Government and minoring in Journalism.[5] He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in May 2018, shortly after launching his campaign in March of that same year. He hired his college roommate as his campaign manager.[5] He plans on attending law school in New York City following the conclusion of his state senate term in 2023.[6] He is the youngest of four brothers.[5]

Career

Will Haskell ran for and won the 26th district in 2018 as a first-time candidate, beating incumbent Republican Toni Boucher who had held the state senate seat since 2009.[7] His campaign received endorsements from Congressman Jim Himes, Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and former president Barack Obama.[8] Haskell wrote a book about his 2018 election, entitled 100,000 First Bosses: My Unlikely Path as a 22-Year-Old Lawmaker, which was published in January 2022.[6]

In December 2019, Haskell was named as one of Forbes' 30 under 30 in Law and Policy.[9] Haskell is the youngest state senator in the country.[10]

Haskell serves as the Senate Chairman of the Transportation Committee[11] and previously served as the Senate Chairman of the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee. He has also served on the Environment, Energy and Technology, Government Administration and Elections, Human Services, and Public Health Committees. In 2021, Haskell was appointed to Governor Lamont's Workforce Council. Haskell is a NewDEAL Leader. He was appointed by Senate President Martin Looney as Senate Deputy President Pro Tempore.

Haskell was involved in the unsuccessful fight to install tolls on Connecticut highways[12] and helped lead the successful passage of legislation bringing free community college to Connecticut.[13] He has voted in favor of Paid Family and Medical Leave, a $15 minimum wage, a ban on ghost guns, cannabis legalization and police accountability reforms.[14] During his first term, he co-sponsored 23 new laws and held over 70 town hall meetings. Haskell has earned a 100% approval score from the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, an "F" grade from the NRA Political Victory Fund,[15] and a 100% attendance record for votes on the Senate floor. His campaigns and legislative career have been reported on in The New York Times,[16] Teen Vogue,[17] ABC News, Time Magazine,[18] and Quartz.[19]

External video
video icon After Words interview with Haskell on 100,000 First Bosses, February 13, 2022, C-SPAN

On January 3, 2022, Haskell announced that he would not seek reelection that year and would retire at the end of his term, citing his desire to attend law school and live closer to his fiancée, Katie Cion, in New York City.[6]

Electoral history
2020 Connecticut State Senate elections[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Will Haskell (incumbent) 38,581 58.3
Republican Kim Healy 27,549 41.7
Total votes 66,130 100
Democratic hold
2018 Connecticut State Senate elections[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Will Haskell 27,991 53.3
Republican Toni Boucher (incumbent) 24,512 46.7
Total votes 52,503 100
Democratic gain from Republican

Personal life

On September 30, 2023, Haskell married Katie Cion, with whom he had been in a relationship since 2019.[22][23]

References
  1. https://registryfinder.com/registry/katie-cion/will-haskell/wedding/september-2023/na/3073135
  2. "Connecticut General Assembly". Connecticut General Assembly. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  3. McWilliams, Kathleen. "In Historic Suburban Shift, 22-Year-Old Will Haskell Beats Incumbent State Sen. Toni Boucher". Hartford Courant.
  4. "SENATORS". www.senatedems.ct.gov. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  5. Haskell, Will (2022). 100,000 first bosses : my unlikely path as a 22-year-old lawmaker (First Avid Reader press hardcover ed.). New York. ISBN 978-1-9821-6401-0. OCLC 1290892330.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. Panziokas, Mark (January 3, 2022). "Sen. Will Haskell opts for law school over reelection". The Connecticut Mirror. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  7. "Will Haskell, 22, Wins Connecticut State Senate Seat". Time. November 5, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  8. McWilliams, Kathleen (November 7, 2018). "22-Year-Old Democrat Will Haskell Defeats Popular Republican Toni Boucher, Winning Her Long-Held Senate Seat - Hartford Courant". courant.com. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  9. "Will Haskell, 23". Forbes. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  10. "Meet the 22-year-old millennial who beat a politician who had served longer than he'd been alive". ABC News.
  11. "Senate President Pro Tempore Looney Releases Committee Assignments for 2021-2022 Legislative Term". Connecticut Senate Democrats. December 28, 2020.
  12. Hamad, Michael. "Democrats introduce new tolls bill, but Gov. Ned Lamont and others have repeatedly said they're moving forward after battling for months without passage". courant.com. The Hartford Courant.
  13. Lambeck, Linda Conner (June 4, 2019). "Connecticut's debt-free college program called an investment". Connecticut Post.
  14. "Senator Haskell Votes for Absentee Ballot Expansion, Insulin Price-cap, Police Accountability, and Telehealth Coverage Legislation". Connecticut Senate Democrats. July 29, 2020.
  15. "NRA-PVF | Connecticut". nrapvf.org. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  16. Pager, Tyler (October 8, 2018). "Obama Just Gave a College Grad a Job Reference. The Job? State Senator". The New York Times.
  17. "This 22-Year-Old Won Against a Republican Who Has Held Office as Long as He's Been Alive". Teen Vogue. November 14, 2018.
  18. Li, Ang; Most, Anne. "Will Haskell, 22, Wins Connecticut State Senate Seat". Time.
  19. Timsit, Annabelle. "Meet the 22-year-old representing one of Connecticut's richest districts". Quartz.
  20. "Election Results: State Senate - District 26 - General". Connecticut Post. Associated Press. November 3, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  21. "Election Results: State Senate - District 26 - General". Connecticut Post. Associated Press. November 6, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  22. Vaughan, Sophie (January 10, 2019). "Mr. Haskell goes to Hartford". Connecticut Post. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  23. "RegistryFinder.com". registryfinder.com. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
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