Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

February 20, 2021 / 2021 Power 50

2021 Power 50: 2. Matt Ritter & Martin Looney

Martin Looney
Find out who else is in the 2021 Power 50.
More Information

With the 2021 legislative session underway, Rep. Matt Ritter and Sen. Martin Looney are presiding over some of the widest Democratic majorities at the Capitol in years.

Looney, who is Senate President Pro Tempore, and Ritter, who this year became House Speaker, are quarterbacking majorities in their respective chambers that are the largest since 2012 for the House and 2008 for the Senate.

While state Democrats holding power in Connecticut is par for the course in modern times, the 2021 session is virtually unprecedented. While vaccines are now being rolled out, the COVID-19 pandemic remains very much ongoing and is having a major influence on how lawmakers do their work.

Matt Ritter

Ritter and Looney both know well how business runs inside the Capitol, but the pandemic has presented new challenges as the public — including lobbyists and other special interests — are barred from entering the building, potentially for the entire six-month session, due to COVID-19 restrictions. 

Some lawmakers are also participating in legislative meetings, hearings, debates, votes and other proceedings remotely.

Meanwhile, the economy is shifting beneath state residents’ feet due to the pandemic, and high-stakes issues being debated include the state budget, online gaming, healthcare reforms and legal recreational marijuana, among others.

The remote nature of the session has already brought pressure from Republican lawmakers, weakened by the Nov. 2020 elections, who have warned that legislators’ unusual distance from the public could embolden Democrats to push aggressively for policies that they might not otherwise.

Sign up for Enews

Most Recent

Most Recent

0 Comments

Order a PDF