In conflict with outside job, CT lawmaker becomes a no-show
Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror
Rep. Chris Stewart's empty desk in the House chamber on May 14, 2025.
On April 9 at 3:59 p.m., Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Putnam, cast the last of the day’s four floor votes and left his desk in the second row of the House of Representatives for the hour-long trip home to Connecticut’s Quiet Corner.
It appears he never came back. There is no record of Stewart casting another House vote.
“Unforeseen professional obligations have temporarily limited my ability to fully engage in legislative duties and have also impacted time with my family,” Stewart said in a statement responding to an inquiry from The Connecticut Mirror.
He did not respond to texts or phone calls seeking more information about his job, its conflict with House sessions, and his expectations when he ran in November to succeed his father-in-law, Ricky Hayes, representing the 51st House District.
The General Assembly is a part-time institution, and the majority of lawmakers have outside jobs. Balancing the roles is often challenging, especially in the final weeks of every annual session.
House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford, had few additional details behind Stewart’s long string of missed votes, other than saying the cause was a staffing shortage at his job and not illness.
“Chris has been met with a sudden crisis at work where he has to fill in,” Candelora said. “His employer knew about the commitment he had up here. Everybody was on board. And then they had a personnel situation that he is trying to fix so that he could return up here to vote.”
Stewart did not disclose the nature of his job. His statement of financial interest, a disclosure of outside income lawmakers file every April, listed his employer as Eliot Community Health Services Inc. of Massachusetts.
It was unclear when Stewart’s job situation changed. A spot check of meetings of the Education Committee, one of his legislative assignments, found uneven attendance throughout March. He didn’t vote on 26 of the 45 bills reported out of committee.
The legislature meets for three months in even-numbered years and five months in odd ones. This year, the session opened on Jan. 8 and will adjourn on June 4. Committee work, drafting and assessing bills, dominates the first months.
Once committee deadlines pass in late April, the focus turns to floor votes in the House and Senate. Stewart missed House sessions on eight days from April 28 through Thursday, including three days this week.
The House is expected to hold floor votes on four days next week. Stewart has indicated hopes of being there, a GOP staff member said.
In his statement, Stewart said he intends to remain a member of the legislature in the seat he won with 54% of the vote in November.
“Despite these challenges, my commitment to serving our district remains unwavering,” Stewart said. “I continue to stay informed on daily proceedings of the legislature and am working toward a full return as soon as possible.”
House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said both parties have had challenges with attendance at times.
“I have, certainly, especially post-COVID, when it was a little more difficult to get people back after getting more used to remote [work,]” Ritter said.
Legislators can participate and vote during committee members via video conferencing. A lawmaker can cast a House or Senate floor vote remotely, but only if they are in the Capitol or Legislative Office Building.
Minimum annual compensation for a House member is $48,100, which includes a salary of $43,600 and unvouchered expenses of $4,500.
Like every member of the General Assembly, Stewart essentially is an independent contractor answerable to the voters, not an employee who can be fired or have their pay docked by the House leadership.
“They are elected, duly elected, and they have to persuade people to vote for them,” Ritter said.
Candelora said Stewart’s situation is a complication of “a citizen-legislature that’s part time.”
“I still think that we are better off for it, because it brings different perspectives to the building that you wouldn’t otherwise have with a full-time legislature,” Candelora said. “But it does bring these kind of challenges.”
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