Erick Russell is an American politician from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the Connecticut State Treasurer. He is the first openly gay African American elected to a statewide office in the United States.

Early life and career

Russell grew up in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, where his parents owned a convenience store and deli. He graduated from the

University of New Haven The University of New Haven (UNH) is a private university in West Haven, Connecticut, United States. History The University of New Haven was founded in 1920 as the New Haven YMCA Junior College, a division of Northeastern University, which sha ...

in 2009 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. Russell earned his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Connecticut School of Law The University of Connecticut School of Law (UConn Law) is the law school associated with the University of Connecticut and located in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the only public law school in Connecticut and one of only four in New England. As ...

in 2012. During law school, he interned for the

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Dannel Malloy Dannel Patrick Malloy (; born July 21, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 88th governor of Connecticut from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he chaired the Democratic Governors Association from 2016 to 2017. In Ju ...

. After graduating from law school, Russell joined law firm Pullman & Comley, based in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...

, in their department on public and private financing, and became a partner in the firm. He also chairs the LGBT section of the Connecticut Bar Association. In 2009, Russell was elected as a vice chair of the Connecticut Democratic Party.

Connecticut State Treasurer

After Connecticut State Treasurer Shawn Wooden announced that he would not run for reelection in the 2022 Connecticut State Treasurer election, Russell announced his candidacy to succeed him. He defeated Dita Bhargava and Karen DuBois-Walton in the Democratic Party primary election in August, receiving 58 percent of the vote. In the November general election, Russell faced state representative Harry Arora, the Republican Party nominee. Russell won the election with 52 percent of the vote. Russell became the first openly gay African American elected to a statewide office in the United States. He was sworn into office on January 4, 2023.

Personal life

Russell's husband, Christopher Lyddy, is a former member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with each ...

References

External links

Government website

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Erick 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians Connecticut Democrats Connecticut lawyers American gay politicians African-American LGBTQ people LGBTQ people from Connecticut Living people Politicians from New Haven, Connecticut State treasurers of Connecticut University of Connecticut School of Law alumni University of New Haven alumni Year of birth missing (living people)