Joan V. Hartley is an American politician. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, she has been a

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

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. ...

since 2001.

Biography

A long time resident of

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

, she represents a large part of

, the northern part of

Naugatuck Naugatuck ( ) is a consolidated borough and town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town, part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, had a population of 31,519 as of the 2020 Census. The town spans both sides of the Naug ...

and the northeastern part Middlebury. Hartley was born in Waterbury and graduated from

Elms College The College of Our Lady of the Elms, often called Elms College, is a private Roman Catholic college in Chicopee, Massachusetts in the United States. History The Sisters of St. Joseph and the Diocese of Springfield co-founded Elms College as ...

and received a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. Prior to being elected to the Senate, Hartley served as a

Connecticut state representative The Connecticut House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal ...

representing the 73rd District from 1984 to 2000. Hartley is generally considered one of the most conservative members of the Democratic caucus. She voted against redefining marriage as the legal union of two persons, guaranteeing equal protection under the law for same-sex couples. In 2011, Hartley and Paul Doyle were the only two Democrats to vote against

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

rights legislation. In December 2008, Hartley was removed as the Chairwoman of the Higher Education Committee. In 2008, Hartley was one of three Democrats who supported Rell's proposal for a

Three Strikes Law In the United States, habitual offender laws (commonly referred to as three-strikes laws) have been implemented since at least 1952, and are part of the United States Justice Department's Anti-Violence Strategy. These laws require a person who i ...

against career violent criminals. In 2009, Hartley was the only Democrat in the State Senate that did not vote to override Rell's veto of the Healthcare Partnership bill, thereby preventing the bill from becoming law.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartley, Joan Democratic Party Connecticut state senators Democratic Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Women state legislators in Connecticut Living people Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni 21st-century American women politicians Politicians from Waterbury, Connecticut Year of birth missing (living people) Elms College alumni 21st-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly