Robert J. Kane (April 30, 1967 February 5, 2021) was an American politician. He was a Republican member of the

Connecticut Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Se ...

, representing the 32nd district from 2009 to 2017, Sen. Rob Kane announces plans to run for reelection
/ref> and served as Connecticut state auditor from 2017 until his death in 2021. Kane was the

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 ...

for the 32nd senate district, representing part of the

Naugatuck River Valley The Naugatuck River Valley is the watershed area of the Naugatuck River in the western part of Connecticut. The Naugatuck Valley straddles parts of Litchfield County, New Haven, and Fairfield counties. The Route 8 corridor and Waterbury Branc ...

and Litchfield County in the Connecticut Senate, including the towns of

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

, Bridgewater, Middlebury (part),

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, Roxbury,

Seymour Seymour may refer to: Places Australia *Seymour, Victoria, a township ** Seymour railway station * Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria * Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria * Se ...

(part), Southbury,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, Watertown, and Woodbury. He was appointed to the position of Auditor of Public Accountants in January 2017, and served in the role alongside Democrat John Geragosian. He lived in Watertown, Connecticut. Kane graduated from

Central Connecticut State University Central Connecticut State University (Central Connecticut, CCSU, Central Connecticut State, or informally Central) is a public university in New Britain, Connecticut. Founded in 1849 as the State Normal School, CCSU is Connecticut's oldest publi ...

and later earned an

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

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. The former state senator's chief accomplishment as a legislator was the Safe Harbor for Exploited Children Act, which aimed to protect minors who have been victims of human trafficking and increased penalties for traffickers. Kane was found dead in his home in Watertown, on February 5, 2021, at the age of 53.

References

1967 births 2021 deaths Central Connecticut State University alumni Republican Party Connecticut state senators People from Watertown, Connecticut University of New Haven alumni 21st-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly {{Connecticut-politician-stub