Ronald Arthur Sarasin (December 31, 1934 – March 27, 2023) was an American lawyer, Navy veteran, and 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. ...

. He served two terms in 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 ...

and three terms as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from 1973 to 1979.

Early life and career

Born in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, tenth-largest city in the state, and the second- ...

, Sarasin attended Center Elementary School in

Beacon Falls, Connecticut Beacon Falls is a town in western New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, Connecticut, Naugatuck Valley Planning Region and is approximately six miles from Waterbury, Connecticut, W ...

, and graduated from Naugatuck (Connecticut) High School in 1952. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from 1952 to 1956 and attained the rank of petty officer, second class. He earned his B.S. from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

in 1960 and J.D. 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 1963. He was admitted to the Connecticut Bar later that year. He served as the town counsel for

from 1963 to 1972 and an assistant professor of law at New Haven College,

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 ...

from 1963 to 1966.

Political career

He was first elected to the

in 1968 and became the assistant minority leader in 1970. In 1972, he ran for Congress from the

5th district District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

against John Monagan, a seven-term veteran of the House. Redistricting added several Republican areas to the 5th in 1972 and

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American politician, diplomat, and historian who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator from South Dakota, and the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

’s poor showing in the 1972 presidential election was hurting Democrats in down-ballot races. Sarasin defeated Monagan narrowly. In

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, he ran for re-election against State Representative William R. Ratchford, the speaker of the Connecticut State House. Sarasin prevailed amidst the wave of Republican losses to the

Watergate babies The Watergate Babies were Democrats first elected to the United States Congress in the 1974 elections, after President Richard Nixon's resignation over the Watergate scandal, on August 9, 1974. Democrats picked up 49 seats in the House and 5 i ...

. Ratchford would eventually win election to Congress after Sarasin vacated the seat to run for governor. He served as a delegate to the Connecticut State Republican conventions in 1968, 1970, 1972, and 1974 and to the Republican National Convention in 1976. In 1978, Sarasin secured the Republican nomination for

Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

with Lewis Rome as his running mate. His opponent was the incumbent,

Ella Grasso Ella Rosa Giovianna Oliva Grasso (née Tambussi; May 10, 1919 – February 5, 1981) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 83rd governor of Connecticut from January 8, 1975, to December 31, 1980, after r ...

, the first woman to be elected governor in her own right. Sarasin attacked Grasso on taxes, promising to reduce taxes and cut welfare spending. On Election Day, Grasso won a second term in office with a convincing victory

Later career

After leaving office, he was the chief lobbyist for the

National Restaurant Association The National Restaurant Association is a restaurant industry business association in the United States, representing more than 380,000 restaurant locations. It also operates the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. The associa ...

and president of the

National Beer Wholesalers Association The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) is a trade association that represents the interests of nearly 5,000 beer distributors throughout the United States before government and the public. In 2022, their political action committee was th ...

. He served as president of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society from 2000 to 2019. He is credited with establishing a traveling exhibit on the role played by enslaved people in the building of the Capitol, as well as the initiation of the organization’s popular civics education program.

Personal life

Sarasin was married to Marjorie Grazio Sarasin and has one son with her, Michael. He and his wife divorced in 1977. He was the first divorced candidate to run for governor. In 1988, he married his second wife, Leslie Garmon Sarasin. They were married nearly 34 years, and have one son together, Douglas. His brother Warren Sarasin, was also a politician who served in the Connecticut House of Representatives. He was first elected in 1978, the year his brother was defeated for governor. Sarasin died on March 27, 2023, at the age of 88.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarasin, Ronald Arthur 1934 births 2023 deaths Republican Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Politicians from Fall River, Massachusetts University of Connecticut alumni University of Connecticut School of Law alumni United States Navy sailors Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut People from Beacon Falls, Connecticut American people of Portuguese descent 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly