Stephanie Thomas (born 1968 or 1969) is an American politician and former nonprofit executive who has served as

Secretary of the State of Connecticut The secretary of the state of Connecticut is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Connecticut. (The definite article is part of the legal job title.) It is an elected position in the state government and has a term length of four ...

since January 2023. 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 previously represented the 143rd district 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 ...

from 2021 to 2023. Thomas is the fourteenth woman and first African-American woman to serve as Secretary of the State of Connecticut.

Education

As a high school student, Thomas volunteered for organizations including

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a non-profit organization in the United States, Canada ( MADD Canada) and Brazil that seeks to stop driving with any amount of alcohol in the bloodstream, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent un ...

and the

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...

. Thomas earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. She later received a master's degree in nonprofit management from

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

Early career

Prior to becoming a state legislator, she was a consultant active in the nonprofit sector for 26 years. She founded and owns Stetwin Consulting, a Norwalk-based consulting firm that advises nonprofits on fundraising strategies. Prior to running for the state legislature, she was a member of the Norwalk Democratic Town Committee.

Connecticut House of Representatives

2018 candidacy

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, Thomas ran to represent the 143rd district in the

. She ran as a political newcomer against Republican incumbent Gail Lavielle, who had been expected to run unopposed up until the final days of the filing deadline. Her candidacy was supported by the

Connecticut Working Families Party The Connecticut Working Families Party is a political party in the U.S. state of Connecticut with approximately 300 members. It is an affiliate of the national Working Families Party. The party's support has been strongest in Hartford and Bridgepo ...

2020 election and tenure

Thomas decided to mount another candidacy to represent the district in the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

election. She announced her candidacy in February 2020, and expressed her intention to run against Lavielle. However, Lavielle decided to forgo a bid for reelection, and supported fellow Republican Patrizia Zucaro's candidacy to succeed her. Thomas ultimately won the general election against Zucaro She took office on January 6, 2021. As a member of the state house, Thomas served as a member of both the Commerce and Transportation Committees, as well as the Government Administration and Elections Committee.

Secretary of the State

2022 election

Thomas ran for the position of Secretary of the State in the 2022 election after incumbent

Denise Merrill Denise W. Merrill (born October 8, 1948) is an American politician who most recently served as the Secretary of the State of Connecticut, Connecticut Secretary of the State from 2011 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Demo ...

declined to run for a fourth term in office. Thomas faced Maritza Bond, health director of

New Haven 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 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, in the Democratic primary. Bond received the endorsements of several labor unions, while Thomas received the endorsement of the state Democratic Party. During the primary campaign, Bond criticized Thomas for missing a legislative vote related to state employees' union contracts. She defended her record, noting the labor endorsements she received during her state house candidacy. She stated she missed the vote due to work-related duties at her day job leading a nonprofit. Thomas ultimately won the nomination against Bond. In the general election, Thomas ran on a platform that supported expanding access to voting. Thomas won the general election against Republican opponent Dominic Rapini. Thomas' victory made her the

first African-American African Americans are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group in the United States. The first achievements by African Americans in diverse fields have historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural chan ...

to serve as Secretary of the State.

Tenure

Stephanie Thomas sworn in Secretary of the State of Connecticut

Following the controversial 2023 Bridgeport mayoral election, which was surrounded by allegations of

voting irregularities Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...

, Thomas weighed in in support of proposed state legislation to increase election oversight. In 2024, Thomas presided over the launch of the NextGen Elections program, which aims to recruit college students to become election workers. In 2024, Thomas testified before the state legislature on the need to protect election workers from security threats. Under Thomas, the Secretary of the State's office has led an outreach campaign to help Connecticut residents identify election

misinformation Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. Misinformation and disinformation are not interchangeable terms: misinformation can exist with or without specific malicious intent, whereas disinformation is distinct in that the information ...

and disinformation.

References

External links

Government website

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Stephanie 1960s births 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly 21st-century American women politicians African-American state legislators in Connecticut Living people Democratic Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives New York University alumni Secretaries of the state of Connecticut Women state legislators in Connecticut The New School alumni