Thomas Meskill

Thomas Joseph Meskill Jr. (January 30, 1928 – October 29, 2007) was a longtime United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He previously served as the 82nd governor of Connecticut, as a United States representative from Connecticut, and as the mayor of New Britain, Connecticut. He is noted as having served in all three branches of government and at the local, state and federal levels of government during his career of public service.

Biography

Thomas Joseph Meskill was born on January 30, 1928, in New Britain, Connecticut. His father was politically active. Meskill graduated from New Britain High School in 1946. He then attended Bloomfield's St. Thomas Seminary, although his original intention had been to pursue pre-medical studies. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Trinity College in Hartford in 1950. After graduation, Meskill enlisted in the United States Air Force and served for three years during the Korean War. He was honorably discharged in 1953 with the rank of first lieutenant. Meskill studied at the New York University School of Law and the University of Connecticut Law School, where he was editor of the Law Review, earning a Bachelor of Laws from the latter institution in 1956, later being admitted to the bar and practicing in New Britain that year.

Political career

In 1958, Meskill made a failed bid for the Connecticut Senate. The following year, Meskill ran for the first time for the office of mayor of New Britain, Connecticut, but was defeated by 116 votes. Meskill served for two years as New Britain's assistant corporation counsel starting in 1960. He then won election and served a term as New Britain's mayor from 1962 to 1964. He was defeated for re-election and also failed in an attempt to win a campaign for Congress that same year. He served as New Britain's corporation counsel from 1965 to 1966. During 1965, Meskill was also a member of a state constitutional convention held in Hartford to draft a new Connecticut State Constitution in accordance with a United States Supreme Court ruling. In 1966, amid a Democratic sweep of the state, he was elected on the Republican Party ticket to serve as Representative for Connecticut's 6th congressional district. He served in the 90th and 91st Congresses, from January 3, 1967, to January 3, 1971. In 1970, Meskill ran for and was elected Governor of Connecticut, defeating Democratic Congressman Emilio Q. Daddario 53.76% to 46.23%. Meskill became the first Republican elected to the position since John Davis Lodge in 1950. He served from January 6, 1971, to January 8, 1975. He was the only Republican party nominee to win an election for governor in Connecticut between 1950 and 1994.

During his term as governor, Connecticut went from a budget deficit of $260 million to a surplus of $65 million. He was also involved in the founding of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and of the Connecticut Lottery. In 1974, with the ongoing Watergate scandal in the background and following severe criticism of his not returning from a Vermont skiing trip during a severe ice storm in Connecticut, Meskill decided not to run for re-election.

Judicial career

On August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon, in one of the last acts of his presidency, nominated Meskill to serve as a United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit, comprising Connecticut, New York