Sean Scanlon (born December 20, 1986) is an American politician who is the current Comptroller of Connecticut. Scanlon previously served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 98th district.[1][2]
Sean Scanlon | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Scanlon in 2023 | |
| 67th Comptroller of Connecticut | |
| Assumed office January 4, 2023 | |
| Governor | Ned Lamont |
| Preceded by | Natalie Braswell |
| Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 98th district | |
| In office January 7, 2015 – January 4, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Patricia Widlitz |
| Succeeded by | Moira Rader |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 20, 1986 New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Meghan Scanlon (m. 2017) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Boston College (BA) |
Early life and career
editScanlon was born on December 20, 1986, in New Haven, Connecticut, to Kathy (nee LaValle) and John Scanlon. Scanlon's mother was a small business owner and his father was a retired New York City Police officer.[3]
After graduating from Boston College in 2008, Scanlon worked as a Victim Advocate in the office of the New York County District Attorney before serving as an aide to Chris Murphy from 2009 to 2019.[4]
Since November 2019, Scanlon has served as Executive Director of Tweed New Haven Airport[5] As Executive Director, Scanlon negotiated a $100 million deal to expand the length of the airport's runway, build a new terminal and welcome a new air carrier to New Haven.[6]
Connecticut Legislature
editElections
editIn 2014, at age 27, Scanlon was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives 54%-46%. He ran unopposed in 2016, 2018 and 2020.[7]
Tenure
editDuring his first term, Scanlon led the legislature's effort to combat Connecticut's opioid epidemic and became a leading voice on issues of mental health and addiction. As a freshman legislator he worked to pass legislation requiring education for doctors and other prescribers on prescription drug abuse, cracked down on "doctor shopping" for prescription drugs, and allowed pharmacists to prescribe life-saving anti-overdose drugs like Narcan over the counter.[8]
In 2016 Scanlon wrote and sponsored legislation making Connecticut the second state in the nation to limit first-time opioid prescriptions to a seven day supply with exemptions for chronic pain as a way of reducing the number of unused and expired drugs in our communities.[9]
Insurance and Real Estate Committee
editIn his second term Scanlon became chairman of the Insurance and Real Estate committee.[10]
During four years as co-chairman, Sean wrote and passed legislation protecting people with pre-existing conditions from insurance discrimination[11] establishing the lowest monthly co-pay cap for insulin in the nation at $25[12] preventing insurance companies from covering mental health different than physical health[13] requiring health insurance plans to cover ten "Essential Health Benefits" such as maternity care and hospital visits[14] creating Connecticut's first prescription drug price transparency law requiring drug companies to justify large price increases[15] and instituting the first insurance and consumer safety standards for ride-share services like Uber and Lyft [16]
Gun Safety
editIn 2018, Scanlon worked with constituents Kristin and Mike Song to introduce Ethan's Law[17] in honor of their 15 year old son Ethan Song who was killed in a tragic gun accident. The bill became the first bipartisan gun safety in recent history.[18]
Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee
editAt the start of his fourth term became chairman of the legislature's Finance, Revenue and Bonding committee[19]
In his first term as chairman, Scanlon pushed for the creation of a state child tax credit[20] and helped negotiate a bipartisan, no tax increase state budget[21]
State Comptroller campaign
editOn 4 April 2022, Scanlon announced his candidacy for state comptroller in the 2022 election.[22]
References
edit- ^ "Democrats nominate Guilford's Sean Scanlon for 98th District race". Nhregister.com. 2014-05-20. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
- ^ Marcia Chambers (2016-01-11). "Scanlon Seeks Second Term". Newhavenindependent.org. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
- ^ "Meghan Forgione, Sean Scanlon". The New York Times. 2017-10-08. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "Sean Scanlon". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ Mazzacane, Steve M. "State Rep. Sean Scanlon Named New Director of Tweed Airport Authority". BranfordSeven.com. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ Yu, Isaac; Tucker-Smith, Owen (2021-05-07). "Tweed lifts off with $100 million private investment and new terminal, airline". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "Sean Scanlon". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "Scanlon Praises Passage of Substance Abuse Bill". BranfordSeven.com. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ Rondinone, Nicholas. "Legislative Committee Passes Seven-Day Cap On Opioid Prescriptions". courant.com. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "Aresimowicz changes co-chairs at Finance, Labor committees". The CT Mirror. 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "Scanlon Leads Passage of Pre-Existing Condition Protection Legislation". Zip06.com. 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "House passes bills capping insulin costs, permitting broader telehealth services". The CT Mirror. 2020-07-23. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ Vrbin, Tess. "Gov. Lamont signs bill requiring insurers to provide equal coverage for mental health and substance abuse". courant.com. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ Stuart, Christine (2018-04-26). "House Sends Health Benefits Bill To Senate". CTNewsJunkie. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "Scanlon statement on final passage of drug price transparency bill 5-8-18.doc". groups.google.com. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "Years behind other states, rules for Uber, Lyft win final passage". The CT Mirror. 2017-06-07. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "Scanlon To Introduce Bill For Ethan's Law In Honor Of Guilford Teenage Gun Victim | Connecticut House Democrats". www.housedems.ct.gov. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "Parents watch House pass 'Ethan's Law'". The CT Mirror. 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "Ritter's first move: Scanlon to become finance co-chair". The CT Mirror. 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ Scanlon, Sean (2021-03-24). "State Rep. Sean Scanlon (opinion): State child tax credit would ease burden on families". Connecticut Post. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ "CT House passes $46B budget that avoids tax hikes". The CT Mirror. 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
- ^ McQuaid, Hugh (2022-04-04). "Scanlon Makes It Official". CT News Junkie. Retrieved 2022-07-05.