Looney Won't Seek Reelection - New Haven Independent

After spending more than 45 years representing New Haven in the state legislature — including as the longest-serving leader in the history of the state Senate — Martin Looney announced on Saturday that he won’t be running for reelection this year. “I was raised by New Deal Democratic immigrant parents and believe to my core that enlightened public policy can deliver positive transformation when government takes its obligations seriously,” Looney is quoted as saying in an email press release. “I have spent more than four decades in the Capitol, believing that government, when it is honest, purposeful, and willing to make hard choices, is a singularly powerful tool available to a democratic society for advancing human dignity. That belief has not wavered.” Looney, a 77-year-old Democrat, has long been one of the most accomplished progressives in state government. He lead the way on the passage of a $15 minimum wage with built-in annual increases, the adoption of a statewide paid family and medical leave program, a prohibition on mandatory “captive audience” meetings held by employers to intimidate workers out of joining unions, and, most recently, the striking of a state budget deal with Gov. Ned Lamont that, if approved, will send $270 million in municipal and education aid to towns and cities across Connecticut, including nearly $20 million to New Haven. Click here to read a February 2026 profile of Looney by the CT Mirror’s Mark Pazniokas, and click here, here, here, and here to read more about his legislative priorities as he’s helmed the state Senate over the years. “I am grateful for the service of Marty Looney, who has been a steady, principled voice in the Connecticut General Assembly for working families and the kind of patient, serious legislating that produces lasting results,” Lamont is quoted as saying in a separate email press release sent out on Saturday. Lamont pointed to their work together on boosting the Earned Income Tax Credit and raising the minimum wage. He also spoke about their shared love of American history, including for Calvin Coolidge, “or ‘Silent Cal’ – a man who understood that not every moment required a speech. We’d laugh that the Connecticut Senate could use a few more Silent Cals, but our state is lucky that Marty is anything but ‘silent.’” State House of Representatives Speaker Matt Ritter, a Hartford Democrat, described Looney on Saturday as “a giant of the Connecticut General Assembly and a true advocate for those in need.” “I can’t say enough about Marty Looney—a beacon of service to others and one of the smartest people I know,” Ritter said in an email statement. “While he may be retiring, he will always be someone I turn to for counsel or simply to talk about life.” And in still another tribute, Mayor Justin Elicker on Saturday praised Looney for raising the minimum wage, increasing state PILOT funds, and “securing millions upon millions of dollars for countless infrastructure projects,” thereby improving the lives of “generations of New Haveners.” “Senator Looney is a son of the Elm City who has left an indelible mark on both the City of New Haven and the State of Connecticut,” Elicker said. “On behalf of a grateful city, I thank Senator Looney for his lifetime of service, and wish him, his wife Ellen and the entire Looney family the very best in life’s next chapter.” A born and raised New Havener, Looney has represented the 11th district in the state Senate since 1993. That district covers parts of Hamden and New Haven, including Looney’s longtime home neighborhood of Morris Cove. (Looney grew up in Fair Haven.) Before ascending to the senate, Looney represented the 96th district in the state House of Representatives from 1981 to 1993. Looney has also served as the state senate’s president pro tempore since 2015 — the longest tenure of anyone to hold that top legislative role. He had previously filed to run for another two-year term before announcing on Saturday his decision to retire. His coming departure opens up a New Haven state senate seat for the first time in more than a decade, when Toni Harp stepped down from her role representing the 10th district in order to successfully run for New Haven mayor in 2013. Looney’s sole New Haven colleague in the state senate, Gary Winfield, has represented the 10th district ever since winning a special election in 2014. Online state campaign records show that Looney is the only candidate so far this year to have filed to run for the 11th district seat in the November general election. As the CT Mirror’s Mark Pazniokas pointed out in his article about Looney’s retirement announcement on Saturday, New Haven State Rep. Al Paolillo, Jr. — a fellow Morris Cove Democrat and close friend of Looney’s — hasn’t yet filed for reelection for his 97th district state House of Representatives seat, potentially pointing to Paolillo’s interest in running for Looney’s senate seat. In a statement sent out by email at around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Paolillo thanked Looney for his friendship, mentorship, and decades of public service. “It truly has been an honor to have partnered for a decade with Marty as his State Representative,” Paolillo said. “We are all better for his service and although he is irreplaceable, we must all do our best to live up to the exemplary standard that he set.” See below for Looney’s full email announcement on Saturday. Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney Announces He Will Not Seek Reelection in 2026 HARTFORD — Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) announced today that he will not seek reelection to the Connecticut State Senate in 2026, concluding a 46-year legislative career that began in 1981. Senator Looney has represented the 11th Senate District, encompassing New Haven and parts of Hamden, since 1993, and has served in the Connecticut General Assembly since 1981. He is the longest-serving Senate President Pro Tempore (2015 to present) and, prior to that time, he was the longest-serving Senate Majority Leader (2003 to 2015) in Connecticut’s history. Understanding the time limits of the end of session and true to his passion to ensure passage of meaningful legislation, a celebration of Senator Looney’s work will be held in late May, not during the final days of the 2026 General Assembly session. Senator Looney released the following statement: “Serving the people of Connecticut in the General Assembly for 46 years has been the great privilege of my public life, and it is not a privilege I have ever taken lightly. To this day, I still find it hard to believe that a child of Irish immigrant parents and growing up in the Fair Haven section of New Haven became the longest-serving Senate Majority Leader and Senate President in state history. In many ways, I grew up and grew old in the General Assembly. I was elected to the House unmarried and now leave with three amazing grandchildren. I entered the General Assembly before I began law school and went on to be engaged at a leadership level with every issue pending before the State Senate for the last 24 years. After all this time, I want to leave the General Assembly while more people are still encouraging me to stay than to leave. I believe that after many years in Senate leadership, the time has come for someone else to take the helm. I have the utmost confidence that the Senate Democratic caucus will continue to produce superb public policy under the leadership of Senator Bob Duff, who is primed and supremely ready for the challenge. “No career of this length is sustained without the love, support, and sacrifice of those who are closest. My loving wife Ellen has been my partner, confidant, and source of comfort and strength through it all, and I am more grateful to her than I can adequately express in any statement. My son Michael and my grandchildren, Matthew, Anna, and Isabel, have reminded me, across all the years, sessions, and late nights this work demands, of what a commitme