State Senator Joseph J. Crisco, Jr.

First elected to the Connecticut State Senate in November of 1992, Joseph J. Crisco, Jr. represents the 17th Senatorial District towns of Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Derby, Hamden, Naugatuck, and Woodbridge.

Now serving his seventh term, Senator Crisco is part of the leadership team for the Senate Democratic Caucus. He is the Deputy Caucus Leader, and also serves as the Federal Relations Liaison for the caucus. Senator Crisco currently serves as the Chair of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee. He is the Vice Chair of the Banks and Commerce Committees, the Ranking Member of the Internship Committee, and a member of the Committee of Legislative Management. Formally, Senator Crisco served as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

Before being elected to the State Senate, Senator Crisco worked for the United Technologies Corporation. He joined UTC in 1976, serving in government liaison assignments before being named Director of Government Affairs in 1986. They promoted him to National Director of State and Local Government Affairs in 1990. Senator Crisco has also served as an associate professor of economics at Quinnipiac College, Sacred Heart University, and the University of New Haven.

Each year, Senator Crisco sponsors a Senior Fair, which provides health information and services to seniors in the 17th District. More than 800 seniors attend the fair, and it is one of the largest events of its kind held in Connecticut.

Senator Crisco also sponsors the Annual Young Women in Technology Expo to help introduce seventh grade young women to the many fields in which the knowledge of technology plays a critical role. The Expo is a day-long series of hands-on technology workshops on the campus of Quinnipiac University.

Long active in community service, Senator Crisco has served as Citizen Appointee to the Connecticut Legislative Task Force on Manufacturing, and as President of the University of Connecticut Alumni Association. He served as a member of the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees, the State Board of Higher Education, the Governor's Commission on Financial Assistance for Higher Education, the Woodbridge Board of Education and the State Community and Technical Colleges Board of Trustees.

Senator Crisco, long known as an advocate for senior citizens, quality health care, and economic development, is the recipient of many awards and honors that include being recognized for his legislative leadership by United Seniors in Action and the Birmingham Group. In addition, he received the Connecticut Medical Society Legislative Award for Commitment to Quality of Patient Care, the Wilbur Cross Humanities Award, the Connecticut Council of Independent Colleges Award for Distinguished Service, a Distinguished Service Award from the Italian Government, a Legislative Leadership Award from the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, and has been recognized for his commitment to home health care and by the State Firemen's Association. He received the Military Order of the Purple Heart Citation for his work on behalf of veterans and their families. He was named an Indoor Air Quality Hero for his efforts to help protect students and school employees from environmental health hazards, and the classrooms at the Redwing Pond House at the Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center were named after Senator Crisco because he helped obtain $30,000 in funding for the project.

Senator Crisco has also served as a member of several task forces and study groups. His present and past appointments include: Jobs for the Future Task Force, Naugatuck Valley Economic Study, Revenue Services Small and Medium Sized Users Committee, the Governor's Federal Funds Advisory Committee, Uncompensated Care Task Force, and the State Planning and Conservation Commission. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators.

Senator Crisco's legislative accomplishments include passage of his Investment Tax Credit, ConnPACE COLA, Deployment Center, Corridor Zone, Diabetes Coverage bills, creation of the Biomedical Research Trust Fund, which provides funding for research into heart disease, cancer and other smoking related illnesses, and bills to expand health coverage for screenings to help fight breast cancer. Additionally, Senator Crisco was proud to work successfully to obtain key funding for the refurbishment of the Sterling Opera House in Derby, a project that will help to spark redevelopment efforts both in Derby and throughout the Valley, as well as other important projects such as the expansion of the Ansonia Nature Center and the enhancement of the Bethany Historical Society.

In August 1998, Senator Crisco served as honorary chairman of Connecticut's first "Family Day," which is now an annual event that celebrated its ninth anniversary in September, 2006. "Family Day," created by Senator Crisco, promotes the virtues of family and parenting by setting aside a day each year for families to spend together.

Senator Crisco holds a bachelor of science degree in accounting from the University of Connecticut and studied at the graduate level at Trinity College in Hartford. Raised in New Haven, he lives in Woodbridge with his wife, Pat, a small business owner. They have six children and seventeen grandchildren.