Christopher Donovan

	Christopher Donovan
	Connecticut House of Representatives, District 84
	Former officeholder
	In office
	1993 - January 5, 2013
Party	Democratic
	Compensation
Base salary	$28,000/year
	Elections and appointments
Last election	November 2, 2010
First elected	1992
Term limits	N/A
	Education
Bachelor's	Villanova University
Master's	University of Connecticut School of Social Work, 1980
Websites
	Office website
	Campaign website
	Christopher Donovan campaign logo

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Christopher Donovan was a Democratic member of the Connecticut House of Representatives. He represented the 84th District from 1993 to 2013 and served as State Speaker of the House.

Donovan ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Connecticut's 5th District. Donovan sought the nomination on the Democratic ticket.^[1] The primary was on August 14, 2012. Donovan was defeated by Elizabeth Esty in the Democratic primary on August 14, 2012.^[2]

Biography

Education:^[3]

Villanova University, degree in Biology
1980:University of Connecticut School of Social Work, Master’s Degree in Social Work

Career

Donovan has been a labor representative with the Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges, Connecticut Citizen's Action Group, Service Employees International Union, and Adjunct Faculty Member in Political Science/Sociology at the University of Hartford.

He is a member of the Collegiate Education for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons Advisory Board, and School of Social Work Advisory Committee at the University of Connecticut.^[4]

Role as speaker

As the Speaker of the House, Donovan supervises a staff that includes Douglas Whiting, whose role is to serve as the head of public relations for the Speaker. Whiting earns $162,850,50/year in this role, making him one of the 1,128 state employees in Connecticut who earn more than Gov. Dan Malloy.^[5]^[5]^[6]

Committee assignments

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Donovan served on these committees:

Legislative Management Committee, Connecticut General Assembly, Co-Chair

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Donovan served on these committees:

Joint Committee on Legislative Management (Co-Chair)

Elections

2012

See also: Connecticut's 5th congressional district elections, 2012

Donovan ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Connecticut's 5th District. Donovan sought the nomination on the Democratic ticket. Donovan was defeated by Elizabeth Esty in the Democratic primary on August 14, 2012.^[2]^[7] Candidates wishing to run must file by the signature filing deadline of June 12, 2012. The primary elections were held on August 14, 2012.

Following the Democratic primary on August 14, 2012 in which Elizabeth Esty defeated Donovan, the endorsed candidate of the Democratic party, discussion speculated on whether Donovan would choose to still run against Esty in the general election as the Working Families Party nominee.^[8] However, in late August 2012 discussion began between Donovan, Esty, and the Working Families Party over whether Esty might pick up the nomination of the party, preventing division amongst the Democratic party that might give way to a win by Republican nominee Andrew Roraback in the general election.

While Donovan was endorsed by the Democratic party and was the frontrunner for most of the campaign, an investigation by the FBI closer to the primary hurt his chances in the primary. Two of Donovan's staff members were among eight people arrested and were immediately fired and replaced after a sting operation by the FBI in which the staffers were allegedly accepting campaign contributions from straw donors.^[8] Although Donovan was not implicated and an investigation paid for by the campaign cleared him of having any knowledge of wrongdoing, it was enough to derail his campaign.^[8]

Esty picked up endorsements in August 2012 from the Connecticut AFL-CIO and Governor Dan Malloy (D).^[9]

Endorsements

Donovan received the endorsement of the Connecticut AFL-CIO on June 26, 2012.^[10]

Donovan also received endorsements from:

Connecticut Democratic Party
Secretary of State Denise Merrill,
Comptroller Kevin Lembo
Former 5th district Representative Jim Maloney
Congressman and Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Raul Grijalva
Congresswoman and Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Chellie Pingree
Connecticut Working Families Party
Connecticut Citizen Action Group
Progressive Change Campaign Committee
Blue America
SEIU CT State Council
Connecticut State Police Union
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478
Sheet Metal Workers Local 40, AFT Connecticut
AFSCME Council 4
AFSCME Council 15 – the Connecticut Council of Police
Connecticut Education Association
Connecticut State Council of Machinists
Connecticut Carpenters
IAFF – Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association of Connecticut
United Auto Workers Region 9A
Connecticut Laborers District Council
United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 777

2010

See also: Connecticut House of Representatives elections, 2010

Donovan ran for re-election to the 84th District seat in 2010. He defeated Allan E. Pronovost (R), Ben C. Wojan (G), and We the People candidate David Parian in the November 2 general election.

Connecticut House of Representatives, District 84 General Election (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Christopher Donovan (D)		2,285
Allan E. Pronovost (R)		925
David Parian (We the People)		58
Ben C. Wojan (G)		44

2008

On November 4, 2008, Donovan won re-election to the Connecticut House of Representatives from Connecticut's 84th District, defeating Joseph Moller (R). Donovan received 4,345 votes in the election while Moller received 908 votes.^[11] Donovan raised $32,173 for his campaign.^[12]

Connecticut House of Representatives, District 84
Candidates		Votes
Christopher Donovan (D)		4,345
Joseph Moller (R)		908

Campaign donors

2010

In 2010, Donovan raised $29,487 in contributions. ^[13]

His largest contributor was the Public Fund, which donated $24,014 to his campaign.

2008

Listed below is the largest contributor to Christopher Donovan's 2008 campaign.

Donor	Amount
Public Fund	$24,331

Scorecards

Yankee Institute's Voter Guide

See also: Yankee Institute's Voter Guide

The Yankee Institute, a pro-market think tank, releases its Voter Guide after each two-year legislative term. Each member of the Connecticut General Assembly receives a score from 0 to 10 based on how he or she voted in ten key votes. The Institute selects key votes which "reveal the differences between those legislators that would harness the power of individual liberty and the market to improve lives, and those that prefer a centrally-planned approach." A legislator with a 10 voted in agreement with the Yankee Institute on all 10 votes, while a legislator with a 0 voted against the Yankee Institute's views or was absent for all 10 votes.^[14]

2012

Donovan received a score of 0 on the Yankee Institute's Voter Guide for 2011-12, tied with 72 others for the lowest score among the 152 scored members of the Connecticut House of Representatives. This score was 2 lower than his score of 2 for the 2009-10 term.^[14]

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