Dan Debicella (born October 24, 1974) is a former State Senator and businessman, who represented the 21st district in the Connecticut State Senate. He was also the 2010 and 2014 Republican candidate for Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District.
Dan Debicella | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Connecticut State Senate from the 21st district | |
| In office January 7, 2007 – January 5, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | George Gunther |
| Succeeded by | Kevin C. Kelly |
| Constituency | Shelton, Stratford (part), Monroe (part), Seymour (part) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 24, 1974 Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Alexandra Galli |
| Residence | Shelton, Connecticut |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania (BS) Harvard University (MBA) |
| Website | http://www.debicella.com |
Early life, education, and business career
editDebicella was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Shelton, where he currently resides. His father, Cal, was a policeman for the Bridgeport Police Department and his mother, Maggie, is a secretary for the federal judicial system. He graduated from Shelton High School in 1992. He holds a degree in finance, magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business and an MBA from Harvard Business School, graduating in the top 5% of his class.
In his business career, Debicella worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Co., Director of Strategy at PepsiCo, and as an executive at Bridgewater Associates. He continues to currently serves on the board of various community organizations.
Early political career
editDebicella served on Shelton’s Board of Apportionment and Taxation for seven years, four as its chairman. Debicella acted as the Fairfield County regional chair for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign. He also worked for State Senator Doc Gunther as his campaign manager for several elections.
Connecticut Senate
editElections
editDebicella decided to run for the Connecticut State Senate's 21st district in 2006 after longest-serving state legislator in the state's history, Doc Gunther, decided to retire. He defeated Democratic nominee Christopher Jones, 52–48%.[1][2] In 2008, he won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee Janice Andersen, 54–46%.[3][4]
Tenure
editIn the State Senate, Debicella was a Deputy Minority Leader. He represented eastern Fairfield County in parts of the towns of Monroe, Seymour, Stratford, and the entire city of Shelton (which is also his hometown).
He co-authored legislation that gave tax credits to businesses that create 10 or more jobs. Working with Republican Governor Jodi Rell, he supported a budget that increased state aid for education by 10–20% without raising taxes.[5][non-primary source needed]
Committee assignments
edit- Appropriations Committee
- Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
- Public Health Committee
- Regulation Review Committee[6]
Congressional elections
edit2010
editDebicella decided to retire from the state legislature to run for Connecticut's 4th congressional district in 2010. On May 21, 2010, he won the endorsement of the Connecticut Republican Party at its convention. On August 10, 2010, Debicella won the Republican three-candidate primary field with 61% of the vote, defeating Robert Merkle and Rick Torres.[7]
The general election between Debicella and incumbent Democrat Jim Himes was very competitive. The race made CNN's Top 100 Most Competitive Races list, Politico’s Daily 10 (a tracker of the closest House Races), and Real Clear Politics' list of "toss up" races. On November 2, he lost to Himes 53–47%. Debicella won the following areas: Darien (67%), his hometown of Shelton (65%), New Canaan (65%), Easton (58%), Monroe (58%), Greenwich (55%), Oxford (55%), Ridgefield (54%), Wilton (54%), and Trumbull (53%). He lost Fairfield (49%), Redding (48%), Weston (47%), Westport (44%), Norwalk (40%), Stamford (39%), and Bridgeport (16%).[8]
2014
editIn September 2013, Debicella decided to run a rematch in the newly redrawn 4th district.[9]
Electoral history
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Debicella | 16,476 | 52 | ||
| Democratic | Chris Jones | 15,099 | 48 | ||
| Majority | 1,377 | ||||
| Turnout | 31,575 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Debicella | 24,940 | 54 | ||
| Democratic | Janice Andersen | 20,912 | 46 | ||
| Majority | 4,028 | ||||
| Turnout | 45,852 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Debicella | 16,153 | 61 | ||
| Republican | Rob Merkle | 6,912 | 24 | ||
| Republican | Rick Torres | 4,069 | 15 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Debicella | 102,030 | 47 | ||
| Democratic | Jim Himes | 115,351 | 53 | ||
References
edit- ^ "Our Campaigns - CT State Senate 21 Race - Nov 07, 2006".
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-05-23. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Our Campaigns - CT State Senate 21 Race - Nov 04, 2008".
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-19. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Debicella.com". Debicella.com. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
- ^ "Dan Debicella".
- ^ "Our Campaigns - CT- District 04 - R Primary Race - Aug 10, 2010".
- ^ "Our Campaigns - CT - District 04 Race - Nov 02, 2010".
- ^ "Former State Sen. Dan Debicella, of Shelton, to Challenge Himes in 2014 Bid for Congress". 5 September 2013.
External links
edit- Campaign website
- Profile at Connecticut Senate Republicans
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org