About
State Representative Kathleen McCarty has served the 38th General Assembly District covering Waterford and Montville with distinction since 2015. She currently serves as Ranking Member of the Education Committee, and is a member of the Appropriations and Public Health Committee; ranking members serve as a liaison to caucus members regarding important issues from each individual committee.
As Ranking Member of the Education Committee, Rep. McCarty leads members on all matters relating to the Department of Education; local and regional boards of education and the substantive law of collective bargaining covering teachers and professional employees of such boards; vocational rehabilitation; the Commission on the Arts; and libraries, museums and historical and cultural associations.
Rep. McCarty provides a voice for residents of the 38th District during Public Health Committee discussions surrounding health matters such as Covid-19, emergency medical services, licensing boards, nursing homes, pure food and drugs, mental health, controlled substances, treatment of substance abuse.
On the Appropriations Committee, Rep. McCarty and her colleagues oversee state agency budgets, collective bargaining, and salaries, benefits and retirement of state employees, teachers and veterans.
Rep. McCarty received her Bachelor of Arts from Sacred Heart University, a Master of Arts in Teaching French from Fairfield University, and a Master of Arts in Medieval Studies from Fordham University. She was also a graduate student at Purdue University’s Ph.D. Studies Program in French and was a former Ph.D. (ABD) Candidate French Program student at the University of Connecticut.
Rep. McCarty’s professional experience includes work as a Connecticut high school French teacher, co-pilot, family business co-owner, sports coach and assistant to the Fordham University Medieval Studies program director.
Her numerous volunteer activities include serving as a former Chairman to Thames Valley Council for Community Action (TVCCA), member of the Board of Trustees, former Member of the USS Connecticut Commissioning Committee, chair for the Waterford Board of Education, founder of the Waterford Education Foundation, chair of the Waterford Republican Town Committee, Civil Air Patrol Major, and member of the board of directors of the National & Connecticut Federations of Republican Women. Rep. McCarty is also a member of professional organizations such as the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education and National School Board Association, Women in Aviation International, and Société des Professeurs Français et Francophone d’Amérique.
Rep. McCarty was named as a 2023 Carroll J. Hughes Legislator of the Year for her efforts on behalf of law enforcement in the State of Connecticut. Rep. McCarty was also named 2023 Connecticut Education Association’s Education Champion for her continued work on behalf of students, teachers and support staff as Ranking Member of the legislature’s Education Committee. As the former chair to the Board of Education, Rep. McCarty is the recipient of several awards from the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE). She has also received several leadership awards from the Eastern Connecticut Regional Mental Health Board.
A small business owner, Rep. McCarty is a mother to two adult daughters and a grandmother to three wonderful grandchildren.