Zawistowski Begins First Term as State Lawmaker

HARTFORD — Getting the state’s ailing economy back on solid ground and unemployed Connecticut residents back to work are top priorities for Tami Zawistowski, who today was sworn in as state representative for the 61st General Assembly District covering Suffield, East Granby, and Windsor.

“People in the three great communities I represent placed tremendous faith in me on the day of the recent special election, and that’s both an honor and responsibility I take seriously,” Zawistowski said. “Connecticut faces enormous challenges in the near future in the form of billion-dollar deficits, but I consider those challenges as drivers of change—to reshape government in a way that creates long-term stability.”

Zawistowski has stayed busy since her election by attending legislative meetings. She is already planning future constituent events in the district, where she will relay details about what’s happening at the capitol.

“I’ve had my sleeves rolled up for a week and I’m ready to get to work,” said Zawistowski, who voted on several bills just after her role as state representative became official.

Zawistowski joins a House Republican caucus that has driven the debate over Connecticut’s finances, contending that sound budgeting fueled by targeted spending reductions will help improve the state’s economy.

That’s a message Zawistowski heralded in the run-up to her election, when a strong show of support from voters vaulted her to membership with a House Republican caucus that now stands at 54 members.

Zawistowski has been appointed to the legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee as well as its committees on Commerce and Transportation.