Mary Mushinsky, longest-serving member of the Connecticut House, to retire

After 46 years in the Connecticut General Assembly, Mary Mushinsky, the longest-serving member of the state House of Representatives, announced Thursday that she will not seek re-election this fall.

Speaking from the House floor, Mushinsky, 74, expressed her deep appreciation for the institution where she has served since 1980. “I have the greatest respect and love for this institution, members here and the staff,” she said. “And I’ve learned something from everyone here, including my Republican friends on the other side. I even learned something from the senators.”

Her gentle jab at the Senate drew laughter from her House colleagues, highlighting the good-natured rivalry between the two chambers. Mushinsky quickly noted her admiration for certain senators, particularly Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, who joined the legislature the same year she did.

Mushinsky and Looney are the last remaining members of the House class of 1980 still serving in the legislature. That incoming group included several political figures who would go on to significant roles, including future governor John G. Rowland and Looney himself, who now holds the record as the longest-serving leader of the Connecticut Senate.

Before entering politics, Mushinsky worked as an organizer and lobbyist for the Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG), a public interest organization inspired by consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Her transition from advocacy to elected office wasn’t entirely supported by her colleagues at the time. Her boss, Miles S. Rapoport, initially advised against her running for office, arguing that organizers should stay behind the scenes.

“Organizers are not supposed to get their name in the paper or have a persona of their own. And the legislature is kind of a compromising environment. You shouldn’t do it,” Rapoport told her. He later acknowledged, “Fortunately for Connecticut, she ignored my advice.”

Rapoport himself would later follow Mushinsky into electoral politics, winning a House seat and eventually becoming Connecticut’s Secretary of the State. The political landscape was shifting in 1980, with Ronald Reagan’s election energizing conservatives and drawing many young right-leaning activists into politics.

A Democrat, Mushinsky won her first election in 1980 even as Republican presidential candidate Reagan defeated incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter. She has since won re-election 23 times in the competitive 85th House District of Wallingford, maintaining her liberal stance in what has often been described as a “purplish” district that could swing either way politically.

During her nearly five decades in office, Mushinsky has witnessed significant transformations in the Capitol’s culture and operations. When she arrived, smoking was still permitted in the building, and the press room bustled with more than two dozen full-time reporters covering state government year-round.

Her personal life also intersected with her political career. She met her husband, Martin J. Waters, when he was an Associated Press reporter covering the Capitol. Waters ultimately gave up his assignment after they began dating, and they married in 1985. When their sons were born in 1987 and 1989, Mushinsky broke social barriers by breastfeeding them at the Capitol, despite the discomfort it caused some male colleagues. “I didn’t care,” she recalled. “My bosses are in Wallingford. They didn’t care.”

Mushinsky’s tenure has spanned numerous political epochs and witnessed the rise of several generations of Connecticut politicians. Perhaps nothing illustrates the breadth of her service better than the fact that the current House Speaker, Matt Ritter, wasn’t even born when she began serving alongside his father, Thomas D. Ritter, who would later become Speaker himself.

Mushinsky declined to identify her potential successor but said they will announce their candidacy on Friday. As she prepares to conclude her historic tenure, her departure marks the end of an era in Connecticut politics, one that has seen her maintain the trust of her constituents through dramatic changes in the political landscape, both nationally and in Connecticut.