Rep. William Petit joins series of legislators leaving at the end of this term
After six years in the General Assembly, Rep. William Petit has joined about two dozen state legislators who are leaving when their current terms end.
Petit, a Republican whose 22nd District covers Plainville and sections of New Britain, said Tuesday that he wants to spend more time with his family.
He also acknowledged that the lopsided Democratic majority in the state House has reduced the impact of his vote in Hartford.
“The legislature was much more effective back in 2017 — it’s not a balanced House and Senate any more,” said Petit, whose freshman term was spent in a nearly evenly split House. Democrats held just a 79-72 edge, and the Senate was divided 18-18.
In recent years, Republicans have slipped badly in Connecticut; Democrats now control the House 97-54 and the Senate 23-13. Even though Petit’s popularity with Plainville voters has remained strong — he won reelection in 2018 by a 66-34 margin and was unopposed in 2020 — the dynamics at the Capitol changed what he could accomplish, Petit said Wednesday.
“A lot of my colleagues get tired of losing vote after vote after vote, even when you feel like it’s a good faith amendment or suggestion,” Petit said.
The primary reason to leave after the November election, though, is to spend more time with his parents and with his young son, Petit said.
“I’ve tried to think about it from both sides. If I was on the majority side and we had 90 (seats) and the other guys had 60, would I stay? No,” he said. “My dad is 88, my mom is 87, neither of them drive. My son William is 8. It’s time to put them first now. I need a little more flexibility in my schedule.”
Petit, 65, is the ranking member of the public health committee and also serves on education and the energy and technology committees. All of that takes a toll on daily schedules, he said.
“After you’ve been there a while, your responsibilities increase significantly,” Petit said. “It’s a more time-consuming and complicated job — more than I knew about when I started. I’m not quite sure how people with full-time jobs manage.”
Petit has plenty of company in leaving the General Assembly this year. In greater numbers than usual, incumbents from both parties have been announcing they’re done — which means the November election will have more open seats than usual.
In Greater Hartford, a few of the departing lawmakers include Democratic Rep. John Hampton of Simsbury and three Republicans: Rep. Whit Betts, who represents Plymouth and part of Bristol, Sen. Dan Champagne of Vernon and Sen. Kevin Witkos of Canton.
Democrats this week will nominate a candidate for the 22nd House District; Plainville school board member Rebecca Martinez is seeking the endorsement. Republicans will select their candidate next week; so far, Francis Rexford-Cooley appears to be the likely choice.
In Simsbury, former First Selectman Eric Wellman is seeking the Democratic endorsement to run for the seat that Hampton is leaving. Attorney Melissa Osborne earlier this year filed documents with the state indicating that she would run.
On the Republican side, former Selectman Michael Paine is looking to run on the GOP ticket.
In Champagne’s 14-town Senate district, Coventry town council member Lisa Thomas is seeking the Democratic endorsement to run. Dr. Jeff Gordon of Woodstock wants to run on the GOP line.
Declared candidates for Witkos’ state Senate seat in the Farmington Valley include Republican Lisa Seminara and Democrat Paul Honig.
Joe Hoxha and Aileen Abrams have filed documents to seek the GOP endorsement for Betts’ House district; no Democrats had filed as of Tuesday.
