Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Malloy names first openly gay justice to high court

  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • December 27, 2012
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who took office two years ago pledging to make the courts as diverse as Connecticut’s society, today nominated Andrew J. McDonald as the first openly gay justice of the state Supreme Court.

McDonald, 46, was an influential legal voice as co-chairman of the General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee before he left the legislature two years ago to become Malloy’s top legal adviser as general counsel. He is a longtime confidant of Malloy. Before becoming a legislator, he served as city attorney in Stamford when Malloy was mayor.

Andrew McDonald

Judicial nominee Andrew J. McDonald

Malloy said he selected McDonald to work for him both times for a simple reason.

“In my estimation, Andrew possesses an exceptional ability to understand and analyze, research and evaluate legal issues,” he said. Malloy said those skills will make McDonald a “great jurist.”

An emotional McDonald said he was humbled the first time he argued before the Connecticut Supreme Court. “The notion that one day I might sit as a member of that court is something I couldn’t have imagined,” he said.

If confirmed by the legislature, McDonald would succeed Lubbie J. Harper Jr., who was Malloy’s first appointment to the court. Harper reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 in November. Malloy has a second vacancy to fill: Justice Ian McLachlan also is 70. The governor said he would announce McLachlan’s appointment in the coming days.

As a justice, McDonald would bring to the state’s highest court the perspective of a politician who struggled to draft and pass legislation on the death penalty, gay marriage, transgender rights, gun control and drug penalties.

“The Judiciary Committee is the legislative cauldron for all of that,” McDonald said in 2009, when the panel drew the ire of Catholic clergy by considering a bill that could have forcibly reorganized the finances of Catholic parishes.

McDonald, who first ran for the state Senate in 2002 as an openly gay politician, was co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee in 2005, when the legislature passed a civil unions law that gave many of the same rights as marriage to same-sex couples.

The law was seen as a stepping stone to marriage, a right the state Supreme Court gave gay couples in 2008.

Like the governor, McDonald was a supporter in the legislature of gay marriage, transgender rights and the abolition of the death penalty.

In announcing McDonald’s nomination Thursday, Malloy spoke of the Supreme Court’s “heroic” decision in 2008 that legalized same-sex marriage, and noted that he performed McDonald’s wedding the following year to Charles Gray.

McDonald praised the governor as “one of the finest leaders and one of the finest human beings I have ever met.” And he thanked Malloy, his friends, colleagues and former law partners who attended the announcement, and Gray.

“For 15 years he was my ‘friend,’ my partner and my companion,” McDonald said, making quotation marks with his fingers. “Some three years ago I was so honored, governor, that you helped settle the name game by performing our wedding and allowing me to finally and officially call Charles my husband.”

McDonald also spoke of his late parents and the values they taught him. His mother, Anne, represented Stamford in the general assembly from 1991 to 2003. His father, Alex, died earlier this year.

“I would give anything for them to experience this,” he said.

The choice of McDonald, a Democrat, drew praise from top Republican senators Thursday.

“While Andrew and I have had considerable political differences over the years, I have always respected his commitment to public service and the law,” Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, said in a statement. “He is qualified and I am confident he will uphold the state constitution and carry out his responsibilities as a Supreme Court Justice with the highest degree of impartiality and integrity.”

McKinney noted that McDonald has never served as a judge but said that did not concern him.

Sen. Len Fasano, R-North Haven, called McDonald “a good choice.” “He is thorough, honest, and has a tremendous respect for the law and for the State of Connecticut,” Fasano said in a statement.

McDonald is a graduate of Cornell University and the University of Connecticut School of Law.

His departure from the administration comes as Malloy approaches the mid-point in his first term, a time when the governor is seeking another two-year commitment from senior aides who remain in their posts.

Roy Occhiogrosso, the governor’s senior adviser, also recently resigned. Malloy’s first chief of staff, Timothy Bannon, and first communication director, Colleen Flanagan, previously left the administration.

Follow Mark Pazniokas on Twitter @CTMirrorPaz

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Pazniokas

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
The J&J vaccine: What we know, what we don’t know, and where we go from here
by Kasturi Pananjady

Officials 'paused' administration of the vaccine on Tuesday

A little-known technical bill could be the key to more money for core programs
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Appropriations Committee leaders have a new strategy to more pump state dollars into education, social services and health care.

SB 1018: Connecticut’s effort to increase prosecutorial accountability and why it will not work
by Olivia Louthen

Senate Bill 1018 does not solve Connecticut’s largest criminal justice problem: outcomes for crime victims and defendants vary based on zip codes because judicial districts operate independently of one another.

Debunking the CBIA’s takedown of the public option healthcare bill
by Bill Shortell

I am writing to those struggling to defend the public option healthcare plan, under the burden of a mass of disinformation put out by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA). The latest version of the Public Option (SB 842) will offer a state-run healthcare package to small businesses, individuals, and not-for-profits.

A crisis and complaint about Anthem mental healthcare coverage
by Rebecca Burton, Rebecca Toner, Jorge Fernandez, Emily Stagg and Carrissa Phipps

We write on behalf of the Mental Health Clinicians Action Network of Connecticut (MHCAN-CT), a multidisciplinary group of mental health professionals aiming to improve access to mental health care by bridging the gaps between clients, clinicians in private practice, legislators, governing bodies, and insurance companies. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been advocating for permanent pay parity for telehealth services as well as more power to hold insurance companies accountable for meeting the standard of care.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion SB 1018: Connecticut’s effort to increase prosecutorial accountability and why it will not work
by Olivia Louthen

Senate Bill 1018 does not solve Connecticut’s largest criminal justice problem: outcomes for crime victims and defendants vary based on zip codes because judicial districts operate independently of one another.

Opinion Debunking the CBIA’s takedown of the public option healthcare bill
by Bill Shortell

I am writing to those struggling to defend the public option healthcare plan, under the burden of a mass of disinformation put out by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA). The latest version of the Public Option (SB 842) will offer a state-run healthcare package to small businesses, individuals, and not-for-profits.

Opinion A crisis and complaint about Anthem mental healthcare coverage
by Rebecca Burton, Rebecca Toner, Jorge Fernandez, Emily Stagg and Carrissa Phipps

We write on behalf of the Mental Health Clinicians Action Network of Connecticut (MHCAN-CT), a multidisciplinary group of mental health professionals aiming to improve access to mental health care by bridging the gaps between clients, clinicians in private practice, legislators, governing bodies, and insurance companies. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been advocating for permanent pay parity for telehealth services as well as more power to hold insurance companies accountable for meeting the standard of care.

Opinion Ensure that undocumented individuals have access to COVID-19 vaccine
by Moe Uddin

Now that the COVID-19 vaccine is available for all Connecticut residents over the age of 16 years, we must ensure equal access to the vaccine for all community members, especially vulnerable populations. In Connecticut, one such population that deserves our attention and support are our migrant farmworkers.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO