Henri Martin
Member of the Connecticut State Senate
from the 31st district
Assumed office
January 12, 2015
Preceded byJason Welch
Constituencyrepresents Bristol, Harwinton (part), Plainville (part), Plymouth, and Thomaston
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceBristol

Henri Martin is a Republican member of the Connecticut State Senate. First elected to the Senate in 2014, he has represented Connecticut's 31st State Senate district since 2015.

Education and business career

Martin graduated from Bristol Central High School in 1974 and received a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Saint Anselm College in 1978.[1] He is a real estate broker.[1] He owns Henri Martin Real Estate and Broad Street Self Storage.[2]

Political career

From 2011 to 2013,[1] Martin was a member of the Bristol City Council.[3]

State Senate elections

He won election to the Senate seat for the 31st district in 2014, in the open seat being vacated by Republican Jason Welch, who decided not to run for reelection.[3] Martin defeated Democratic nominee Robert Michalik, the town attorney for Plainville.[3] In addition to Bristol and Plainville, the 31st district includes Harwinton, Plymouth, and Thomaston.[3] The legislature's addition of Thomaston to the 31st district in 2012 (during the redistricting process) gave the district more Republican-leaning voters, helping Martin to prevail in 2014.[3] In the 2016 election, Martin defeated Democratic nominee Michael Nicastro, who previously led the Central Connecticut Chamber of Commerce.[2][3] Martin was reelected in the 2018 election, defeating Democratic nominee Christopher Wright, a former state representative.[4] Martin won reelection in the 2020 election, defeating Bristol City Councilwoman Mary Fortier, the Democratic candidate.[5][6] In 2022, Martin won a fifth term, defeating Democratic nominee Greg Hahn, a Bristol city councilman.[7][8]

Tenure

Martin opposes legalization of marijuana in Connecticut,[9] and has been an outspoken opponent of proposals to introduce highway tolls in the state.[10][11][12]

In 2017, Martin voted in favor of a gambling expansion bill to allow the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to develop a casino in East Windsor.[13] In 2020, Martin opposed Governor Ned Lamont's proposal to join the Transportation and Climate Initiative to reduce carbon emissions; like other Republicans, Martin arguing that the proposal would increase energy prices.[14] In 2022, Martin voted against an abortion safe-harbor bill.[15]

Martin was one of two ranking Republican members of the Transportation Committee in 2019,[16] and in 2023 he was the ranking Republican member of the Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee (which considers tax measures in Connecticut).[17][18] He is also a member of the State Bond Commission; in that role, he has criticized the Connecticut Port Authority over its oversight of a long-troubled project to redevelop the New London-based State Pier.[19][20][21]

References

  1. ^ a b c Chris Hunn, Candidate Profiles: Henri Martin, 31st District Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, Republican-American (October 29, 2016).
  2. ^ a b Henri Martin wins 31st District Senate seat Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, Register Citizen (November 8, 2016).
  3. ^ a b c d e f Kyle Constable, Control of the CT Senate at stake in battleground districts Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, CT Mirror (August 15, 2016).
  4. ^ Martin claims another term in 31st Senate District Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, Republican-American (November 7, 2018).
  5. ^ Mary Fortier challenging incumbent Henri Martin in 31st Senate District race Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, Republican-American (September 26, 2020).
  6. ^ Election History: November 3, 2020 General Election, State Senator, District 31 Archived December 30, 2023, at the Wayback Machine, Secretary of the State of Connecticut.
  7. ^ Democrats Greg Hahn and Andrew Rasmussen-Tuller announce candidacies for state office Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, Bristol Edition (April 20, 2022).
  8. ^ Election History: November 8, 2022 General Election, State Senator, District 31 Archived December 30, 2023, at the Wayback Machine, Secretary of the State of Connecticut.
  9. ^ Daniela Altimari and Christopher Keating, House GOP threatens filibuster of Connecticut legal weed bill Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, Hartford Courant (June 8, 2021).
  10. ^ Susan Haigh, Cities, towns passing resolutions opposing highway tolls Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press (March 5, 2019).
  11. ^ Jean Falbo-Sosnovich, Packed house at Derby's City Hall say no to tolls Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, New Haven Register (March 20, 2019).
  12. ^ Christine Stuart, Anti-toll rally draws thousands in Hartford, CTPost (May 18, 2019).
  13. ^ Mark Pazniokas, Tribes win casino fight in Senate, face battle in House Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, CTMirror (May 24, 2017).
  14. ^ Matt Caron, Gov. Lamont takes a regional approach to transportation investment through climate change agreement Archived 2022-08-08 at the Wayback Machine, WTIC-TV (December 22, 2020).
  15. ^ Ken Dixon, CT safe-harbor abortion bill approved amid Democrats' racial divide Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, CT Insider (April 30, 2022).
  16. ^ Keith M. Phaneuf, DOT says transportation capital program needs more funding Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, CTMirror (April 8, 2019).
  17. ^ Susan Haigh, Connecticut Senate passes $51 billion budget with historic tax cut, governor says he'll sign it Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press (June 6, 2023).
  18. ^ Susan Haigh, Lawmakers agree on tax cuts though debate over how, when Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press (April 6, 2022).
  19. ^ Andrew Brown, Manager at CT State Pier recommended itself for $87M in contracts Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, CTMirror (November 20, 2022).
  20. ^ Keith M. Phaneuf, Port Authority chair: Officials knew State Pier would cost more than $93M Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, CTMirror (May 26, 2022).
  21. ^ Hugh McQuaid, Bond Commission Approves More Borrowing for Troubled State Pier Project Archived 2023-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, CTNewsJunkie (June 30, 2023).

External links

Members of the Connecticut State Senate
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