Toni Boucher

Toni Boucher
Member of the Connecticut Senate from the 26th District
Assumed office
January 7, 2009
Preceded by Judith Freedman
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 143rd District
In office
January 1997 – January 2009
Preceded by Leslie Young
Succeeded by Peggy Reeves
Personal details
Born Italy
Political party Republican
Alma mater American University
University of South Dakota
University of Connecticut, Storrs
Religion Roman Catholicism
Website Government website

Antonietta "Toni" Boucher (born December 4, 1949)[1] is a United States politician in Connecticut. She is currently a Republican member of the Connecticut Senate representing the 26th District and had previously served in the Connecticut House of Representatives representing the 143rd District.

Biography

Boucher was born in Italy and when she was five, she and her family immigrated to Naugatuck.[2] She is a Roman Catholic.[1]

Political Work

Boucher has served as a member of the Connecticut State Board of Education, where she was chair of the state’s policy and long-range planning committees after being nominated in 1995.[3]

In the 2002 election, Boucher lost approximately 200 uncounted votes when a mechanical voting machine broke down.[4]

In 2003, Boucher supported mass transit improvements.[5] Boucher has continued to work on transportation-related issues,[6] supporting the need to replenish the Highway Trust Fund.[7]

Boucher won against Democrat, Paul Burnham, in the 2004 election, taking 61% of the votes.[8]

In the 2008 election, Boucher won the senatorial 26th district seat following her six terms in Connecticut House of Representatives.

In 2010, Boucher promoted a new law in Connecticut which would allow pet owners to leave a trust to their pet in order to care for the animals in case of their owner's death.[9]

In 2013, Boucher addressed the United Nations regarding Senate resolutions on Tibet.[10]

Boucher won in the 2014 election over Democrat, Phil Sharlach.[6]

Currently in the Connecticut Senate, Boucher serves as a Deputy Minority Leader. Boucher is a ranking member of the state Legislature's Education Committee and Higher Education Committee.[11] She has been critical of the state's education record and recommended removing state education mandates and rewarding advanced students with scholarships.[11] She has also been critical of Governor Malloy's vetos of education-related bills, one of which would have required applicants for state commissioner of education to have education-related experience and higher-learning degrees.[12][13]

She also serves as a member of the General Assembly’s Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee, where she is ranking member of the sub committee for Transportation Bonding.

Prior to her election to the Connecticut state senate, Boucher served six terms in the Connecticut House of Representatives. She was first elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in November 1996 from the 143rd District, which included the eastern portion of Norwalk and most of Wilton. The district also previously included New Canaan.

Public service experience prior to the General Assembly

Prior to her first term as a State Representative, Boucher served on the Wilton Board of Selectmen and the town of Wilton’s Council on Public Facilities and Insurance Committees. She was also active in the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. In the past, she has served as an advisory board member of the New Canaan Nature Center and as a member of the Our Lady of Fatima Fundraising Steering Committee, Greystone Estates Association Board of Directors, Advisory Board of New Canaan Cares, Wilton League of Women Voters, Wilton Historical Society, Board of Directors of the Wilton Chapter of the AFS, and Friends of the Wilton Library.

From 1986 to 1994, she also served on the Wilton Board of Education, during which time she served as both the board’s chair and secretary. She also served on the Board of Directors of the Wilton Education Foundation and five school/community based planning teams; the Quality and Integrated Education Local Planning Committee and the Foreign Language Task Force (1978–92). She was active in the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education and the National Association of State Boards of Education; Wilton YMCA Expansion Fund; Board of the Wilton Youth Council's Project 94, 96 and 2000; Technology Task Force (1993–present); Gifted Task Force (1988–90); and the Wilton Parent-Teacher Associations. Early in her career, she worked as a translator and secondary education language teacher.

Awards

References

  1. 1 2 "Toni Boucher's Biography". Vote Smart. Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Kiernan, Matt (19 January 2014). "Potential Gubernatorial Candidate, Boucher, Encouraged by her Committee's Financing". The Hour. Retrieved 20 July 2015 – via Newspaper Source - EBSCO.
  3. ↑ Rabinovitz, Jonathan (5 May 1995). "Rowland Faces a Battle on 5 School Board Nominees, None Black or Puerto Rican". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  4. ↑ Flinn, R.S. (17 August 2003). "Voters Are Plugged In for Trial Run". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Stowe, Stacey (19 January 2003). "So Many Bills to Consider, So Little Money". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Toni Boucher Wins in Ridgefield and the Rest of Her District". The Ridgefield Press. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Cummings, Bill (20 July 2015). "Highway Fund Driving at Deadline - And Breakdown". CT Post. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "The Local Races in Connecticut". The New York Times. 9 November 2004. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  9. ↑ Soule, Alexander (18 January 2010). "In Dog We Trust". Fairfield County Business Journal. 49 (3): 1. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  10. ↑ Butler, Julie (30 January 2013). "New Canaan Resident, Local Legislators Start Pro-Tebet Resolution in Senate". NC Advertiser. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Wake-Up Call on Education". Fairfield County Business Journal. 50 (23): 4. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2015. (subscription required (help)).
  12. ↑ Boucher, Toni (3 July 2015). "Boucher: Why Is Governor Malloy Undermining Teachers Again?". The Ridgefield Press. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  13. ↑ "Boucher and Lavielle Critical of Education Bill Veto". Wilton Bulletin. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
Preceded by
Leslie Young		 Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives
from the 143rd District
January 1997 – January 2009 		Succeeded by
Peggy Reeves
Preceded by
Judith Freedman		 Member of the Connecticut Senate
from the 26th District
2009 – present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
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