Bill Curry (politician)
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William E. Curry, Jr. (born December 17, 1951 in Hartford, Connecticut) has been a two-time Democratic nominee for Governor of Connecticut and a White House advisor in the administration of Bill Clinton.
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[edit] Education and Early Political Life
Curry was educated at St Justin's School in Hartford and Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford. He received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law. In 1978, at the age of 26, he was elected state senator from a district that included Farmington, Connecticut. Curry served two terms and then faced fellow state senator Nancy Johnson, a moderate Republican from New Britain in 1982 for the open seat formerly held by Toby Moffett in what was then the Sixth Congressional District. While 1982 was a poor year for Republicans in New England, Johnson defeated Curry.
During the ensuing eight years, Curry practiced law and worked in public policy positions in Washington, D.C. He was head of Freeze Voter, a nuclear freeze group.
In 1990, Curry was the Democratic nominee for state comptroller after a convention fight and then won a statewide election against the Republican nominee, Joel Schiavone.
During his political career Curry has been the favored candidate of liberal Connecticut Democrats and pundits frequently at odds with the old style moderate policies favored by such figures as former Governor William O'Neill and former party chairman John Droney.
[edit] Gubernatorial Bids and the White House
In 1994, John Larson won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in a convention, and Curry challenged him successfully in a primary. Curry's victory was attributed to his strong support from labor unions, who deemed Larson too moderate. The field in the general election included former Republican U.S. Representative John G. Rowland, Eunice Groark (lieutenant governor under the departing officeholder, Gov. Lowell P. Weicker, Jr.), Curry and Tom Scott, a former Republican legislator from Milford, Connecticut and talk show host running a conservative, anti-tax independent candidacy
In the general election campaign Rowland stressed his opposition to the state income tax and his support for tough measures against crime. Curry advanced a progressive issue agenda and criticised Rowland for close ties to large corporations such as United Technologies. Rowland won that election by three points.
After the election, Curry accepted a post as Counselor to the President and served as domestic strategist in the Clinton White House. He was closely linked to political strategist Dick Morris
Curry left the Clinton Administration after the 1996 election and served as Visiting Fellow at the Yale School of Management.
In 2002, Curry again ran against Rowland. While Curry did not face a primary opponent that year, the incumbent enjoyed a fund-raising advantage of roughly 5 to 1. In late September of the campaign, Curry charged that Rowland's administration had awarded contracts based on rigged bidding procedures. Although those charges later proved to be the heart of the scandal that forced Rowland to resign, plead guilty and serve a federal prison sentence, they did not become a significant issue in the campaign. Stressing his accomplishments as Governor, Rowland won his third term by a 12 point margin.
[edit] Journalism
Curry now writes a political column for the Hartford Courant. He is also a frequent guest on National Public Radio. He is also frequently on Colin McEnroe's afternoon radio show on WTIC.
