May 28, 2008

A "people person" seeks 77th for Republicans

For Jill Fitzgerald, serving in the state House “just seems like it falls in line with the type of things that I’ve done in my life.”
The 48-year-old owner of a bookkeeping company – who has co-produced two musicals for Bristol Theatre Arts – said that seeking political office is “the next level” for the sorts of things she’s been doing for years.
Fitzgerald, who served as Democratic city Councilor Kevin McCauley’s first campaign treasurer, was tapped by Republicans this week to run for the 77th District seat that freshman GOP state Rep. Ron Burns is giving up.
Fitzgerald will take on Christopher Wright, the son of a former state representative who held the seat for a decade, for the opportunity to represent northeastern Bristol in the legislature.
Wright said Wednesday that while he doesn’t know Fitzgerald, “I would like to welcome her to the race and look forward to an open exchange of ideas of the issues facing our city and state.”
Wright also thanked Burns for his service and wished him well in the future.
“While I may not agree with his political opinions, I believe that Ron is an honorable man who does good work for the children of Bristol in his job at the Boys and Girls Club,” Wright said.
Fitzgerald, a new member of the Republican Town Committee, is a moderate who can appeal to most voters in the Democratic-leaning district, party leaders said.
She said she considers herself a Republican because the party is friendly to “freedom, independence and small business” – issues that matter to her.
Fitzgerald said she is also a fiscal conservative, which aligns her more with the GOP “though you wouldn’t know it from this last president.”
Calling herself “a people person,” Fitzgerald said she’s done “a lot of volunteering” in the community for years.
“I have a lot of passion for our youth and our community and families,” she said.
The idea of seeking the state House seat arose, Fitzgerald said, arose while she was volunteering during the Day of Caring at Shepherd Meadows with some Republican officials. They talked about the race, she said, “and it started to just ring in me.”
Fitzgerald owns Bookkeeping Basics, a business she started so she could work at home when her children were young. She’s a QuickBooks Pro advisor.
Born in Southington, Fitzgerald has lived in Bristol her entire adult life. She has two children attending Bristol Eastern High School, a son who’s a senior and a daughter who’s a sophomore.
She and her husband of 23 years, Shawn Fitzgerald, co-produced two musicals for the community theater, including last fall’s production of “High School Musical.”
Fitzgerald is treasurer of the performing arts booster club at Eastern and has served on the school’s governance council in the past. She’s also active with her church, Baptist Community Valley Church in Avon.
Since graduating from Southington High School in 1978, Fitzgerald said she’s taken some courses in accounting and English, as well as some classes for certification she needs for her job, but does not have a college degree.
State lawmakers serve two-year terms and earn $28,000 for their part-time positions. The general election is November 4.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting relationships: she supported MCauley, MCauley supported Johnson.

Guess we are all just one happy family.

Anonymous said...

"People person?"
Blech. That's one trite, overused bit of fluff that should set off alarm bells about the shallowness of this candidate. I'm surprised, Steve, that you allowed her to get away with that.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad she's a "people person" and not just a numbers person.

This lady sounds like a great candidate. She sounds like a great person to serve in the Legislature representing the 77nd district in Bristol.

She is definately many levels above her opponent in regards to qualifications and background. Plus I like the fact that she's not a neo-marxist whining putz like him either.

Wright is Wrong for Bristol and especially for Connecticut. We don't need a jerk like him in the legislature. Oops did I get a bit negative there...sorry.

Anonymous said...

Gardner Wright was a former State Representative not a Senator

Anonymous said...

I honestly hope Ken "the mad Swede" Johnson is helping this lady. At least he has some drive and some brains.

Who do I contact to volunteer my support?

Anonymous said...

Wrong-Wright is taking the high road here. But wait. If he gets elected he'll vote to raise our taxes for every piece of social-welfare, anti-business legislation he can.

Anonymous said...

? - great republican website - oops, did I spill the secret? Damn, hate when that happens, which is more often than not - thank goodness that even the state gop realized the need to get moccable out of Bristol - past history dictates that he hasn't done "squat" since the word "squat" was first compiled.

Anonymous said...

Hope she is a better candidate than he was.

Hope she isn't doing any business with the city.

Anonymous said...

May 28, 2008 10:36 PM:
I know. Where is it?


What's also amazing is, although I don't mind not reading the petty snipes and name-calling often used in other conversation, there seems to be little interest in this elected position as compared to the relatively less important council positions.

Anonymous said...

www.bristolgop.com

Anonymous said...

I HAVE KNOWN JILL FOR MANY YEARS AND IF YOU HAVE A HEART FOR YOUR CITY THAN THAT WHAT WILL QUALIFY YOU AS OUR NEXT LEADER
BEST WISHES AND YOU GOT MY VOTE

Anonymous said...

Klemyk:

Re: www.bristolgop.com

It's "congratulations", not
"CONGRADULATIONS!!!!!" (sic).


duh!

Anonymous said...

Ken "The Mad Swede" Johnson was a good candidate. He lost by only around 300 votes and helped push two GOP Councilman into office*.

*one being an incumbent of course

Anonymous said...

Would that also make Zoppo a GOOD candidate?

Anonymous said...

May 29, 2008 5:52 PM:

Why, she did not do as well as Johnson vs. Ward.

Anonymous said...

How close was the previous mayor election?

Anonymous said...

When did the last politician not say that they were a people person???

Anonymous said...

yawn....

Anonymous said...

Unfortunatly for Mrs. Fitzgerald the results of this race will mirror the Presidential race in Bristol.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately Ms. Fitzgerald will be relying on Republicans for support.