Lowell Weicker, former Connecticut senator and governor, dies at 91
Lowell Weicker, a dominant figure in Connecticut politics from the 1960s through the 1990s, passed away today at the age of 91.
Weicker was born in Paris on May 16, 1931, to American parents and graduated from Yale University and the University of Virginia Law School. He served in the U.S. Army from 1953 to 1955, reaching the rank of first lieutenant.
A Republican, Weicker served in the Connecticut State House of Representatives from 1963 to 1969 and also served simultaneously as First Selectman of Greenwich from 1964 to 1968. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1968 and only served a single term before winning election to the U.S. Senate in 1970 where Democratic incumbent Thomas Dodd lost the primary to Joseph Duffey but stayed on the ballot as an independent.
Weicker became a national figure while serving on the Senate Watergate Committee, where he was the first Republican senator to call on President Richard Nixon to resignation. He was twice re-elected to the Senate and served through 1989.
Weicker made a brief and unsuccessful effort to win the Republican nomination for president in 1980, but his liberal-focused political viewpoints were increasingly out of touch with a party that embraced the conservatism of former California Gov. Ronald Reagan, who won the party”™s nomination and the presidential election. Weicker”™s low standing with conservatives resulted in one of the oddest alliances in 1980s politics when William F. Buckley Jr., the founder of National Review, and his brother James Buckley, who was elected to the Senate from New York in 1970 as the Conservative Party candidate, supported Democrat Joe Lieberman in the 1988 Connecticut Senate race, which Weicker lost.
Weicker abandoned the Republican Party to run for Connecticut governor in 1990 under the independent banner of A Connecticut Party. He defeated Republican John G. Rowland and Democrat Bruce Morrison. But Weicker lost a great deal of public support when he reversed his opposition to a state income tax and pushed for its adoption, which occurred by a narrow margin. Although he was presented with John F. Kennedy Library Foundation’s Profile in Courage Award for pushing the unpopular decision into law, he recognized the evaporation of voter supporter and opted not to seek re-election.
Weicker”™s post-political career included service on the board of directors of several major companies and organizations, most notably World Wrestling Federation (now WWE).
Gov. Ned Lamont announced that he is directing U.S. and State of Connecticut flags to half-staff in Weicker’s honor.
“Lowell and Claudia have been great friends to Annie and me for many years, and I am grateful for the counsel and advice that he provided,” said Lamont. “He truly cared about implementing policies that improve Connecticut for the better, and I admire his independent way of leading. Lowell never ducked a tough battle, absolutely convinced that he was right, and he usually was. He was always bigger than life, and he always will be. On behalf of the people of the State of Connecticut, I thank Governor Weicker and his entire family for everything they have provided our state. Annie and I extend our deepest sympathies.”
Photo of Weicker from the 1970s courtesy Wikimedia Commons