Dan Debicella is the State Senator from the 21st district, which includes Stratford, Shelton, Monroe, and Seymour. Dan is serving his second term in office.
Dan has been a resident of Shelton for more than twenty years, and continues to lead a successful business career while being deeply involved with civic organizations. As a State Senator, he continues to use his business and community experience to have a positive impact on Connecticut and the communities he represents.
During his first term in office, Dan authored or co-sponsored a number of laws that are improving the quality of life for Connecticut families.
- Job Creation Tax Credits. Dan co-authored legislation that encourages job creation by giving tax credits to Connecticut businesses that create 10 or more jobs.
- Funding for Education. Working with Governor Rell, Dan supported a budget that brought 10-20% increases in state aid for education to each town in his district—without raising state income or sales taxes.
- Anti-Dumping Environmental Legislation. Dan authored a state law to protect families across Connecticut by prohibiting the dumping of large quantities of asbestos-containing materials near residential neighborhoods without permission from local elected officials. He worked to pass this new law in response to the result of the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s now defunct plans to consolidate Raymark Industries waste from 20 sites into three near Stratford residential neighborhoods.
In his second term, Dan is working to eliminate the state budget deficit without raising taxes, reform local property taxes, create jobs through economic development, and protect our environment. He believes strongly in a small, efficient government because it is individual people and small businesses—not big government—that creates jobs and improves the quality of life for families in Connecticut.
Dan is Deputy Minority Leader, and serves as Ranking Senator on the legislature’s Appropriations Committee, Public Health Committee, and Higher Education Committee. He is also a member of the Regulation Review Committee.
Dan has deep roots in the community. His father, Cal, was a policeman in Bridgeport and his Mom, Maggie, is a secretary in the federal judicial system. Dan and his three siblings attended Shelton public schools. He graduated from Shelton High School and was the first person in his family to attend college full time. Dan graduated magna cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Finance. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in Boston, graduating in the top 5% of his class.
Dan has led a successful business career, from management consulting, to running a small business, to working for a Fortune 500 company. He currently is Assistant Vice President of Marketing at The Hartford, where he markets property and casualty insurance to small businesses. Previously, Dan worked as Director of Strategy for Pepsi, where he developed long term plans for marketing, sales, and product innovation. He spent five years as a management consultant for McKinsey & Co., where he advised Fortune 500 companies on sales and marketing issues. He also ran his own small Internet business, Textbooks Online, during the high tech boom of the late 1990ʼs.
Dan is also involved with numerous community organizations. He serves on the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement for Western Connecticut, the Board of Directors of the Kennedy Center in Trumbull, and the Board of Incorporators of both the Shelton/Derby Boys & Girls Club and the Birmingham Group. He is a lifelong member of St. Lawrence Parish in Shelton.
Dan lives in Shelton with his wife Alexandra, who is pursuing a PhD in Strategic Management.
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