Dan Debicella is the State Senator from the 21st District, which includes Stratford, Shelton, Monroe, and Seymour.
Dan has been a resident of Shelton for over twenty years, and continues to lead a successful business career while bring deeply involved with civic organizations. As a State Senator, Dan is using his business and community experience to have a positive impact on Connecticut and the communities he represents.
Serving his first term as a State Senator, Dan is working to lower state taxes, reform local property taxes, create jobs through economic development, and protect our local environment. He believes strongly in a small, efficient government and that it is individual people and small business—not big government—that creates jobs and improves the quality of life for families in Connecticut. Dan also believes we need to increase our open space and outdoor recreational areas, and protect Long Island Sound for future generations.
Senator Debicella currently serves on the Appropriations, Environment, Commerce, and Higher Education committees (and serves as ranking member on Commerce and Higher Education).
Before running for office, Dan had deep roots in his local community. Dan and his family moved to Shelton from Bridgeport when he was seven. 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 went to Shelton public schools, and he graduated from Shelton High School in 1992. He was the first person in his family to attend college full-time, graduating magna cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1996 with a degree in Finance. Dan went on to get his MBA from Harvard Business School in Boston in 2000, where he graduated 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 spent five years as a management consulting for McKinsey & Co., where he advised Fortune 500 companies on sales and marketing issues. Dan also ran his own small Internet business, Textbooks Online, during the high tech boom of the late 1990’s. Currently, Dan is the Director of Strategy for Pepsi, where he helps develop long term marketing plans and product innovation.
Dan has been deeply involved with the community for the past two decades, both through local elective office and community organizations. Dan served on Shelton’s Board of Apportionment and Taxation for seven years, the last four as its Chairman. While on the board, Dan lowered taxes in Shelton by over 8%-- and is fighting to do the same in Hartford.
In addition, Dan has been a member of numerous community organizations. Dan serves on the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement for Western Connecticut, and on 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.
