The last Republican to serve as governor of Connecticut died Nov. 20, after a short illness. M. Jodi Rell was a respected figure during her political career. She worked across party lines on issues despite opposition from her own party, and took the office after the scandal-ridden Gov. John G. Rowland resigned in 2004.
That was the same year she received an honorary degree in law from the University of New Haven.
Gov. Rell was born and raised in Virginia and later moved to New Jersey when she married her husband Lou in 1967. The couple moved to Connecticut in 1969. Rell later entered politics and she was elected to the Connecticut State House of Representatives in the 107th district where she served for 10 years.
In 1994, she was elected Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut on the ticket with Rowland. They were re-elected together in 1998 and 2002. However, Rowland resigned halfway through his third term due to a corruption investigation, and Rell stepped into office.
She became the second woman ever to serve as governor of Connecticut, after Ella Grasso served from 1975-1980.
Rell earned high approval ratings throughout her tenure as governor. She ran for a full term in 2006, and won by more than 300,000 votes. She retired in 2011.
Rell was a moderate Republican. She was socially liberal and supported abortion rights, stem cell research and improving LGBTQ+ rights despite opposition from some Republicans in the state. While she was fiscally conservative, she was still willing to work with those on the left on fiscal issues and communicate on such issues.
Incumbent Governor Ned Lamont paid tribute to her on Thursday and cited how hard she worked to ensure the state was ridden of corruption and put ethics first.
“She became governor almost reluctantly and at a time of great turmoil, and she used her newly acquired authority to bring stability to state government in a way that was very much needed at the time, focusing on strengthening state ethics laws and rebuilding the trust of the residents of our state,” Lamont said.
Lamont ordered all flags across the state to be lowered at half-staff in her honor.
Her successor, Dannel Malloy, said, “She steadied the ship, and returned a sense of decency and honesty to the state government at a time when both were sorely needed.”
Rell’s legacy will live on as a politician who helped bring trust back into the state of Connecticut, bipartisanship across the table, and someone who deeply cared about serving people regardless of their views and who they were.
She is survived by her two children Michael (mayor of Wethersfield, Conn.) and Meredith, and her grandchildren.
