Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARy 20, 2023 25 2023 POWER 50 W ith the 2023 legislative session underway, Rep. Matt Ritter and Sen. Martin Looney continue to preside over Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, respectively, making them major influencers in shaping state policy. Looney (D-New Haven) is the Senate President Pro Tempore, who was first elected in 1992. He's been known to advocate for progressive policies, including an expanded earned income tax credit for the working poor, higher minimum wage, and paid family and medical leave. For example, Looney is backing a bill this year that would eliminate the tipped minimum wage — often paid to restaurant servers and others who earn customer tips — and instead require all employers to pay the state's higher, regular minimum wage, currently set at $14 per hour. Matt Ritter & Martin Looney Ritter (D-Hartford), who is also a lawyer at Hartford law firm Shipman & Goodwin, comes from a political family. His father Tom Ritter was a former House Speaker and is now a partner at law firm Brown Rudnick in Hartford. Tom Ritter also sits on the UConn board of trustees. Matt Ritter's mother, Christine E. Keller, is a former justice of the state Supreme Court. Ritter and Looney both know well how business runs inside the Capitol. An issue they've jointly worked on is improving racial equality in the state. In September, they co-bylined an op-ed touting legislation passed last year that requires future budget proposals by the governor to include an explanation of how its provisions further efforts to ensure equity in the state. "This law ensures that, moving forward, budget proposals iden- tify and remedy past and present patterns of discrimination and address racial and socioeconomic inequity," they both wrote. Both men are leading the House and Senate, respectively, through the 2023 session, where issues including budget spending, affordable housing, tax policy, energy and healthcare costs, early childhood education and mental health are being debated. 2 Martin Looney Matt Ritter I n leading the University of Connecticut – the state's flagship university – since September 2022, Radenka Maric has become a rising star as she looks to move forward with initiatives ranging from climate change mitigation, mental health and increased fundraising. Maric has quickly become the face of UConn, attending many university events and unveilings and making herself available to the media. She has been a major proponent of addressing climate change and recently announced a goal of achieving carbon neutrality on campus by 2030. She said a comprehensive sustainability action plan will address how the university incorporates clean energy to operate its buildings and vehicles and efforts to increase research-based experiential learning opportunities. Maric oversees a $1.7-billion budget and 32,146 students, including 23,837 undergraduates across UConn's Storrs and regional campuses. She made waves recently when she threatened to pull UConn basketball games from the XL Center in Hartford following the release of Gov. Ned Lamont's two-year, $50.5 billion budget proposal, which Maric said inadequately funds the state's flagship university by tens of millions of dollars. Maric also said she'd like to hit $500 million in annual research funding in the next five to seven years. Prior to being named interim and then permanent president, Maric served as UConn's vice president for research. She joined UConn in 2010 as a School of Engineering faculty member. A native of Serbia, Maric also worked for large and small corporations and federal labs in Japan, Canada and the U.S., before coming to the Nutmeg State 13 years ago. Radenka Maric 3

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