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10 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MARCH 10, 2025 While he keeps a bust of John F. Kennedy in his office, Comptroller Sean Scanlon says it was a book about JFK's brother, Robert F. Kennedy, that inspired his political career. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Balanced Approach Amid 'end' to fiscal crisis, Comptroller Scanlon says CT can make state budget's fiscal guardrails more 'adaptive' the Comptroller's Healthcare Cabinet, a working group of industry profes- sionals and others who offer recom- mendations for legislation and policy. His end goal, he said, is to make sure "every Connecticut resident has access to the health care they deserve." Scanlon, as a state lawmaker, was a proponent of creating a public health insurance option in Connecticut, but that legislation was batted down several times in the face of intense opposition from the insur- ance industry and concerns about the cost impact on the state budget. Scanlon said previous versions of the public option proposal "included stop- loss insurance, which would ensure taxpayers aren't on the hook if claims exceed premiums for the nonprofits or small businesses in the plan." He said he remains supportive of the concept, but no bill to create a public option was introduced this session. Health care, though, is only part of his role. Scanlon said being one of only six statewide elected officials in the state, and Connectcitut's top "financial guy," gives him a bully pulpit to weigh in on a wide range of issues, whether it's health care, child care, energy costs or housing, among others. "All these things I view are in my lane," he said. Fiscal guardrails Scanlon — a Boston College alum who worked for then-congressman and now U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy early in his career — first ran for office in 2014, winning an election to repre- sent the state's 98th House District, which serves Guilford and Branford. At 27, he was the youngest member of the General Assembly, but his By David Krechevsky davidk@hartfordbusiness.com S ean Scanlon admits his career aspirations never included being state comptroller. "Nobody dreams of running for comp- troller," Scanlon said during a recent interview with the Hartford Business Journal. "At 16, that wasn't my goal." He initially had other aspirations, which included singing in a self-de- scribed "boy band" with his Guilford High School pal Nick Fradiani, who went on to win the hit TV show "Amer- ican Idol" in 2015. While a music career didn't materi- alize, Scanlon's career goals changed dramatically, he says, as a high school junior. "I did a book report about Bobby Kennedy," he said. "I had no interest at all in politics, but for whatever reason, this book just completely took me by storm." That surprised him, he added, because his parents weren't inter- ested in politics. "My dad was a cop, my mom was a stay-at-home mom, and then my folks split when I was 6," he said. "I don't ever remember talking about politics as a kid. I don't think my parents even really voted. They were not really engaged in politics. " Regardless, Scanlon had caught the politics bug. His political path — from a teen- ager working part-time at Subway, to working on a local senator's election campaign, to being elected to the state House in 2014 and then comp- troller in 2022 — not only reflects his admiration for Robert F. Kennedy Sr., but also his experiences while being raised by a single mom. "The issue that really animated me into politics, to think about actually running for office, was health care," said Scanlon, who is a Democrat. That remains among his strongest motivations as comptroller. The state's CFO You might wonder what health care has to do with being state comp- troller, who fundamentally is the state's chief financial officer, paying the bills and keeping the books. "I'm doing all those traditional functions, but I'm also in charge of benefit procurement for (state) employees," Scanlon said. "I'm the one who has the honor of running this 260,000-person healthcare plan. It's the largest plan in the state." There's some irony in that, because his mother, Kathy, struggled to provide health insurance for him as a child. "When my folks split up, … my mom did not have insurance because she didn't have a job," Scanlon said. "So, she ended up starting her own small business, but didn't have insurance through her company." Just three months after taking office in January 2023, he formed MyCTSavings program now has nearly 7,000 enrollees Upon taking office in 2023, Comptroller Sean Scanlon went on a media blitz, making regular public appearances at businesses and industry events to promote MyCTSavings, a state-sponsored retirement savings program administered by his office. The program is a no-cost way for employers to help employees save for retirement in a Roth IRA. Employees can be automatically enrolled or opt out, and then re-enroll at any time. Scanlon voted for MyCTSavings in 2016 when he was in the legislature, and says he took over as comptroller just as the program was getting off the ground. "At that point, there were about 700 companies that were enrolled in it statewide," he said. "Today, there are almost 7,000." SEAN SCANLON State Comptroller Age: 38 Education: Bachelor's degree in political science, Boston College