Nancy Wyman died at 80, and Connecticut Senate Democrats responded with statements remembering her years in state office. Martin Looney said he had been good friends with her for 40 years and recalled serving with her in the House of Representatives for three terms.
Looney also said he watched Wyman oversee the Senate Chamber as lieutenant governor for eight years. In his statement, he said she cast several tie-breaking votes, including on the creation of an IRA for small-business employees and on decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of cannabis.
Martin Looney on Nancy Wyman
Looney said Wyman “made history by becoming the first woman comptroller in Connecticut.” He described her as “a kind, thoughtful, and generous friend, high-spirited and quick-witted,” and said she “loved to dance.”
He also recalled a snowstorm during his special election to the House, saying Wyman door-knocked with him while wearing her trademark high heels. Looney said she took policy seriously but never herself, and that he would miss her as a friend, joking partner, and someone who loved Connecticut with all she had.
Bob Duff remembers Wyman
Bob Duff said he got to know Wyman during his special election to the House and remembered her door-knocking in a snowstorm. He said she was “always genuine and authentic,” and added that he loved working closely with her for eight years after she became Lieutenant Governor.
Duff said, “Seeing her always brightened my day.” He added that she never lost her Brooklyn accent or her Brooklyn heart, and called her “a giver and a person who loved everyone and was loved by everyone.”
He said he had kept in touch with her after her years of work at the Capitol and would miss “my friend, my joking partner, and someone who loved this state with all she had.”
Connecticut Senate Democrats
The statements place Wyman’s death in the context of a long public career that included the House, the lieutenant governor’s office, and service as Connecticut’s first woman comptroller. For readers who knew her through state politics, the immediate record now is the recollection itself: two senior Connecticut Senate Democrats laying out the service, the votes, and the personal details they say defined her work.
