State Senator Andrew McDonald

Legislative Accomplishments

Andrew J. McDonald was first elected in 2002 to serve the 27th Senate District (Stamford and Darien). In a rare move, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate appointed Senator McDonald, as a freshman, to serve as the Senate Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, a position he still holds today.  As the Senate Chairman of the Judiciary Committee he has championed a wide variety of legislative initiatives, including doubling and tripling criminal penalties for persistent violent felony offenders; enhancing protections for senior citizens in probate court proceedings; spearheading legislative efforts to implement civil unions and marriage equality; safeguarding rights of victims in the criminal justice system; protecting reproductive health choices for women; strengthening laws surrounding medical malpractice; passing legislation to help reduce the incidence of handgun violence; and overhauling the duties and operations of the state’s court and prison systems.

In other areas that impact his constituents and the state, Senator McDonald has demonstrated leadership by requiring insurance companies to cover ultrasound screenings for breast cancer; doubling the amount of behind-the-wheel instruction time that 16- and 17-year-olds need in order to get their learner’s permit; cracking down on school truants; and supporting billions of dollars in state money to improve Connecticut’s transportation infrastructure, particularly the Metro North commuter trains and parking facilities.

Senator McDonald has introduced bills seeking to mitigate traffic congestion, tax credits for economic development, requiring a criminal background check for all health care and home care workers, and changing the formula for the state education cost sharing (ECS) grant. He has also worked on issues of interest to Stamford and Darien, including fighting for sound barriers along certain sections of Interstate 95 that border residential neighborhoods; demanding highway directional signs along I-95 leading toward Stamford; seeking an extension of truck weigh station hours in order to ensure greater public safety on Connecticut’s highways; and re-writing state law to allow teen groups like Darien’s Safe Rides program to extend operating hours.

Senator McDonald has secured tens of millions of dollars in state bonding for school construction projects and other projects such as the Stamford Courthouse parking garage, the Stamford Transportation Center, the Stamford Community Health Center, aid to stranded motorists on the Merritt Parkway, and improvements to Holly Pond and Cove Island Park.

Personal

Born in the Glenbrook section of Stamford — and residing there still — Senator McDonald graduated from the Stamford Public Schools (Stark Elementary, Dolan Middle, and Stamford High), received his Bachelor’s Degree in Government from Cornell University and his Doctorate of Law from the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he graduated with honors and served as the Managing Editor of the Connecticut Journal of International Law. Outside of his legislative career, Senator McDonald is a litigation partner with Pullman & Comley in Stamford.

Prior to his election to the Connecticut Senate, Senator McDonald served as Director of Legal Affairs and Corporation Counsel for the City of Stamford, overseeing and managing all legal, human resource and labor-relations functions of the city.  He also served as an elected member of the Stamford Board of Finance from 1995-1999 (Chairman, 1997-1999) and on the Stamford Board of Representatives from 1993-1995.