William Tong

William Tong
湯偉麟
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives
from the 147th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2007
Preceded by Donald Sherer
Personal details
Born (1973-05-02) May 2, 1973
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Elizabeth Hotchkiss Tong
Children 3
Education Brown University (BA)
University of Chicago (JD)

William Morten Tong Chinese: 湯偉麟(born c. 1973[1]) serves as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives. First elected in November 2006, he represents the 147th district, which includes parts of Stamford and New Canaan. Geographically the 147th is the largest district in Stamford, and includes Westover, North Stamford, Scofieldtown, as well as the western side of New Canaan.

Tong is the first Asian American to serve in the Connecticut General Assembly, and the first Asian American to be elected at the state level in Connecticut's history. He is the Vice-Chairman of the Energy and Technology committee[2] and serves on the General Law and Judiciary committees.

Tong was the first Connecticut legislator to endorse then-Senator Barack Obama for President.[3]

Family history

William's father, Ady, came to Hartford, Connecticut to look for work as a cook in a Chinese restaurant. He met William's mother Nancy, and had five children, William and his four sisters. William attended public and private schools in West Hartford. He graduated from Phillips Academy Andover and in 1995 from Brown University with honors, and after the University of Chicago Law School.

Public service

State Representative

Tong wrote legislation to overhaul Connecticut's Criminal Justice Information System.[4] During the 2009 legislative session Tong authored legislation that would classify biosolids as a class I renewable fuel source,[5] continued his push for transparency in the gasoline pricing,[6] and led an effort to pass lyme disease legislation that would extend additional protections to doctors who treat patients with the disease.[7]

Consideration for U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut

On March 7, 2009, it was reported that Tong was being considered by a panel assembled by Sens. Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman to screen candidates for United States Attorney.[8] On November 14, 2009, the Hartford Courant reported that the panel assembled by Dodd and Lieberman had forwarded four names to the White House and President Barack Obama for consideration; Tong was included in that list.

2012 U.S. Senate campaign

On March 15, 2011 it was reported that Tong was considering a candidacy for U.S. Senate in Connecticut.[9] Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) had announced he would retire, leaving the seat open. Tong would face former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and Rep. Chris Murphy in a potential Democratic primary.

The first week of May, 2011, Tong announced that he would seek the nomination, conceding that it would be "a heavy lift" to defeat Bysiewicz and Murphy.[1] The Tong campaign raised over $500,000 in the quarter ending June 30, 2011.[10] The final Federal Election Commission contribution tally was $1,063,993 for Team Tong.[11]

2018 State Attorney General campaign

In early 2018, Tong formed an exploratory committee to express possible interest in seeking the Democratic nomination for Connecticut Attorney General in the November 2018 election after incumbent George Jepsen declined to seek re-election. By April, Tong had begun full-blown campaigning.[12]

Personal life

William is married to his law school classmate and colleague, Elizabeth Hotchkiss Tong, who is a corporate tax lawyer. Elizabeth and William are parents of two daughters, Eleanor Ming Lan Tong and Penelope Ming Li Tong, whom they call "Ming Ming" and "Ping Ping," and one son, Alexander Ming Xiang Tong,[13] whom they call Sacha. They share a home with two fox terriers in North Stamford.

Sources

References

  1. 1 2 Kim, Elizabeth. "With potential to make history, Tong enters race for U.S. Senate". Stamford Advocate. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20090702151905/http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Tong/pr147-08.asp. Archived from the original on July 2, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2009. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
  4. ↑ "News of William Tong, 26 November 2007". Stamford Advocate. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
  5. ↑ Archived July 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ Archived July 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ "Bill Status". Cga.ct.gov. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
  8. ↑ "Committee formed to select U.S. attorney for Connecticut – Norwalk, Stamford, Westport, Weston and Wilton Connecticut News, Sports, Business, Obituaries and Advertising – The Hour – Norwalk's Newspaper". The Hour. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
  9. ↑ "A new face in the Senate race... – Norwich, CT – The Bulletin". Norwichbulletin.com. March 15, 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
  10. ↑ http://www.politico.com/blogs/davidcatanese/0711/Tongs_half_a_million_dollar_statement_in_Conn.html?showall
  11. ↑ http://www.fec.gov/fecviewer/CandidateCommitteeDetail.do
  12. ↑ Dixon, Ken (8 April 2018). "Sixth term Rep. Tong running for AG post". CT Post.
  13. ↑ "Births – Stamford News – The Stamford Times – Stamford's Newspaper". The Stamford Times. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
Connecticut House of Representatives
Preceded by
Donald B. Sherer		 Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 147th district
2007–present		 Incumbent
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