Eleni Kavros DeGraw

I’m pleased to share today that I was elected as Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Women’s Caucus. I look forward to serving with Representative Kathy Kennedy (R-Milford, Orange). This caucus has always been a great opportunity for women legislative leaders of both parties to come together and support critical legislation that uplifts women of all ages and families. Thank you to my colleagues for your faith in me

No rest for the weary after the start of session last week. We are busily screening bills in our committees, raising proposed bills, meeting with advocates and constituents, and preparing for when we get to the public hearing process.

Yesterday was a whirlwind of activity as we kicked off the 2025 Connecticut General Assembly legislative session. I was grateful that my husband and our son were able to join me in the chamber as I was sworn in for my third term.

I want to wish you a Happy New Year! I look forward to serving you and the residents of Connecticut during the 2025 legislative session, which begins on January 8th. And with that, I want to point out several new laws passed during the 2024 session that will go into effect on Wednesday, January 1.

The hustle and bustle of the season is upon us and so, unfortunately, are scams. We have a warning below for our seniors and a reminder about keeping packages safe from “porch pirates.” It’s terrible that we have to think about these situations, but an ounce of prevention is valuable this time of year.

I hope you are staying safe in all of this rain and my hope is we will have minimal or hopefully no power outages.

As I mentioned last week, there are so many opportunities to help our neighbors this holiday season, and something for every budget. I’m sponsoring my second annual Winter Warm Up for our most at-risk neighbors, the homeless in our region. Details below of all the local drop-off points.

I’ll be honest, Thanksgiving has never been my favorite holiday (no lights, no real theme, no music?) and this year is especially difficult for my family. This Thursday, as everyone gathers with family and friends, we have an empty seat at our table and in our hearts as this would have been my grandfather’s 100th birthday. Yes, he had a long life, but as he was in great shape physically and mentally, we really thought we had more years to come.