Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox of Trumbull, a Quinnipiac University professor, has been declared the winner in a four-way state Senate primary that also included former legislator and former Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch, former Bridgeport Councilman Tyler Mack and Bridgeport Councilman Scott Burns.
Gadkar-Wilcox, an Indian American declared that she received the Democratic party’s endorsement and has won in the Primaries held on August 13th, 2024 for the 22nd District Connecticut State Senate Seat. She has won 41.1 percent of the total votes caset, or 1,753 votes, according to unofficial vote counts. She will now likely face Republican Chris Carrena of Trumbull for the seat on the general election ballot in November.
“I’m very honored because it was a community effort,” Gadkar-Wilcox said. “We put a lot of hard work in, grassroots politics and engagement at the doors with other community members in Trumbull and Monroe coming out. I’m honored to represent us all.” Gadkar-Wilcox hopes her message will continue to resonate with voters. “We need to trust the people that we send up to Hartford, and that I will advocate for the things that I said I’ll advocate for,” she said.
CT 22nd District consists of the town of Trumbull as well as parts of Bridgeport and Monroe. It has been represented by Democrat Marilyn Moore since 2015, who is retiring at the end of her current term.
“I’m a mom and a professor of Constitutional Law and Human Rights. I’m running to bring your voice to Hartford – because we need new leadership with a new vision,” Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox says. “My background includes being an educator, a practicing attorney, Trumbull’s Ethics Commission member, CT Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities Commissioner, and serving on local boards and non-profit organizations throughout our district. And I’ve been delighted to coach Trumbull High School’s We the People debate team.”
An associate professor at Quinnipiac University, where she teaches Constitutional law and human rights, Gadkar-Wilcox spoke passionately about how she plans to represent the entire population in the Trumbull region that is fast growing and diverse.
According to Gadkar-Wilcox, she is running for office out of concern for the “contentious and divided” political environment. “The time is now to take responsibility for getting our state back on the right path. We have an obligation to ensure that our children enjoy quality public education, preparing them to be innovators and problem solvers. We must find sustainable solutions to manage our budget while not imposing an undue burden on our residents. We must responsibly invest in upgrading our infrastructure, which is the economic lifeline to our state.”
A Trumbull resident for nearly two decades, Gadkar-Wilcox says, she hopes to create a new kind of politics that would work for everyone. “I hope to earn your support so that I may carry your voice to Hartford, working to ensure that you are not only able to thrive, but that Connecticut remains the place you are proud to call home.”
Gadkar-Wilcox, a former director of juvenile law at Family Services in Westchester where she worked to train attorneys and law students in violence and delinquency prevention programs, says, “We can do better when it comes to getting our fair share of state funding and when it comes to fighting for public elections and voting rights, a woman’s right to choose, and our freedom to live without fear of gun violence.”
Gadkar-Wilcox was awarded the prestigious William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, which enabled her to travel to India during the 2015-2016 academic year to continue her research on the framework of the Indian Constitution. “My interest in understanding the pluralism informing the drafting of the Indian Constitution relates to my own experience of being raised in the United States by immigrant parents who instilled in us an appreciation and understanding of our own Indian cultural heritage. The process of operating in overlapping cultural spaces has always enabled me to approach issues from a different vantage point, which is what I see in the drafting of the Indian Constitution as well.”
In 2017, Gadkar-Wilcox received the James Marshall Award for Service to the Quinnipiac community. She serves as a faculty fellow with the Albert Schweitzer Institute, is a member of the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights and is a Carnegie New Leader with the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. Sujata, her husband Wynn, and their two daughters live in Trumbull, CT.
“Both of my parents were born in India, and I was inspired as a young adult by my grandfather’s stories of his presence at Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘Quit India’ speech, his involvement in pro-Congress Party student protests, and his admiration for B.R. Ambedkar, both as a Maharashtrian and as an advocate for Dalit ‘untouchables.’ These led me to be intrigued by the issues of constitutional change at the time of India’s independence.”
“In the long run, Connecticut requires a politics characterized by careful deliberation, open and direct communication, and good decision-making,” says Gadkar-Wilcox. “Politics needs to move away from the back and forth of partisan commentary and get to issues beyond the headlines and sound bites. We need to discuss the more fundamental structural issues that will create a better political climate and a more vibrant economy.”
Confident and determined, Gadkar-Wilcox says, “I hope to earn your support so that I may carry your voice to Hartford, working to ensure that you are not only able to thrive, but that Connecticut remains the place you are proud to call home. Together, we can tackle the fundamental structural issues our state faces and create a politics for the public good. I look forward to meeting you at your doorstep, and let’s take that vision to Hartford. It will be an honor to serve you.”
Gadkar-Wilcox says, her platform is based on creating a new kind of politics. “For too long we have allowed our representatives in Hartford to finger-point and leave messes for others to clean up. The time is now to take responsibility for getting our state back on the right path.”
For more details on Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, please visit: http://sujataforct.com/